JUDGMENT NIGHT is a movie featuring an ensemble cast who find themselves enduring a night from hell when they're pursued by a vengeful street gang with murder in mind. As it's directed by Stephen Hopkins, who made PREDATOR 2 and THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS, it has potential to be good, but sadly it comes a cropper before long and never lives up to that early promise.
The problem with the film is the story, or lack of it. Okay, so the setup is halfway decent, but at around the halfway mark things really start to fall apart and it becomes just a straightforward chase flick with an us-vs-them mentality. Sadly, the lethargic and badly-handled action sequences, involving shoot-outs and fist-fights, are nowhere near good enough to make up for the lack of a decent narrative, making this an entirely forgettable movie when it comes down to it.
One of the most interesting things about the production is the cast, half of whom would go on to greater glory. Stephen Dorff and Cuba Gooding Jr. are two of the youthful stars; the former is effectively edgy but the latter's acting is so cheesy that you wonder how he found later fame and fortune. Jeremy Piven is better, but the presence of Emilio Estevez reminds you of why he never made it big; he has zero screen presence.
The bad guys are more interesting, although the characterisation is slimmer. Denis Leary is the charismatic chief villain, but I found his endless threats became pretty routine before long and I was dying to see someone off him. Much better is the entirely underrated Peter Greene (PULP FICTION), who SHOULD have been the main bad guy because he's excellently slimy, as ever, and indeed the best thing in the whole movie.
The problem with the film is the story, or lack of it. Okay, so the setup is halfway decent, but at around the halfway mark things really start to fall apart and it becomes just a straightforward chase flick with an us-vs-them mentality. Sadly, the lethargic and badly-handled action sequences, involving shoot-outs and fist-fights, are nowhere near good enough to make up for the lack of a decent narrative, making this an entirely forgettable movie when it comes down to it.
One of the most interesting things about the production is the cast, half of whom would go on to greater glory. Stephen Dorff and Cuba Gooding Jr. are two of the youthful stars; the former is effectively edgy but the latter's acting is so cheesy that you wonder how he found later fame and fortune. Jeremy Piven is better, but the presence of Emilio Estevez reminds you of why he never made it big; he has zero screen presence.
The bad guys are more interesting, although the characterisation is slimmer. Denis Leary is the charismatic chief villain, but I found his endless threats became pretty routine before long and I was dying to see someone off him. Much better is the entirely underrated Peter Greene (PULP FICTION), who SHOULD have been the main bad guy because he's excellently slimy, as ever, and indeed the best thing in the whole movie.