Extreme Prejudice (1987) User Reviews

cracking stuff !

[janus-20 · 7/10 · 9 March 2006]

They don't make em like this anymore, Walter Hill knows how to stage an "in your face" gun fight, and this movie has truckloads of that. I cant imagine women finding much in this film to entertain them, its a bloke thing through and through.

The film has an engaging story, heist movies are always great, but its conceit of moving the western into the modern era is what really stands this apart. Its got some of the all time great tough guys in it, Michael Ironside , Clancy Brown , William Forsythe etc, and they are obviously having a blast.

If you like the cinematic equivalent of a punch in the face, then this ones for you, its blokes doing what blokes do best, growling macho one liners at each other and trying to blow each other out of their socks. Cracking stuff !

Rousing, macho entertainment.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 26 January 2014]

A stoic Nick Nolte and a charismatic Powers Boothe face off in this Peckinpah-style serving of sordid melodrama and intense bloody violence. It's a fun action-Western from director Walter Hill, a filmmaker often at his best when portraying tough male milieus. With story credit going to Fred Rexer and the colourful John Milius, it deliberately makes its way towards an exciting confrontation when bullets fly and countless squibs go off. This will mean that some viewers will be turned off, but others will enjoy the visceral quality of this material. Certainly one of the movie's prime assets is a kick ass cast of cool actors, not just Nolte and Boothe.

The two leads play former childhood friends now on opposite sides of the law, a familiar enough premise. Jack Benteen (Nolte) is a Texas Ranger and Cash Bailey (Boothe) is a big time drug dealer, and Jack wants to give Cash every chance to surrender peaceably. While this is going on, they fight over the affections of a saloon singer, Sarita (the very sexy Maria Conchita Alonso) and a team of mercenaries led by Major Paul Hackett (Michael Ironside) has their own plans that involve a bank robbery.

You know you'll have a good time when you see that Hackett's comrades are played by (among others) Clancy Brown and William Forsythe. Rip Torn makes the most of his screen time as Jack's colleague Sheriff Hank Pearson. Other familiar faces in the cast include Larry B. Scott, John Dennis Johnston, Luis Contreras, Gary Carlos Cervantes, Tommy 'Tiny' Lister, Marco Rodriguez, Mickey Jones, and a briefly seen Lin Shaye. Forsythe in particular tears up the scenery. The sun baked cinematography (by Matthew F. Leonetti), Texas and California locales, and soaring Jerry Goldsmith music are all credits to the movie.

The audience should be able to enjoy the twisty plot, the interplay between the two main characters, and the big finish. All in all, this proves to be a solid outing for Hill and his cast & crew.

Seven out of 10.

Nick Nolte Kicks Ass!!!

[cinebuff-3 · 6/10 · 10 January 2004]

Walter Hill and John Milius tackle the modern day Western in 'Extreme Prejudice'. A fast moving, Drugs Across the Border film that requires some attention to detail. With Nick Nolte delivering the goods as a strong, silent, second generation Texas Ranger opposite an equally powerful Powers Booth as a well connected, possibly undercover Kingpin who had grown up with Nolte... Enter a team of Black Ops GIs led by Michael Ironside and the always underrated Clancy Brown. Stir in the odd bank heist. Great Lines. Lies on top of lies. Lots of guns. William Forsythe as a totally dedicated borderline psycho. Rip Torn as Nolte's shoot from the hip Mentor. Even more guns. And a final Shoot 'Em Up to rival 'The Wild Bunch'. Put it all together, and you have a memorable, cast driven classic 'Guy Flick'!

Good modern western with great cast and good plot

[bob the moo · 28 November 2001]

Jack Benteen is a hard-edged Texas ranger, Cash is his boyhood friend who now lives across the border and works as a major drug smuggler bringing crime into Texas. The conflict between the two men is complicated further when a group of soldiers registered as killed in action arrive in the area and begin to involve themselves in the existing drug war.

This is a good Walter Hill film that has plenty of good old fashioned western style action. The plot seems a little strange for most of the film because you're not quite sure where it's going. At the start you assume that the main focus of the film will be the relationship between Power Booth's Cash and Nolte's Benteen, but after 15 minutes the focus shifts onto the arrival of the army unit and stays split between them and Nolte. Because you're not sure what the unit is doing in this situation it keeps your interest throughout. However this means that Boothe is sidelined for most of the film which is a shame.

Both Boothe and Nolte are good, with Nolte doing his usual tough guy stuff. However the real pleasure comes from the depth of famous faces in the supporting cast. Maria Conchita Alonso is in a thankless role as the girlfriend torn between Cash and Benteen, Rip Torn is the local sheriff while the army unit includes many now well-known faces of Michael Ironside, Clancy Brown, William Forsythe and a small role for the always recognisable Tom "Tiny" Lister Jr.

