Retro Review time again at Last Movie Outpost. A little-discussed movie, these days, Extreme Prejudice (1987) is a modern-day Western. It’s a real shame that you don’t hear more about it. It’s a really solid movie and one of my favorites.
Besides some great action, the cast of Extreme Prejudice is full of great actors. Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, Rip Torn, Clancy Brown, Michael Ironside, and more!. Last, but not least, it is written by John Milius and directed by Walter Hill. Look at that recipe. You know you are in for a good time.
The story starts with a bunch of plainclothes Army soldiers meeting up at an airport to start another clandestine mission. Then we cut to Nolte’s character, a Texas Ranger who is out looking for a couple of sh*tbags at the border. This eventually leads to a shootout, and we learn that Nolte’s old best buddy from high school is now a drug lord just across the river in Mexico. A drug lord and ex-BBF that is now also having an affair with Nolte’s wife.
The black ops unit’s story weaves in and out of this as they rob a bank as part of their mission… supposedly. This brings them into contact with the Texas Ranger and the drug lord after one of them gets killed in the botched robbery and another is captured.
Honestly, it is a little hard to explain the plot and storyline of Extreme Prejudice from here to you without it ruining the movie for those who haven’t seen it. It has some twists and turns that build the story, ratcheting things up and up, right until the amazing, action-packed ending. Milius wrote the ending in homage to The Wild Bunch but there are more rounds fired and more dead Mexicans in this version.
The movie is full of great characters. Nolte was based on a real-life Texas Ranger, even dressing like him and buying the same Colt Commander pistol used by his inspiration. Even down to the custom grips on the pistol. Rip Torn plays an old friend of Nolte’s and a local Sheriff. He gets one of the best lines:
“A politician is just one step up from a pedophile.”
Another line spoken by William Forsythe as an insult to his buddy during an act at the bank is the first time I ever heard it in use and would get this entire website zucked from orbit if I were to type it. You’ll even like the old best buddy drug kingpin, played by Boothe.
The action is excellent and the gunplay is exceptional. Extreme Prejudice is an 80s action thriller masterpiece and gets my highest recommendation.
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