Beyond Justice (1992)

Very well executed

It is a performances centric movie

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Heiress Christine Sanders (stiffly played by the striking Carol Alt) hires former CIA agent turned mercenary Tom Burton (Rutger Hauer coasting along on automatic pilot) to go to Morocco and rescue her bratty kidnapped son Robert (an obnoxious portrayal by David Flossi).Sound tense and exciting? Well, it just ain't. Although competently directed by Duccio Tessari, the talky script, sluggish pace, and infrequent blandly staged action set pieces all ensure that this movie fizzles when it ought to sizzle. Worse yet, Alt's cardboard acting and plastic personality make it impossible to care about her character while the annoying abducted kid just isn't worth all the effort everyone exerts to save him. Fortunately, the solid supporting cast keep this picture watchable: Omar Sharif as hearty sheik Emir Beni-Zair, Kabir Bedi as Christine's dashing husband Moulet, Brett Halsey as the two-fisted Sal Coumo, Peter Sands as Burton's rugged partner James Ross, and Elliott Gould as smitten lawyer Red Merchantson. In addition, the insights into Arabic culture are pretty interesting and insightful, the exotic desert locations are stunning, Giorgio Di Battista's glossy cinematography supplies a pleasing polished look, and Ennio Morricone comes through with a typically lush and sweeping score. A strictly passable diversion.

Think about all the lives lost in this movie. For what? The kid who's kidnapped by his own father winds up back with his Mom after the father has a change of heart. Really? And the grandfather Emir who engineered the whole thing just shrugs it all off and let's the kid make his own decision at the end of the story.Obviously someone must have thought all of this was a good idea because Omar Sharif and Elliott Gould signed on to back up Rutger Hauer and Carol Alt in this desert adventure. Hauer portrays mercenary Tom Burton, hired by business executive Christine Sanders (Alt) to rescue her son after he's whisked off to Morocco by her ex (Kabir Bedi). As an actress, Alt is one fantastic model, and virtually every scene with her in it is constructed basically to show off her fine legs. The kid playing her son must have been some kind of studio political appointment because he can't act and his demeanor never matches the situation he's in.There are a couple of interesting bits here. That huge poster of Bogart in "Casablanca" simply overwhelmed that early scene at the Moroccan airport, and this has got to be the latest I've ever seen a horse brought down by a trip wire (even though it looks like someone bashed it with a machine gun) during late battle action. If made in the U.S., the PETA folks would have been all over this one. But you know when I became convinced this was a clunker? At one point, Rutger Hauer's character actually comes out with the line - "Go ahead, make my day".

I recently had the pleasure of watching this movie at a friend's house and let me tell you, it sucks major cock. Rutger Hauer's filmography is like an avalanche. Start out with something decent like "BladeRunner" and then roughly ten years later star in a cut and paste mess known as "Beyond Justice". Of course the movie should be called "Beyond Saving" because let's face it, if you sit through this crap you're brain dead. Me and my buddy managed to get through about 57 minutes, and then once we realized we didn't have the damnedest idea what was going on, we fast-forwarded to the last 11 minutes where in the aftermath of a huge shootout the previous hunter/hunted characters had come together in an effort to fight a larger enemy. I was able to extrapolate the entire plot from the last hour without having watched it. And just a quick aside on the box art for the DVD: Putting the heads of all the characters and adding swirlies all around them makes it look like a collection of Twilight Zone episodes.Anyhow, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say anyone who picks up the box and looks at the DVD case is probably going to leave with about as much understanding of the film as I did, and I actually watched most of it. So do yourself and track down every copy and burn it in a pyre that we can all dance around like magic wood nymphs.

I never heard of this Italian made film...I caught on Long Islands ch.55 late night movie.. I was amazed.. its a fascinating adventure, beautifully photographed and well acted.. Sustained my interest even at this 2am viewing! It is somewhat cliched, and stereotypic, but an exciting tale well told.. In view of our present world conflict, it gives some insight into the tribal nomadic existences of the various cults that still exist !!, and the mores and values which still persist. Worth seeing...