Eddie Dodd is a New York City lawyer with a noted history of sixties civil rights cases who has lapsed into defending drug-pushing hoodlums. He takes the case of Shu Kai Kim, a man wrongfully convicted for a streetgang killing eight years prior, and discovers that Kim was just the patsy in a big operation stretching all the way to the DA's office.
Even if you don't normally rate courtroom thrillers or cop movies, check this one out - it is handsomely made by a much underrated director, has a terrific script that keeps pulling off great twists and features a sensational show-stopping performance by Woods. Eddie Dodd is a fascinating character type almost unique in eighties movies; a pot-smoking old hippy who used to have a set of principles and is trying to pretend he still does. It's the only example I've ever found that picks at the hell-no-we-won't-go generation who turned into BMW-driving executives for life insurance companies, and Woods (complete with a poofy ponytail) revs it up for all it's worth, sleazy and well-intentioned at the same time. When the conservative whitebread DA accuses him of being a man who defends coke pushers for free, his response is, "Coke pushers pay cash, Mr Reynard. That subsidises the pot possession cases. They're free.". The rest of the cast are excellent, with lots of great players in the small roles (Hallahan, Bower, Guzman, Fuller) and Wesley Strick's great dialogue makes them jump off the screen with immediacy. Equally good is the piano and bass score by Brad Fiedel and there is some inspired use of classic sixties anthems, as well as a great end-credits song by Lou Reed (another sixties survivor) called Busload Of Faith. All this, combined with Ruben's assured direction and classy photography by John W. Lindley, add up to a legal thriller that is way above average; atmospheric, exciting, dramatic and it doesn't take itself too seriously. Don't miss it. The UK print of this movie I own has a dumb alternative title, Fighting Justice.
Even if you don't normally rate courtroom thrillers or cop movies, check this one out - it is handsomely made by a much underrated director, has a terrific script that keeps pulling off great twists and features a sensational show-stopping performance by Woods. Eddie Dodd is a fascinating character type almost unique in eighties movies; a pot-smoking old hippy who used to have a set of principles and is trying to pretend he still does. It's the only example I've ever found that picks at the hell-no-we-won't-go generation who turned into BMW-driving executives for life insurance companies, and Woods (complete with a poofy ponytail) revs it up for all it's worth, sleazy and well-intentioned at the same time. When the conservative whitebread DA accuses him of being a man who defends coke pushers for free, his response is, "Coke pushers pay cash, Mr Reynard. That subsidises the pot possession cases. They're free.". The rest of the cast are excellent, with lots of great players in the small roles (Hallahan, Bower, Guzman, Fuller) and Wesley Strick's great dialogue makes them jump off the screen with immediacy. Equally good is the piano and bass score by Brad Fiedel and there is some inspired use of classic sixties anthems, as well as a great end-credits song by Lou Reed (another sixties survivor) called Busload Of Faith. All this, combined with Ruben's assured direction and classy photography by John W. Lindley, add up to a legal thriller that is way above average; atmospheric, exciting, dramatic and it doesn't take itself too seriously. Don't miss it. The UK print of this movie I own has a dumb alternative title, Fighting Justice.