The action is good throughout despite being a little flat and without any great style. The "wild bunch" style ending is exciting if a little unlikely and is typical of Walter Hill.

Overall a good modern day western with a strong cast, good plot and good action. It's nothing out of the ordinary but it's still entertaining decades after it was made.

One of the coolest action movies of the 80s!

[kimnil80 · 7/10 · 17 June 2006]

Yes, it is. I do not kidding. There aren't that much people that has heard of this little gem from master action director Walter Hill, but is is HIGHLY recommended. If you like John Woo's early Hong Kong efforts, you will LOVE this movie... It has a great story for an action western, and terrific actors: Michael Ironside, Powers Boothe, Rip Torn, William Forsythe and Clancy Brown. All some of the coolest actors ever committed to screen, if not in ONE movie. I was completely blown away by the scenes and the staging of them in this film, so I wonder why has so few heard of it? It's a shame, this one ranks alongside the most stylish films ever made. It's comparable to some of Hill's best movies: "The Long Riders, Trespass, The Warriors" etc. Nick Nolte is a god, and so is this movie. Don't let the rating fool you. For an action movie, this is a 10. Buy it, like me. And watch it on a widescreen with surround! Lovely.

not exactly a Lifetime movie when you got Walter Hill and John Milius on your plate

[Quinoa1984 · 7/10 · 6 January 2021]

Extreme Prejudice moves and unfolds just a like a Swiss watch, a well oiled and violent action movie that you can tell" even though he only has a story by credit, is through and through a John Milius yarn. Walter Hills direct clear, muscular action, and a hell of a lot of fun to experience, but what I like the most is just how completely this is a modern western, and decidedly a character-based one at that. Nick Nolte has almost the same tough Grimace expression through the whole thing, but that's fine because then that gives plenty of space for Powers Boothe, Clancy Brown, Michael Ironside, Rip Torn, William Forsythe and everybody else to work there grizzly magic if that is what it can be called on the screen.

In particular Powers Boothe is a delightful antagonist, like others sweating at times like its going out of style but making it part of his menace, and at one key point snorting enough coke to make Scarface blush. As soon as you see him and Nolte together you know this is going to be whenever they reappear a great meaty "I'm gonna emotionally and probably physically kick your ass" scene.

One could say we've seen a lot of this before, matter of fact it's deep down a "I got to hold up my Man code" story, down to the love intetest (Maria Conchita, who thankfully is cast well and she gives a very good performance), and at its best feels like Son of Peckinpah, in particular with that climax. I'm at saying this movie reinvent the wheel, but the direction is always precise and exciting and the interplay and dialogue is sharp and occasionally very funny or just the right tone of humorous attitude and one-liners for this kind of mercenary, Western heights movie, and by the very end it almost feels like Milius and Hill are giving us the origin story of the modern Mexican cartel haha. It's a good one.

Also one last thing, did it feel like the climax of this movie is almost like John Milius was finally getting to do the climax of Apocalypse Now, now only if Willard and Kurtz knew and even were friends going back? Just a musing.

a feast for lovers of '80's film

[movieman_kev · 7/10 · 17 March 2007]

A group of soldiers believed to be dead by the public at large, try to ferret out Cash Bailey, a drug kingpin who was a childhood friend to the local sheriff (Nick Nolte) who's also after him in this '80's great action film. Every major actor in this film is extremely recognizable to anyone, like me, who loves the '80's and picking them all out during the first time you watch this film is almost as fun as the film itself (Look there's Kurgen from Highlander, Hey isn't that Lamar from Revenge of the nerds?, Wow Officer Dan did stuff before Married with Children, etcetera) Of course then you have the big stars Nolte, Torn, and Forsythe all of which do a great job. Of course both Walter Hill and John Milius are highly regarded by me and any movie either has a hand in is always highly watchable (Milius's 1941 being the only exception). So if you love you action heavy, your men manly, and your explosions huge, you'll love this film.

My Grade: B+

Eye Candy: Maria Conchita Alonso show's T&A (she's stunning)

Action-Packed Macho Cinema With A Good Cast

[Witchfinder-General-666 · 6/10 · 25 January 2008]

"Extreme Prejudice" of 1987 may not be one of director Walter Hill's best films. but it certainly is a highly entertaining and action-packed piece of 80s macho cinema, that friends of diverting stories about loyalty, violence and tough guys should like. Other than many movies of the kind, "Extreme Prejudice" has an excellent cast. The story is not more promising than your average action flick, but this movie scores with good, violent action and great performances from actors such as Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe and Michael Ironside.

