Rating summary
| Movie |  | 3.0 |
| Video |  | 4.0 |
| Audio |  | 3.5 |
| Extras |  | 1.0 |
| Overall | | 3.5 |
Steele Justice Blu-ray Movie Review
Reviewed by Brian Orndorf April 23, 2016
Just what does one do with Martin Kove? I’m sure this was a question Hollywood was wrestling with during the 1980s, trying to make sense of Kove’s ascendance to screen villainy in “The Karate Kid,” where the actor made a tremendous impression on audiences, fueling the film’s masterful way with climatic payoff. But could he carry an entire endeavor with such intensity? After decades in television and supporting parts in features, 1987’s “Steele Justice” was Kove’s hour of power, gifted a Rambo-esque revenge thriller that offered the star a chance to emote, destroy, and snarl, trying to fit in with the decade’s generation of action heroes. Kove is game, committed to his character and the production’s vision for citywide violence, but “Steele Justice” is one incredibly goofy picture. A B-movie that doesn’t make much time for logic, the effort crashes through cliché and absurdity, building up a rhythm of roughhousing that showcases Kove’s masculinity and writer/director Robert Boris’s imagination for mayhem. It’s not good work, but it does work with lowered expectations.
Serving in the Vietnam War, John Steele (Martin Kove) partners with pal Lee (Robert Kim), out to thwart General Kwan’s (Soon-Tek Oh) lust for gold, with the villain’s efforts supported by the American military, led by Harry (Joseph Campanella). Betrayed and left for dead, Steele and Lee return to their lives changed men. 12 years later, Steele is struggling with employment and his ex-wife, Tracy (Sela Ward), finding joy in Lee’s family, including his piano-prodigy daughter, Cami (Jan Gan Boyd). However, Lee’s entanglements with the Black Tiger criminal organization bring about the slaughter of loved ones, with Steele able to protect Cami from harm. Held back by the cops (including Bernie Casey and Ronny Cox), lacking evidence to shut down Black Tiger’s tainted drug ring, Steele decides to take the vigilante route, suiting up for war against mob enforcer Pham (Peter Kwong) and his father, Kwan, who’s reinvented himself as a legitimate businessman.
“Steele Justice” opens in the waning days of the Vietnam War, which looks like a Los Angeles backyard here, immediately exposing production limitations that intensify as the film unfolds. We meet Steele and Lee, riding into battle on a hovercraft, armed with big guns and larger attitudes. Steele is no ordinary soldier, but a highly trained brute who wears his pet snake Three Step like a scarf, bringing his venomous pal with him wherever he goes. The action heads into underground tunnels, where Kwan employs rats with grenades taped to their bodies to blow up the invaders, boldly ignoring the myriad of ways that plan could backfire, but he does succeed in stopping the duo, eager to collect his box of gold and flee a disintegrating country. As set-ups go, “Steele Justice” doesn’t waste time introducing the lead character’s patriotic professionalism and Kwan’s villainy, establishing a bitter conflict that takes a 12-year-long leap into the future of 1987.
To his credit, Boris freely employs eccentricity to bring “Steele Justice” to life, reuniting with the broken hero as he struggles with work, employed at the Bureau of Wild Horses, where he strives to prevent the destruction of innocent equines. Of course, he’s bad at the job, stupidly firing a shotgun into the air to threaten a dubious ranch owner, which leaves him without purpose, finding comfort in alcohol and Tracy’s polite disdain. The Black Tigers are up to no good either, ignoring the toxicity of a botched shipment of heroin, ready to continue selling bad junk to addicts, strangely forgetting how the mass death of their clientele would be bad for business. Troubles emerge with the slaughter of Lee and most of his family in broad daylight, inspiring Steele to transform into a one-man army, managing to escape from jail and take on the Vietnamese gang, soon understanding that old foe Kwan is behind the menace.
Once “Steele Justice” finds its groove, action explodes pleasingly, offering a jail cell brawl between Steele and Black Tiger enforcers. There’s also a mid-film chase that interrupts a music video shoot at a posh Los Angeles hotel, watching Steele trade bullets with the Black Tigers as violence enters the building. At one point, Steele has to take care of a poison dart wound armed with only a knife and a lunch buffet pan, jumping through a mass glass partition to speed up the treatment. Car chases are present (look fast for a “Karate Kid: Part II” movie marquee, accidentally mixing Kove worlds) and explosions are common, with Boris happy to fill every expectation for action cinema, even including a training montage set to a hair metal inspirational tune, excited to match Kove to Schwarzenegger and Stallone efforts, keeping his star focused on the carnage at hand.
Steele Justice Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality
The AVC encoded image (1.85:1 aspect ratio) presentation isn't working with a lush motion picture, but the basics of "Steele Justice" make a reasonable leap to BD. Detail handles sweaty close-ups quite well, and locations are easily surveyed, delivering distances. It's not a sharply shot effort, but textures are present when cinematography allows. Colors are communicative, with pleasant primaries that bring out bold costuming and greenery, while select props and Three Step retain their brighter hues. Skintones are natural. Delineation isn't troubling, delivering frame particulars without solidification. Source encounters plenty of speckling and minor scratches, but no major damage is detected.
Steele Justice Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality
The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix carries its share of shrillness, coming through with crispy extremes, while periodically encountering distorted scenes, which is possibly an inherent issue due to the low budget. Dialogue exchanges aren't impossible to follow, with basic dramatic moments understood, but thinness tends to dominate, unpleasantly sharpening surges of emotion. Scoring also suffers from a lack of fullness, but synth-based moods are explored to satisfaction. Atmospherics and sound effects are bluntly designed, bringing a background presence to the viewing experience. Hiss is present throughout the track, and pops are occasionally detected.
Steele Justice Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras
- A Theatrical Trailer (1:36, SD) is included.
Steele Justice Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation
Strange sights are common in "Steele Justice," watching the clearly adult-aged Boyd portray Cami as a chirpy, pigtailed teenager, and there's a scene where Kwan takes care of business at home while wearing a flower-printed dress. An additional question mark arrives with the late addition of Shannon Tweed to the cast, who shows up an hour into the picture, portraying the daughter of a mob boss Kwan is eager to do business with. That Tweed is clad almost exclusively in swimsuits during her screen time identifies the true motivation for her casting. Goofballery, ogling, and possibly deleted subplots aside, "Steele Justice" does manage to entertain when locked on the basics of the genre, with Kove credible as a man on a mission, wearing war paint with confidence. It's far from a competent production, but for those interested in an exaggerated actioner with a committed star, this nutty distraction certainly isn't dull.
