Judgment Night
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Movie Reviews of Judgment Night
Movie Review: Great suspense, awesome set-pieces.
Summary: 5 Stars
Since seeing this film I've never been comfortable with Denis Leary as a comedian because he's so damn convincing as the cold-hearted bad guy in this. I think he's a great actor but this is the movie to see him in as it's A. His best performance and B. One of the best villains ever in movies.
Leary plays Fallon, a dangerous criminal from Chicago's bad side. And when four middle class pals from the quiet suburbs cross him and witness a murder a chase across derelict landscapes follows. The spoon-fed quartet are way out of their comfort zone and have no idea how to navigate the ghetto or deal with its dwellers. Peter Greene, an actor always like to see, plays Sykes, one of Fallon's cohorts as well as Everlast from the rap group House of Pain as Rhodes. They sure do make a threatening impression.
Judgment Night kind of comes across as a modern, urban Deliverance. There are many similarities between them but Judgment Night clearly has more excitement. Estevez (who was cast very late after Tom Cruise and Christian Slater turned down the lead role), Gooding Jnr, Piven and Dorff play well off each other and Piven especially seems to really get into the whiny runt of his character. Though the editors really should have cut down the in-fighting and petty bickering between the quartet as it often slows the film down to a complete stop.
Director Stephen Hopkins (who also did Predator 2 and Blown Away) uses creeping camera movements and neo-noir lighting to provoke multiple eerie moments as well as a great deal of tension. Slow-mo and warped sound effects are also used to great effect in the finale. Alan Silvestri's score is also one of his best, alternating between several different moods. His first score (electronic based) was rejected by Hopkins but that difficult decision proved be a good judgment (ha!) as the end result is one of the film's best features.
Judgment Night is certainly an overlooked tour-de-force and is a brilliant action film with fine performances all round, but Leary completely and utterly steals the show.
The DVD by Universal brilliantly presents Judgment Night in it's proper aspect ratio of 2.35:1 with the gothic atmosphere and brooding silhouette photography in all its widescreen glory. The DTS sound design (Judgment Night was one of the first films recorded in this format) sounds brilliant too. The fact that this film has not yet been released on Blu Ray is a gross oversight by Universal. Judgment Night in high-def, those lonely, desolate cityscapes in 1080p would be amazing. We can but wait.
Movie Review: Great Thriller
Summary: 5 Stars
Judgement Night (1993) Is an action thriller about 4 buddies who get stuck in traffic on their way to a boxing match & decide to take a short cut through the roughest part of Chicago. (Bad idea!) They end up losing their vehicle, witnessing a murder & being chased through the night by a sinister crimeboss & his ruthless gang through Chicago's projects, rail yards & sewers. Needless to say, these guys are in for a lonnng night!
When I first saw this movie several years back, I wasn't expecting a whole lot cuz I had never heard of it & fig it was just one of those typical straight to video "B" movies. But after viewing it, I was pleasantly surprised at how captivating & fairly believable the plot was. Dennis Leary - who plays the gang leader, is one of the most sinister bad guys i've ever seen on film and Emilio Estevez, Jeremy Piven & Cuba Gooding Jr. not only play convincing longtime buddies but really make you believe that these guys are in real danger of losing their lives at any moment. The movie is well directed by Stephen Hopkins (Predator 2, 24 Season 1) & has some of the best lighting & sets that i've ever seen in a movie. The film is also very well paced & the action, suspense & overall feeling of dread on the part of the 4 friends is very well done. Highly reccomended.
Cast includes: Emilio Estevez, Cuba Gooding Jr., Denis Leary, Stephen Dorff, & Jeremy Piven.
Movie Review: On the edge of your seat
Summary: 5 Stars
I think you might find this review funny. When I first watched this movie in 94 it kept you on the edge of your seat. You never know what was going to happen next. It made you jump off of your seat when you didn't expect it. The funny thing is my husband is from Chicago, the north side, the good side, :)) and we were moving there when I first saw this moving. My 10 yr old son watched it with us. Needless to say he did not want to move to chicago after watching this movie. :)) I became a fan of Dennis Leary after watching this movie as well as the actors that was on his side. I like the others as well too. So the moral of the story is be careful in Chicago. [...]
Movie Review: Great film, but where are the extras???
Summary: 5 Stars
After the miserable first release of Good Times-DVD, I expected a special collector's edition from UNIVERSAL.Of course, I should get disappointed - except of one lousy trailer there is nothing on the DVD!
Although it was a nice try from UNIVERSAL to worth up the DVD with a DTS-Soundtrack, the DVD actually only matches the first release with its better picture-quality on this DVD-9!
The film itself of course is some great-laconic action-flic with great acting-performances (Leary is a standout as Fellon, the bad guy!).
Movie Review: Judgement Night
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this movie and have rented it many times hence the reason I purchased the movie. The Cat & mouse chase is brillient and the actors are also great. However I could not view this purchased movie as it is not the same region as Australia. Therefore I won't be purchasing any more movies from this website.