Jack Benteen (Nick Nolte) is a tough Texas Ranger who does his job near the Mexican border with a great sense of duty. His major ambition is to take down a drug cartel run in Mexico by the American Cash Bailey (Powers Boothe), and he has dedicated himself to this goal, irrespective of dangers or fatalities. Not only is Cash Bailey a drug-lord, however, he is also Jack's best childhood friend and the former lover of Jack's sexy Mexican bar singer girlfriend Sarita (Maria Conchita Alonso). Apart from Jack, a bunch of former soldiers lead by a mysterious Major (Michael Ironside) also have some task to carry out in the desert borderland...

The story is OK, but nothing spectacular, and the film's major qualities are the violent action, the characters' macho attitude and tough-mindedness, and, especially the great cast. Nick Nolte is excellent in his role of the silent tough-guy Texas Ranger. Powers Boothe also delivers a great performance as the unscrupulous drug-lord Cash, and beautiful Maria Conchita Alonso fits in her role very well. Michael Ironside is a great actor, and his specialty is playing tough guys or sinister characters. Both attributes apply to the his role in "Extreme Prejudice". The cast furthermore includes Rip Torn as a Sheriff as well as William Forsythe, Clancy Brown and Tommy 'Tiny' Lister in an early role. All things considered, "Extreme Prejudice" is certainly no masterpiece, but friends of tough-minded action flicks should be highly entertained! 6/10

An Underrated 1980s Action Classic. Walter Hill at his best.

[jcbutthead86 · 10/10 · 29 November 2012]

Extreme Prejudice is a great,underrated 80s Action classic from Walter Hill that combines great direction,action and cast and is one of Hill's most overlooked films. A great mixture of Action and Modern Western,this is one Hill's best films and a movie that deserves more attention from Action fans.

Set in Texas,Extreme Prejudice tells the story of a Texas Ranger named Jack Banteen(Nick Nolte)who has to deal with criminals bringing drugs across the border from Mexico. Unfortunately,the drug supplier is his old best friend Cash Bailey(Powers Booth)who is not only on the opposite side of the law but also share love for the same woman Sarita(Maria Conchita Alonso). While dealing with Cash Bailey,Jack also has to deal with a group of military men led by Major Paul Hackett(Michael Ironside)who do classified missions,but this time they're in Jack Banteen's territory and Banteen has to deal with Cash and the military men with...Extreme Prejudice.

I am shocked and surprised that Extreme Prejudice has been underrated and overlooked by Action fans and Walter Hill fans. 1987 was a great year for the Action movie genre with great Action classics like Lethal Weapon,Predator and Robocop also being released that year. While those three films became Box Office hits and became classics,Extreme Prejudice sadly flopped at the Box Office remains obscure but in my opinion Extreme Prejudice is one of the great Action films of the 1980s and deserves more love. and I think one of the reasons Extreme Prejudice works so well is because of the main character,Action and modern Western setting. While Walter Hill paints the main character with a bigger than life scope,the characters also have depth. The character Jack Banteen is pretty much old school Western cowboy in a modern setting,instead of dealing with just drunks and bar fights,Banteen has to deal with drug dealers,violence and his best friend. Jack has to do something about the violence and drugs in his territory and he can't have second thoughts about it. Jack wants to deal with his old friend Cash his own way whether it means doing it by the book or breaking the law. It's a simple yet complex story that Hill brings with excellence. I love the Action that Walter Hill has in this film because it's bloody,violent and horrific. The violence and Action in the film is more in the tradition of Sam Peckinpah where the violence is ugly and brutal not like the Action films of the 80s(which I love)where after a violent scene it's followed by a one-liner or pun with the ending of the film is definitely a homage to Peckinpah's Western classic The Wild Bunch and you feel like when a person gets killed in the film it isn't fun or lighthearted,it's gritty,dark and uncompromising and I guess it felt kind of out of place during the 80s because you will feel like no character in the film is safe from the violence in the air. Where slow motion in today's Action films are used to look cool,Extreme Prejudice uses slow motion to show the horrifying and dangerous effects of violence. That's one of the things that separates Hill's Action films from the Action films made today. Hill keeps the film moving at a great pace and keeps you glued to the film with great storytelling,memorable characters and excellent atmosphere. Hill has always said every film he has made is a Western and that is true statement with this film. Even though the film is set in the 80s,you can feel the tone of the old west through out the film with most of the characters wearing cowboy hats and getting into Western style shootouts. I feel when watching the film the movie has an almost timeless look to it where you feel like the film could've taken place in any decade or time period by the way people dress and talk. When characters step in the dirt and dust you can feel it coming off the screen and feeling like you're getting dirt on yourself. While none of the film's main characters don't have six-shooters,ride on horse, have stagecoaches or gold coins you smell the great Western genre in this film and it's one of the reasons that Extreme Prejudice is amazing. The ending of the film is great and is filled with intense Action and brutal violence that Walter Hill is an absolute master at doing and will definitely remind viewers of the Western films of the past. It's a an excellent conclusion to the film.

