Review of Extreme Prejudice (1987) by Timothy S — 17 Feb 2014

Walter Hill has long since been a favorite director of mine, and in "Extreme Prejudice", he explores several interesting themes and a lot of familiar territory. It's a classic western masquerading as an 1980's action flick, and it's not entirely successful at either.

The action is diluted, and not even Hill's impeccable skill behind the camera can mask that, and the western elements are so hackneyed that it almost plays like a parody. At the center of it all is the relationship between Texas Ranger Nick Nolte and drug dealer Powers Boothe, childhood friends now on opposite sides of the law. That should have made for an interesting film had the screenplay been deeper and more thoughtful. Instead, it's quite superficial and wastes a lot of potential, as does the aspect of the girl caught in the middle played by Maria Conchita Alonso. She has a history with both men as well, but she's little more than a pawn in their power trip and the head games they play with one another.

The lead performances, however, are quite good even if Boothe does have a tendency to ham things up a bit. Nolte is a solid lead. The story itself is interesting, but I never found myself getting involved with the film as it feels flat. And there's still the matter of all those cliches. It's so bad that this actually culminates in a back-to-back count-off showdown. You''' be rolling your eyes despite (or maybe because of) the seriousness at which the whole thing is played.

"Extreme Prejudice" is chock full of promise, but it never engaged me. It's a muted and weak effort despite some game players.