Extreme Prejudice

"You know what I think, man? I think we're heroes and heroes need a cause, man. Only nowadays everything's so damn messed up. Ain't nobody can see anything clear anymore. So I support my country, man, that's what I got. I got my country and I got my buddies and that's it. I don't ask no questions." - Atwater

release year: 1987
genre: action/suspense
viewing setting: home Bluray 6/27/22 and home DVD 11/22/17 and 6/14/10 and 6/5/06 and home VHS 4/2/00

synopsis: In a small town near the Mexican border, a Texas Ranger is about to clash with a drug dealer, despite the fact that they're childhood friends. Meanwhile, a covert military team is scoping out the town..but why?

impressions: This was as much a character-driven movie as a gun-driven one. It was fun to watch and kept the viewer guessing and thinking. I can't say much more without spoiling it for you. There was plenty of action, a few plot twists, and some good one-liners.

something this movie has that no other movie has: A guy crushing a live scorpion in the palm of his hand.

acting: Nick Nolte and Powers Boothe did outstanding jobs as the stoic lawman and the good-guy-gone-bad drug lord. Let's not forget Rip Torn as Nolte's older mentor, or Maria Conchita Alonso as the woman that Nolte and Boothe both want, or Michael Ironside as the leader of the covert team. William Forsythe and Clancy Brown are good as two of the covert operatives. Good character acting all around.

final word: One of Walter Hill's best, a good movie about men who won't back down.

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