The whole cast does a great job with their roles. Nick Nolte gives one of his best performances as Texas Ranger Jack Banteen bringing a memorable depth and dimension to the role.Excellent performance. Powers Booth is a wonderful delight as Cash Bailey,Jack's old friend who's now a drug lord. Booth's scenes with Nolte are amazing. Michael Ironside is terrific as Major Paul Hackett,the man who leads his secret military group. Maria Conchita Alonso does a wonderful job as Sarita,Jack's girlfriend and a woman Jack and Cash both love. Rip Torn gives a fun performance as Hank,a local sheriff who is also a Father figure to Jack. Clancy Brown is great as Sgt.Larry McRose,Hackett's second in command. William Forsynthe is wonderful and humorous as Sgt.Buck Atwater. Matt Mulhern(SSgt.Declan Coker),Larry B. Scott(Sgt.Charlie Biddle)and Dan Tullis Jr.(Sgt.Luther Fry)give good performances as well.

Walter Hill does an exceptional job with the direction with the film,bringing a gritty,dirty tone to the film and also does a great job with the Action scenes,making bloody,fast and unforgettable. Wonderful Job,Walter.

Jerry Goldsmith's score is great and fits with the Action and Western tone of the film.

In final word,if you love Action films,Westerns and Walter Hill I suggest you see Extreme Prejudice,an action-packed film that has been underrated and overlooked for too long and deserves an audience. Highly Recommended. 10/10.

It is not a Peckinpah

[christopher-underwood · 6/10 · 11 June 2022]

It's okay but just not really good. It is more or less a western but it was not a good time the late 80s. It is not a Peckinpah and the cast is okay as well but just not really great and although there are good moments of action, there is just too much dialogue and it seems to want to be serious. It is also rather confusing at times but this really doesn't need it, what it needs is a great star and it is not quite Nick Nolte, as a taciturn Texas Ranger.

Bullets, Bottles, and Babes in a Texas Desert.

[rmax304823 · 4/10 · 20 April 2008]

The sheriff of this small Texas border town is the grim and determined Jack Benteen (Nick Nolte). Nick wears his shirts buttoned to the neck, despite the heat, and is decked out in a white, flat-brimmed cowboy hat. The setting is modern -- well, as modern as a Texas border town gets -- and drugs are being smuggled across the border. Nick's trying to stop it but he's getting no help from Washington. His chief adversary in this conflict is Cash Bailey, played by Powers Boothe in a dusty old white suit and another white cowboy hat. I have to pause long enough to applaud those characters' names -- Jack Benteen and Cash Bailey. I don't know why, but I love them. "Jack" -- plain and solid American. "Cash" -- flighty and self indulgent. And "Benteen", a major involved in the Battle of the Little Big Horn, while "Bailey" is a perversion of Jimmy Stewart's name in the best-known and most endearingly heart-warming Christmas movie ever made. Anyhow, Nick and Powers used to be buddies but are now on opposite sides of the law.

On top of that, there is Maria Conchita Alonzo, a Cuban singer who here plays a Mexican singer who can't quite make up her mind which of these two gun-packing hombres she's more attracted to. The perfidious witch switches from Nick because, as she puts it, she wants to know "where we go from here" after a five-year-long love affair. Now, whether Nick can interpret this or not, what she means is that she wants to get married and "build a home." Nick is determined to stride into the middle of Powers' desert fortress in a small town across the border, put an end to his scurrilous and illegal activities, and retrieve Alonzo in the bargain. I won't spend much time on the plot.

The astute viewer will notice that -- yes, it's true -- this is a Peckinpoid movie. It's a kind of combination of "The Wild Bunch" and "Getaway", directed by Sam Pekinpah. All the signature artifacts and ideas are there. Lots of beat-up old cars caroming along unpaved roads and leaving plumes of tawny dust in their wakes, bottles of tequila passed back and forth, political corruption, the slow-motion impact of bullets, the hyperglandular machismo, the in-group treachery, the sexy woman who can't be trusted, Mexico as the last frontier, and guns. Lots of guns. The climax of "The Wild Bunch" had a .30 caliber machine gun spraying lead through a crowd and killing millions. "Extreme Prejudice" has a DUAL MOUNT of .30 caliber machine guns spraying lead through a crowd. Double your bullets, double your fun.

It was written by John Milius, a gun enthusiast himself. On one of his films, he had it written into his contract that he would be the hunter who actually shot the animals for the film. On another TV production that he wrote, he had Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders atop San Juan Hill in Cuba, spraying the enemy, and shouting quotes from Henry V's pep talk in Shakespeare's play -- "Band of brothers," "St. Crispin's Day", blah blah.

