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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
aka Marine Issue, September 9, 2001
This review is from: Instant Justice [VHS] (VHS Tape)
There was a time when Michael Pare had some integrity as an actor in films like Eddie and The Cruisers, but for some inexplicable reason, he took the action hero route a la Sly and Arnold, thereby abandoning the pretence of craft in favour of guts and glory. Walter Hill's Streets of Fire was perhaps the perfect combination of Pare's romantic tough guy appeal. Perhaps his sense of machismo resented how his initial success stemmed from his physical beauty. Pare is still beautiful in this film directed by Christopher Bentley, even a bar room brawl has homoeroticism, but he has minimised himself to playing a humourless and sexless Marine Corp sergeant Scott Youngblood who visits Madrid to see his sister, who has been killed by the local bad guys. Bentley gives Pare a shower scene with multiple mirror reflection, but then focuses on Tawny Kitaen joining him in it. Kitaen is the ubiquitious female but thankfully her sense of humour livens things up. She looks a bit like Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson though she has bad model hair, but scores a laugh when she tells Pare to "get offa my lungs". Pare himself scores a laugh with his "not interested" in deadpan to a female hustler at the bar which precedes the brawl. Given that this is an actioner, Bentley supplies the necessary screen footage of brawls, car chases, and shootouts, but I also liked the way bulls are used as decoys as a nice contextual touch since the film was made in Spain and it appears that the extras are dubbed. There is a cut from a gun aimed at someone to a gun fired at target practice, a drug deal exchange deafened by the noise of a tunnel water fountain, but also a frig being opened in a dark room by the photographer to get a beer after he had warned Pare about entering when the red light is on. The screenplay by Craig T Rumar features awful lines like "I gotta do it first and I gotta do it fast" and the photographer to Pare "God help me if you're not Captain America" and "You poor fool". The Pare/Kitaen shower scene is noteworthy for being neither romantic or erotic, more Bentley unable to help Kitaen expose her acting limitations.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Big, Bad, Terrible Movie., April 22, 2002
This review is from: Instant Justice [VHS] (VHS Tape)
...I wont go into the synopsis of plot as it has alredy been addressed...This movie is so incredulously ridiculous that its worth having just to sit and make fun of. All the action in this movie is such [fake].. Guy goes AWOLL and commits violation after violation of every code in the U.C.M.J. and the Corps. just overlook those little discretions and roll out the red carpet for him to come back?! Get real. This isn't even good make believe. Lousy acting too...
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Have a drink on Uncle Sam, February 22, 2010
This review is from: Instant Justice [VHS] (VHS Tape)
While choosing this evenings B action we took a trip back to 1987 with a very minimally known film called Instant Justice. After reading the 3 other reviews we just knew this one had to be hilarious. When it's one star across the board with everyone complaining it's the worst movie they've ever seen, we get pumped up seeing a great opportunity to get an hour and a half of great laughs. See the problem with going into a movie like this lies simply on your reasoning for watching. If you're in hopes of a great laugh then obviously this would be a good choice. However if you want a serious movie why would you go this route? You can't expect all that much from a straight to video release that still isn't out on DVD. C'mon even Death Ring is out and for sale on DVD, and if that's the case then anything not on DVD can't be looked upon as anything more then a laugh.
Instant Justice is yet another revenge story, which makes up just about 95% of the 80's/90's action market, with US Marine Scott Youngblood. We swear that's his actual last name in the movie. He's just about to be sent off to Japan when he decides to take a quick trip to Spain to see his sister. Turns out his sister was killed by a guy named Silke and one named Dutch (Oh yeah we have a character named Dutch folks, One star right there) and now he tearing through Spain one Spaniard time with American force. Greatest country in the world! Along his quest are handfuls of hilarious brawls including our favorite one in a bar where he takes out seven guys with ease. He gets hit in the face with a chair and continues taking out an ultimate machismo with ease. He then finishes his drink, slams some money down, and says "have a drink on Uncle Sam" which just had to be our review title.
Despite the poor reviews this movie really had a lot going for it in the unintentional comedy department. Sure it wasn't anything thing great, or even up to Sid's standards for a 5 star B effort, but it had enough to keep it on til the ending credits. The acting was really something special with main actor Michael Pare's horrible delivery. He would keep raising his voice while he finished his sentence leaving us cracking up all the way through. Even White Snake groupie Tawny Kitaen made a nice appearance shortly before she disappeared off the face of the earth. All in all Instant Justice isn't something you'd need to see more then once, but is worth one watch for the right viewer. Odds are you won't come across it to find out for yourself anyway.
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