Extreme Prejudice (1987)

First thing first, I thought they were on to me on the opening intro scene when the typing of the top secret mission started. Under the code word Zombie Unit the words started to unfold and there before my eyes “werewolf” was I under surveillance? Had they taken an Extreme Prejudice action out on me? I sat there throughout the performance ready to pounce into action but then it dawned on me the film is from 1987 and I shook my head and laughed “oh you silly wolfman!”

Massive fan of director Walter Hill’s 1979 classic street gang road trip The Warriors from a teenager. I admit to have completely missing this film from the VHS racks of my local video stores at the time. Seriously how could this of slipped me by? This action film has a crazy assemble of 80’s stars all thrown in a blender with a big dash of tabasco sauce and dumped on the Texas, Mexico border. Check these names – Nick Nolte, Michael Ironside, Powers Boothe, Rip Torn, Clancy “Krusty Krab” Brown, William Forsythe, John Dennis Johnston and muscle bound Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister and even Larry B. Scott from Space Camp! I kid you not.

You get a gang of badass deceased elite army guys, who are like a naughty version of The A-Team. A band of brothers who are in town looking real dodgy and up to something? Standing tall and in everyone’s way is a righteous Texas Ranger.

Taglines – An army of forgotten heroes, all officially dead. They live for combat. Now they’ve met the wrong man.

Jack Benteen, played by Nolte, is our hero Jack who used to be best buddies with drug lord kingpin Cash Bailey (Powers) a tough nonsenses renegade who has crossed the border and set up his army and empire in Mexico. Stuck in between these two old friends is a luscious latina feisty femme fatale Sarita Cisneros, played by the sexy Maria Conchita Alonso (who took on the psychotic alien in Predator 2 and kept dashing about with Arnie on The Running Man)

Now chuck in a boom bunny, a fist fight with a scorpion, an old fashioned duel, shoot outs, explosions, back stabbing, tough face offs, a love triangle and a ton load of banter and one liners. You got yourself one amazing 80’s action film but hey it’s written by John Milius so really you wouldn’t expect anything else but exciting explosive entertainment.

Sgt. Buck Atwater – Dip me in shit and roll me in sugar, man!

Fun Fact – The title comes from a line of dialog written in the script. The line “terminate with extreme prejudice” first appears on film in Apocalypse Now (1979)  and sounds like it was used in real operations during the Vietnam war. Both films were written by John Milius.

Check it out if you get a chance.
Adiós por ahora desde el wolfman

Check this amazing trailer for Extreme Prejudice introducing the gang. It’s so brilliant.

Further Reading Links

Extreme Prejudice 1987 IMDB

Roger Ebert Review