I kind of like these movies of hot, dusty Texas towns with bank robbers and smugglers and bouncing vehicles though. There are several of them floating around. The photography and location shooting are usually pretty good, as they are here. But this one involves so much pandering to one's fondness for violence that it leaves a sour taste. For instance, there is a paramilitary group of DEA agents supposedly in it to help Nick do his job. Actually, their leader (Michael Ironside) is corrupt and intends to steal the dope money. Mainly, these extra half-dozen raggedy killers are there to raise the body count at the cathartic mass slaughter. They don't do anything else of import.

The only performance I really felt came across was Powers Boothe's. He effectively combines an easy-going, relaxed, aw-shucks, genial Texan sensibility with an iron core of greedy turpitude. After he shoots a Mexican subordinate unexpectedly through the forehead (big joke), he comes up with something like, "Oh, heck, ya pay a governor enough around here and ya can shoot anybody ya like. Now clean up this mess. Nothing' for a lady to see."

It's diverting fun but it lacks entirely any of the poetry that Sam Pekinpah might have brought to it while he was still functioning adequately. There's never a pause for reflection or reality intrusions. Every line, every action, seems designed to propel the plot forward, as if the viewer might be bored if the story took a closer look at the everyday lives of its characters. Fun, yes, but condescending fun.

A borderline classic

[pmtelefon · 9/10 · 16 March 2021]

Director Walter Hills hits a triple down the line with "Extreme Prejudice". There are moments of greatness throughout this movie. The cast is top-notch. The script is filled with great dialogue. The action is well staged and very exciting. I first saw this movie in the theater (MovieWorld, Douglaston, NY). I've seen it a bunch of times since. It always feels fresh. There a couple of bumps in the road but they're minor and not worth mentioning. "Extreme Prejudice" is another strong entry in the Hall of Fame resume of Walter Hill. Honorable mention: a dreamy Maria Conchita Alonso.

Enjoyable But Straightforward Tough Guy Drugs Thriller With Top-Notch Cast

[ShootingShark · 6/10 · 29 October 2012]

Jack Benteen is a Texas Ranger on the Mexico border with a big drug smuggling problem by the name of Cash Bailey. A showdown is brewing, but when a mystery team of army special ops show up who also have designs on Bailey's operations, things get complex ...

This is a pretty standard tough guys action thriller, but is better than most due to Hill's taut direction, a strong cast and several interesting subplots and themes. Some of these don't work - the old-pals-in-school schtick is pretty lame and Sorita is a fairly thankless character with nothing much to say - but others do; the military thriller angle gives it a nice kick, Cash is a great villain in his white suit and Panama hat, at times sympathetic but also debauched and psychotic (he has a memorable silent first scene with a scorpion) and the whole thing is a sort of modern day remake of The Wild Bunch, complete with a terrific bloodbath at the end. The music by Jerry Goldsmith and photography by Matthew F. Leonetti are both excellent and lift up the rather dour atmosphere considerably, as do the dusty El Paso locations. The cast of macho men are good; Nolte takes the standard Lee Marvin approach with no blinking and only takes his hat off when he feels safe, while Boothe is a great charismatic villain, all sweaty stubble and darting eyes. Ironside is typically no-nonsense in the lynchpin turncoat role, and I especially like Contreras as the henchman Lupo (see him also in 1941, Repo Man and several other of Hill's movies). The action throughout is interesting and very well choreographed, but for me this is a conventional film improved by good craftsmanship, as opposed to a great movie. Even a minor offering by Hill however is above average and well worth catching. Written by John Milius, Fred Rexer, Deric Washburn and Harry Kleiner.

Dull.

[TomFarrell63 · 4/10 · 19 January 2024]

Saw this was on TV, read the reviews here and thought it would be right up my street, well, how wrong was I?

From a lot of the reviews here, I was expecting a full on action movie with lots of violence and explosions. Well, there was a bit of violence and a few explosions, but then there was a lot of talking, a heck of a lot of talking.

It all became dull rather quickly and I struggled to maintain my interest, although I kept watching hoping things would improve.

It made me yearn to grab the disc of Invasion USA with Chick Norris for some real 80's action!

Maybe the version I saw was edited for TV and some of the good bits were edited out? However, I don't think I'll be buying a disc to find out and compare.

You've seen this kind of movie before but it's still worth the ride because Walter Hill drives it

[chaos-rampant · 21 September 2009]

You know the movie. Drugs across the Southwest border, blasted Texan landscapes, sweaty faces, gas stations in the middle of nowhere, money exchanging hands and gone missing somewhere along the way, maybe a bank robbery. It's that distinctly American type of crime movie given character by the beautiful western setting, a modern update of sheriffs and Mexican outlaws and doublecrossing between old friends now on opposite sides of the law that goes as far back as Boetticher's films, done with a focus on high-octane no-holds-barred action cut straight from Sam Peckinpah's school of blood squibs and slow-mo gunfights.

