It would not be an unfair statement to refer to Walter Hill as one of Sam Peckinpah's spiritual successors. His gritty, masculine fueled neo-westerns helped to define the 80's and 90's, with stories of criminals, soldiers, and lawmen coalescing into an oeuvre of sweat soaked machismo. Extreme Prejudice is perhaps the finest example. Blending post cold war paranoia with Hill's patented southern ambiance, the classic tropes of two friends turned enemies is dialed up to eleven with endless homages to The Wild Bunch. Featuring an iconic ensemble of character actors and an unforgettable climax, this is one of Hill's defining offerings.
Jack and Cash are
two childhood friends that have taken different paths, putting them at odds on
opposite sides of the law. Their rivalry becomes complicated when a black ops
team of soldiers arrives in their Texas-Mexico territory with a mysterious
agenda, leading to the ultimate showdown. One of the most immediate
characteristics of this film is how it attempts to encapsulate Reagan-era
sensibilities. Drug dealers from an aesthetically savage Mexico are
wolves at the "civilized" American border. The scenes in Texas
proper are filled with angles and order while the scenes in Mexico are chaotic
and wild, drenched with blood and burnt colors. The government is filled
with shadowy agents and soldiers who are presumed dead that stalk the byways as
professional mercenaries.
In the middle is
Nick Nolte's Jack Benteen. Loosely based on a real Texas Ranger, this is
perhaps the most morally uncompromised character of Nolte’s career. His foil is
Powers Boothe's Cash. Boothe brings his dependable swagger to a role
he vanishes inside. In the middle are the "zombie" squad
soldiers led by Michael Ironside. Clancy Brown, William Forsythe, and
Larry Scott portray some of the members. The legendary Rip Torn plays
Jack's partner and mentor. The result is one of the ancestors of No
Country for Old Men. Much like Flashpoint, Extreme
Prejudice takes the neo-western and infuses it with conspiracy and
violence, threads that would eventually be woven into masterworks by McCarthy
and the Coens.
Matthew Leonetti lenses the action with sweaty, focused shots that highlight
the brutality of the microcosm of Hill's design. While the first act repeats
many tropes of the era, as it descends into its Peckinpah laced finale, the vibe
also changes as the rage that has been simmering finally boils over and the
result is a masterfully excited gunfight in a border town that features
gruesome deaths and a bona fide high noon scenario.
Now available for digital rental or via a sterling Blu-Ray from Vestron, Extreme Prejudice both lampoons the extremes of the time in which it was conceived and pays respects to the classics of the genre that inspired it while hinting at greatness still to come. Rough, unpolished and fully charged, this is one of the many relics of the 80's that deserves a revisit.
--Kyle
Jonathan