Extreme Prejudice

Walter Hill is one of my favorite filmmakers. Mostly known for his action pictures, like 48 Hrs., Hill can gracefully handle everything from comedy like Brewster's Millions, to a rock and roll fable like the truly visionary Streets Of Fire, my personal favorite of his. As big as a fan I am of his work, I've for some reason never seen his 1987 testosterone fueled, modern day western Extreme Prejudice. Last week I finally caught up to this one, and here's my thoughts.

Hill reteams with his 48 Hrs. and Another 48 Hrs. star Nick Nolte. Nolte plays Texas Ranger Jack Benteen. A man who puts his badge before anything else, including his lady Sarita, Maria Conchita Alonso. Jack is trying to take down drug lord Cash Bailey, Powers Booth, who also happens to be Jack's former best friend from childhood. Not only do they now both work on opposites sides of the law, but they have a personal grudge. Sarita used to be Cash's lady before she left him for Jack. Jack is jealous because she might still have feelings for Cash.

Jack has other fish to fry when a group of Army sergeants, supposedly killed in combat, show up in Jack's town and rob the local bank. But Cash has what they were looking for in the robbery and heads to Mexico with Sarita by his side. Jack now has to form an uncomfortable alliance with the criminal soldiers to take down Cash and his crew.

This mix of The Wild Bunch, Lone Wolf McQuade, and The A Team is definately one of the weaker films from the Hill cannon. The main problem is that Hill was a little too ambitious with it. There's two storylines running through the film and niether one of them blends well with the other.It gets a bit exhausting keeping everything straight. I think it would have been a better film if it just concentrated on the Nolte/Boothe storyline. Boothe seems to be having a hoot with his character, while everyone else plays it too straightfaced. It's almost like he stepped in from another movie.

Extreme Prejudice is a bit of a mess.

It's available on dvd and blu ray.