The story isn't half-bad but Walter Hill has always been an action nut first and foremost and John Milius was never Cormac McCarthy, so you'll forgive Extreme Prejudice for not quite being No Country for Old Men. It's still a good movie, not very surprising truth be told, with some nice dialogue exchanges along the way, a crabby Rip Torn as the old sheriff mentor and Nick Nolte looking mean and badass for most of the film, and if it's let down in the acting department every now and then when some emoting is required, that's because both Michael Ironside and Powers Boothe playing the villains were never the greatest of actors.

The low 6.2 rating the movie has as of this posting tells me the movie has suffered at the hands of sleepy viewers catching it randomly on late night TV in crappy pan-and-scan versions or indifferent video club patrons renting it on VHS. A niche audience comprising of fans of action movies and 70's gritnik crime cinema, the kind of genre Walter Hill has proudly inhabited in the 70's with films like The Driver, watching a good quality widescreen copy like I saw, will have much different things to say.

A modern Western with "Tex Mex border" setting with plenty of action and shootouts

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 11 May 2020]

A redneck Texas Ranger, Nick Nolte, fights a powerful drug kingpin, Powers Boothe, along the Mexican border. Once best friends, they now fight for justice and the heart of the woman : Maria Conchita Alonso, they both love. Meanwhile, there shows up a group of six soldiers of fortune, former CIA team of Vietnam veterans trained in the use of sophisticated hi-tech weaponry, all officially listed as dead, then they carry out a bloody bank heist.

Violent thriller movie with chases, noisy action, thrills, huge body count and a lot of shootouts. This is a modern twilight Western emerged in a different guise and with usual crossfire, pursuits, and constant killings , providing an ideal cover, including a spectacular final in Wild Bunch similar style. Passable acting from duo starring, Nick Nolte as the good guy and Powers Boothe as the bad guy as two old friends now on opposite sides of the law, with standard rivalry over the love interest and who contend each other in the end . Thus, forcing the Ranger to choose between the demands to follow the line of duty and old loyalties. They are well accompanied by a fine support cast such as Rip Torn, Michael Ironside, Clancy Brown, Larry B Scott , William Forsythe, Tommy Lister,among others.

It packs lousy and anticlimatic musical score by the great Jerry Goldsmith who uses too much synthesizer. As well as evocative and atmospheric cinematography by Matthew Leonetti. The picture was professionally made by Walter Hill who comes closer to the old Hollywood shootouts, though directed with no originality, because of his imitation to Sam Peckinpah with an end obviously reprise of Wild Bunch . Hill has a long career from the 70s making notorious films as Hard times, The driver, The warriors, The long riders, Southern Comfort, 48 hours, Streets of fire, Crossroads, Red heat , Another 48 hours, Johnny Handsome, Trespass, Geronimo an American Legend , Wild Bill, Last man standing, Supernova, Undisputed, among others. Rating 6/10. Acceptable and passable.

good B-movie

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 12 January 2017]

Larry McRose (Clancy Brown), Buckman Atwater (William Forsythe), Declan Patrick Coker (Matt Mulhern), Charles Biddle (Larry B. Scott), Luther Fry (Dan Tullis, Jr.), and Major Paul Hackett (Michael Ironside) are officially dead soldiers. They are a part of the secret black ops Zombie Unit led by Hackett. Jack Benteen (Nick Nolte) is a no non-sense Texas Ranger and his school friend Cash Bailey (Powers Boothe) has become a drug lord on the other side of the border. Sarita Cisneros (María Conchita Alonso) is Benteen's latina singer girlfriend. Sheriff Hank Pearson (Rip Torn) is the local cop. Bailey offers Benteen a bribe and Benteen counter-offers for him to walk away from his drug empire.

Director Walter Hill delivers an unabashed hard action B-movie. It's a throwback. Everybody is doing their hard-edged characters. Forsythe has a bit of fun. I like the murky nature of the Zombie Unit. It's a good B-movie delivering an implausible story and good action.

Blood and Guts Action

[gcd70 · 6/10 · 8 January 2008]

The director and the star of "48 HRS" (Walter Hill and Nick Nolte) are re-united for this high energy, violent action film about a primitive Texas ranger who combats Mexican drug lords and a band of hi-tech, ex-military mercenaries with good old fashioned heart, determination and a shotgun.

Sheriff Jack Benteen has his share of problems. Drug runners are nothing short of a pestilence in his town, and the ring leader is his childhood buddy, Cash Bailey. As if that isn't enough, a small group of crack commandos has just begun to do some dirty work locally as well. But if anyone can handle the situation, it's this no nonsense sheriff. Nolte plays the hard-edged lawman convincingly in a forceful movie that contains a level of violence many would call gratuitous.

