Steele Justice Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.5

Steele Justice Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 24, 2022

Robert Boris' "Steele Justice" (1987) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary recorded by Martin Kove and writer/director Robert Boris as well as vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The avenger

Vietnam vet and former cop John Steele (Martin Kove) becomes a target for General Kwan (Soon-tek Oh), also a Vietnam vet, who is now running a large and very ambitious criminal organization in Southern California. When General Kwan’s men execute Steele’s best pal, Lee (Robert Kim), his wife, and mother, he vows to avenge their death and goes on the warpath. Initially, Steele’s former boss, Inspector Bennett (Ronny Cox), tries to stop him, but then changes his mind and steps aside while he meticulously eliminates Lee’s killers and gets closer to General Kwan. Eventually, Steele and Kwan meet in a duel that resurrects an old rivalry from the Vietnam War.

Robert Boris scripted and directed Steele Justice, which was probably a mistake because he is a much better writer than he is a director. This is not to imply that Steele Justice turned out an unbearably disappointing film, but it is difficult not to speculate how much better the original material for the film could have been handled by a skilled director with a greater appreciation of period style and realism. (A reminder: Boris delivered the original screenplay for Jams William Guercio’s Electra Glide in Blue, which is one of the greatest films of the 1970s).

In its current form, Steele Justice is exceptionally easy to profile as a conventional action film that rehashes the classic cliches about good guys facing bad criminals that writers and directors loved working with during the 1980s. Kove is a very rough replica of the Green Beret played by Sylvester Stallone in Ted Kotcheff’s First Blood while his opponents are silly thugs and exotic mafiosi that are roaming free. At a crucial point in Steele Justice, Kove, just like Stallone, is forced out of his comfort zone and shortly after all hell breaks loose. Unsurprisingly, the fireworks are supposed to deliver all the memorable thrills in Steele Justice.

But while likable, Kove is not as impressive as Stallone. He has the right physique and fights hard, but his personality is not perfect for the mad avenger that Boris’ screenplay wants him to be. Kove also has a difficult time making his character appear authentic in contrasting situations where drama and comedy quickly overlap. In fact, this is the key issue that hurts the credibility of Steele Justice -- the tone of the story that is being told is very inconsistent and easily creates the impression that Boris could not decide whether his film ought to be a serious revenge thriller or a cheesy thriller with an appropriately loose sense of humor.

The bulk of Steele Justice looks like the latter -- there is a lot of genuine 1980s cheese in it, and while some of it is pretty good, plenty of it is tasteless and instantly forgettable. Kove is in most of it, but he is not the reason for its existence. For example, many of the supporting actors are quite average and handle their parts in noticeably awkward ways. (See Lee’s daughter, who looks much, much older than she is supposed to be. Her grandma’s flat-out suspicious as well). As a result, a lot of the interactions before Boris’ camera are of the type that you would see in Andy Sidaris’ films. But they make Sidaris’ films entertaining because everything is exaggerated in them so that the intentional mockery works as well as intended. Steele Justice wants to be taken seriously, at least most of the time, and Boris struggles to make it look like an authentic action thriller.

Steele Justice was lensed by cinematographer John Stephens, whose credits include the classic Billy Jack, Boxcar Bertha, and the cult comedy Ski Patrol.

Steele Justice Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Steele Justice arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

Steele Justice was first released on Blu-ray in 2016 (see our review of the previous release here). I assumed that this new release was produced after the film was remastered, but it is sourced from the same older master MGM provided for the previous release.

The master is pretty decent, but its greatest strength is the lack of any problematic digital corrections. Delineation, clarity, and depth are pleasing, but if you have a larger screen, you will quickly conclude that the film can look fresher and more attractive. For example, various highlights can be managed better. In select areas, even the basic primaries and nuances can be more convincing (see screencapture #3). Grain isn't digitally manipulated, but it can be better exposed and resolved. In darker areas, shadow definition and black nuances can be more convincing. Image stability is good. I noticed a few blemishes and dark spots, bur there are no distracting cuts, debris, warped or torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Steele Justice Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

I did not encounter any issues to report in our review. The audio was clear, sharp, and nicely balanced. Dynamic intensity was good as well, so my impression is that there isn't any room for serious mastering improvements. If the film is fully restored and the audio transferred again, I doubt there will be a drastic gap in quality between the existing track and the fictional new track.

Steele Justice Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by Martin Kove and writer/director Robert Boris. It is moderated by film historian Alex Van Dyne. The commentators go down memory lane and share some interesting bits of information about the production of Steele Justice, but there there are plenty of quiet spots where they simply view the film.

• Trailer - a vintage trailer for Steele Justice. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

Steele Justice Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I had assumed that Steele Justice was remastered and that is why it was rereleased on Blu-ray. Well, this release is sourced from the older master that was used to produce the previous, now out-of-print release, which wasn't bad but wasn't great either. What is new on the rerelease? There is an exclusive new audio commentary recorded by Martin Kove and writer/director Robert Boris, as well as optional English SDH subtitles. My guess is that this is the end of the line for Steele Justice on physical media, so if you want to have a copy of it in your library, this is your final chance to acquire one. RECOMMENDED, but only to the fans.