Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.0

Final Justice Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman January 12, 2022

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, which may help to explain why Final Justice takes place in Malta. There's a rather fun Zoom like conversation between some of the creative staff on the film included on this disc as a supplement, and in it writer and director Greydon Clark talks about how he was approached with information that the island nation was offering substantial production credits for use of a studio there, a studio which had a rather impressive and outsized tank for any water scenes (and just for good measure, one whose backdrop was the actual ocean, meaning if things could be framed correctly, scenes would look like they were taking place on the wide open seas). Clark toured the facility and was enthused about making a film there, but there was just one little problem: he didn't have any projects in the pipeline, and certainly none that would benefit from either a Maltese location or water sequences. The result of Clark's ruminations about this situation is, of course, Final Justice, a film which, if remembered at all, is probably best known to fans with a certain jaded sensibility from its appearance on Mystery Science Theater 3000. That very appearance may hint at this film's kind of ridiculous ambience, which sought to offer a kind of hefty Joe Don Baker as a putative "action hero".

Just the first of several (unintentionally) comical moments takes place in the film's opening vignette, which documents a supposed "car crash" in Texas which clearly has the cars not actually colliding, but which of course leads to unmotivated mayhem, because how else are you gonna get to Malta? The "crash" (such as it is) involves two gangsters, siblings Joseph (Venantino Venantini) and Anthony Palermo (Elvisio Cannori), who quickly murder the guy they didn't collide with for no apparent reason, and then a few minutes later in an equally inexplicable moment, they kill a sheriff named Bob (producer, writer and director Greydon Clark), a partner of focal character Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III (Joe Don Baker), a character whose name clearly identifies his supposed "multicultural" ancestry.

Geronimo chases the two into a kind of overgrown area, where they supposedly slip over the border into Mexico, which they feel will keep them safe from their pursuer, who is standing a couple of feet away from them. Suffice it to say that a justice seeker like Geronimo isn't going to let a little matter like national sovereignity and correct police procedure get in the way of him catching his men, though by the time the fracas is over, only Joseph is alive, vowing revenge as Geronimo takes him into custody.

Through a completely preposterous setup which of course was necessitated by the whole Maltese credit situation, Geronimo is tasked with getting Palermo to, well, Malta, which is where the rest of the film takes place. Unsurprisingly, Palermo is able to escape custody about as soon as the two land there, and Geronimo finds himself up against not just an elusive prey, but also the local apparently mostly incompetent constabulary, who are not that fond of having a Texas lawman in their midst. Also unsurprisingly, Geronimo finds an unlikely ally in a local female cop named Maria Cassar (Helena Dalli, billed as Helena Abella).

The plot mechanics are clunky enough, but the acting styles are often all over the place, and there's a kind of sleaziness to the proceedings that is probably best exemplified by completely gratuitous female nudity in any number of scenes (not that there's anything wrong with that, of course). Baker isn't especially agile and frankly looks hilarious in an oversized brown leisure suit with a gigantic sheriff's star pinned to his chest. Some of the locations are scenic enough, but also kind of comically, it looks to me like Clark actually didn't use the tank, but instead opted for some bayside material during a big boat chase between Geronimo and Palermo.

Final Justice Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Final Justice is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD's Rewind Collection, an imprint of MVD Visual, with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. As is often the case with these MVD Rewind releases, there's really no technical information offered in the packaging about what element was used, its provenance or any restoration that might have been done. This is an often pretty rough look transfer, not just due to a frequently very gritty grain field (which can approach pixellation with blue and yellow highlights), but also due to recurrent (if usually minor) damage in the form of nicks, scratches and white flecks (a cursory parsing of many of the screenshots I've uploaded to accompany this review will disclose some of these deficits). There are also some curious variations in brightness and clarity, with some scenes suddenly experiencing pretty major spikes in grain for no apparent reason (i.e., lighting sources really don't change much, etc.). Again, looking through all of the screenshots can show some of these variations. Some of the most brightly lit outdoor material actually pops rather well, and in the transfer's best moments, fine detail can be decent if not overly impressive. I've set my "official" score on the low side to temper expectations, but there are at least some passing moments here that approach 3.5 territory.

Final Justice Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Final Justice features an LPCM 2.0 track which is officially listed as stereo on the packaging, though the film was released in mono (according to the IMDb) and I am frankly not hearing a very wide or separated audio presentation here. One way or the other, it seems evident several of the actors were probably dubbed or at least post-looped, and as such ambience and reverb can occasionally vary, with some of the dialogue sounding pretty boxy and sibilant. Music and effects are decently rendered, but again can sound shallow and echo laden. Optional English subtitles are available.

Final Justice Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Making of Final Justice (HD; 1:15:12) is an unexpectedly in depth exploration of the film's production, with a Zoom like interface featuring writer and director Greydon Clark, editor Larry Bock and cinematographer Nicholas von Sternberg (some may feel "how far the mighty surnames have fallen").


• Commentary by Hack the Movies can be accessed under the Setup Menu.


• Trailers includes Final Justice ( ), along with trailers for other releases from MVD.

Additionally, a fold out mini poster is housed in the keepcase, and packaging features a slipcover.

Final Justice Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The trio of commentators from Hack the Movies include two guys who delightedly relate how many times they've seen this film, though I have to assume at least one of those times might have been the Mystery Science Theater 3000 takedown, since even the commentators can't really take anything on screen very seriously. Clark speaks to how "lucky" he's been in a career that has seen him helm a grab bag of outings, but those watching Final Justice may consider mere "luck" to be an inadequate explanation for how something this wobbly got made. Video and audio both encounter some hurdles, but cult enthusiasts who are considering making a purchase may enjoy the really unexpectedly fun conversation between Clark, Bock and von Sternberg.