There is certainly plenty of shoot outs and explosions for the action fan who revels in entertainment that's delivered at break neck speed. Writers John Milius and Fred Rexer, along with screenwriters Deric Washburn and Harry Kleiner, have provided a reasonable plot whilst concentrating on giving the special f/x and weapons crews plenty to do, and they certainly deliver an eye full.

In essence, action is what "Extreme Prejudice" is all about, and it's what the movie does best (or worst depending on your taste). Please avoid this film at all costs if blood and guts gun play is not your scene. Jerry Goldsmith's typical score is quite effective.

Sunday, June 26, 1994 - Video

Pretty good. not great.

[smatysia · 6/10 · 17 August 2018]

An OK action/modern Western movie. Nick Nolte was wasted in this role. His character was humorless, stern, and utterly one-dimensional. Rip Torn was at his best in his role, and Powers Boothe plays his usual villain. Special kudos to Maria Conchita Alonso, who looked and sounded absolutely lovely. But her character was under-utilized. The action scenes were pretty good for the time, quite Peckinpah-esque. Pretty good. not great.

My favorite modern day western!!

[grendel-37 · 10/10 · 8 August 1999]

Walter Hill is one of the most underrated directors, and this is his most underrated movie. A masterpiece, not just of action but dialogue, great character actors. When I first saw this movie, I hated it. Absolutely thought it was the most boring thing I've ever seen. But I wasn't watching it, I was on CQ (you military people will know what that is) and was getting up every five minutes to sign people in. Later on I put the movie in again, and actually sat down and watched it, and listened to it, and it just opened up for me. The dialogue makes this movie, it has lines in it that I feel, that have become part of me. It is really a beautifully written movie, beautifully directed, and littered with some of the finest character actors since RESERVOIR DOGS. Nick Nolte delivering one of his finest performances, in a career littered with great performances. My favorite modern day western! "Hell, you can buy me Cash, you always could. But you can't buy the badge, and one without the other ain't no damn good!" Highly recommended.

Great action scenes, great acting, boring story

[whoman2 · 7/10 · 20 June 2022]

Not a bad movie but painfully slow at times. The characters are good but what really stands out are the REALLY well done action scenes. Worth a viewing for that alone.

Didn't do much for me, average at best.

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 8 August 2007]

Extreme Prejudice is set in Texas where local ranger Jack Benteen (Nick Nolte) is having trouble with the amount of drugs going through his town all coming from Mexico & his once best friend Cash Bailey (Powers Boothe) who are now sworn enemies. To add to his problems a team of special forces ops lead by Major Paul Hackett (Michael Ironside) are sent to the region to rob a bank & take down Bailey, if that wasn't complicated enough Benteen's best friend & mentor Sheriff Hank Pearson (Rip Torn) is killed by drug smugglers & his girl Sarita Cisneros (Maris Conchita Alonso) decides to run off with Bailey after she tires of Jack. Jack decides he has to take Bailey out for all manner of reasons...

Directed by Walter Hill I have to say I didn't think that much of Extreme Prejudice & thought it was strictly average at best. The script by Deric Milius & Harry Kleiner is a little slow going, it lacks any real surprises & is just a bit dull. I also thought Extreme Prejudice was lacking a good villain, I mean all good action flicks need a good villain right? Unfortunately Extreme Prejudice offers us Cash Bailey who is only in the opening 70 odd minutes for about five minutes as he crushes a scorpion, talks to Jack & steals his girl which for me doesn't add up to a particularly memorable or interesting villain. Then there's Hackett & his soldiers who come across as bad guy's but mostly redeem themselves at the end so I wouldn't really call them villains either & that's it really, there's no villain to hate. The character's tend to come & go a bit freely just like Bailey & despite a few shoot outs it's lacking any memorable action scenes. I didn't like the character's too much either, Jack had little personality & the dialogue isn't great either. The only positive thing I can say is that it moves along at a decent enough pace & there are a couple of nice ideas here although they aren't realised to their full potential.

Director Hill does alright, he again casts Nolte as an action hero after 48 Hrs. (1982) which is a strange choice as he isn't. Apparently this is considered a Western but apart from some stupid looking cowboy hats, a shoot at ten paces gunfight & a bar which has a pair of swing doors I don't really see much resemblance here. Extreme Prejudice was destined to fail at the box-office & essentially become a forgotten film as it was up against some terrific competition during 1987, Predator, Lethal Weapon, Robocop, The Running Man, Over the Top, Full Metal Jacket, The Living Daylights, Masters of the Universe, Beverly Hills Cop II, Fatal Beauty, Rent-a-Cop, Stakeout & Steel Dawn amongst other action flicks meant this had a hard time at the box-office & it's not a surprise it's not widely remembered or regarded that highly. I can't say I have any great fondness for it although there is one scene likely to upset the animal lovers where someone impales a rat on the end of his large army knife & it's seem twitching...

