Extreme Justice

Mark L. Lester has directed some of the most enjoyably trashy movies ever ("Roller Boogie," "Class of 1984," "Gold of the Amazon Women" etc.), mostly working in the low-budget direct- to-video or TV movie realm though he briefly entered the mainstream with the Stephen King adaptation "Firestarter" and Stallone vehicle "Commando." I haven't seen much of his more recent work, but always perk up when I see his name on a DVD or old VHS tape--his movies are sometimes ridiculous but they're almost always energetic and entertaining.

This is actually one of his more respectable efforts, as it's a fairly effective indictment of police corruption that was made at a time when LAPD was under close scrutiny for just that. Lou Diamond Phillips plays a conscientious (but incongruously long-haired) young police officer recruited to a special unit, teamed with his mentor Scott Glenn. They're assigned to track down serial murderers, rapists and robbers, but somehow every time they apprehend the bad guys, all the perps and usually a few innocent bystanders end up dead--the whole squad is way too trigger-happy, esp. Glenn. Phillips gets increasingly uncomfortable with this, leading to the inevitable tension (a la the later "Training Day") between cop veteran and newbie partner.

Both leads are good, the violent action is solidly handled, and the movie is less campy but no less fun than many of Lester's other films. It's nothing great, but it's a solid "B" flick.