Technically the film is fine, it's well made for what it is. The action scenes are a bit low key & there's nothing that memorable here. The acting is alright with a good cast but so what? I've always liked Ironside when he's playing the bad guy & he's pretty good in this although Conchita Alonso is rubbish as usual.

Extreme Prejudice isn't an action film that particularly stood out for me, it's alright with some decent shoot outs & some good actors but as a whole I just felt there was something missing. Could have been better but it could also have been worse, worth a watch if you've got nothing better to do.

"Right way's the hardest, wrong way's the easiest."

[Gareth_Hacking · 8/10 · 30 September 2007]

One of Walter Hill's many overlooked and undervalued films, Extreme Prejudice is a modern day western, set squarely on the US/Mexican border.

For an action film, it's unusually structured, with two separate strands vying for prominence. On the one hand we have Texas Ranger Jack Benteen (Nick Nolte, looking particularly sharp), versus childhood friend, now drug lord Cash Bailey (Powers Boothe), battling over both the drug trade and Sarita Cisneros (Maria Conchita Alonso), a Mexican singer who loves them both. But what is a supposedly deceased US army unit doing in town? These guys are on a mission, and while they might not like their orders, they'll carry them out to the best of their ability. But what their mission is, they or us are never to sure of.

The film is filled with to the brim with fine character actors, chewing up and spitting out the tough-guy dialogue with relish. Everyone is on fine form though Rip Torn, as Benteen's predecessor and Clancy Brown, as the unit's second-in-command are of particular note.

Well worth a look if you ever get the chance.

The Zombie Unit.

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 23 September 2014]

Extreme Prejudice is directed by Walter Hill and collectively written by John Milius, Fred Rexer, Deric Washburn and Harry Kleiner. It stars Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, Maria Conchita Alonso, Michael Ironside, Rip Torn, Clancy Brown, William Forsythe and Matt Mulhern. Music is by Jerry Goldsmith and cinematography by Matthew F. Leonetti.

Well it's a good day for a killing.

Walter Hill homages and parodies the splinter of action cinema that encompasses the grizzled law enforcer tracking the bad guy, who in this case, was once a friend. That's the basic set up for Hill's brooding and bloody Extreme Prejudice. Action takes place down on the US/Mexico border, Ranger Jack Benteen (Nolte) is hunting his one time pal - and the man he shares his woman's love with – Cash Bailey (Boothe), who has taken up drug smuggling as his employment of choice. Complicating matters is that there is a gang of ex-forces specialists in the town ready to raid the bank for some funds and documents to nail Bailey. Loyalties are tested, twists, turns and bloody shocks do follow.

Much of the film's strength is gained from the casting, it's a roll call of macho performers who combined make up a CV with enough beef to feed the third world. Even Alonso as the sole female of note fits the requisite toughness exam (she would do The Running Man this same year and go on to star in Predator 2). Much of the narrative involves brooding and tough talk, a slow burn approach from Hill who adds some meat to the bones of the main characters. Photography is pleasing, with actual locations shimmering on the screen, and Goldsmith's score is a pulser that is a fore runner to his score for Total Recall 3 years later.

At times it's offbeat, at others it's gripping in its sweaty intensity, and then there is the balletic violence which Hill has proved himself to be an astute purveyor of, crowned here by his homage to Peckinpah's glorious finale in The Wild Bunch.

Lean and tough with bodies and butchness everywhere. 7.5/10

Pretty weak

[wmjahn · 3/10 · 2 August 2006]

Walter Hill has done some GREAT movies (HARD TIMES, his first, is still his best, THE DRIVER, 48 HRS, TRESPASS is pretty thrilling too), but this is among is weak works, unfortunately NICK NOLTE, whom I love to watch, does a hammy job (on purpose, probably), the whole movie is poorly photographed (it looks like "made for TV", but in fact I have seen better photographed "made for TV"-movies !), all the other actors without exception (!) seem just to walk through a storyline (to get their salary), which is really just a poor rip-off (without any of the feeling and charm) of THE WILD BUNCH. And IF it's meant "tongue-in-cheek", then it wasn't really entertaining either, the few cynical comments weren't witty enough.

I still remember the trailer they used to promote this movie in Europe (it's a different trailer than the one here on the IMDb, which is a weak trailer, too) and it was in fact a TERRIFIC trailer, just great, with the soldiers being introduced in scenes I never saw in the movie (you never see the soldiers sparkling in Nolte's glasses in the movie either...), so I remember having felt let down when I saw it first (nearly 20 years ago), but recently I wondered if it's time for a new viewing, when it was aired on TV here a few days ago: well, as said above my memory was unfortunately right and it still has not improved with time (never will).

Watching this, one will understand why the very promising career of Walter HILL as director has unfortunately declined. A pity!