It feels kind of strange recommending you all these B nineties action movies but I simply cannot help myself. I enjoy them immensely as they provide a welcome break from all the other movies I’m watching. Mission of Justice is an action-packed and rather serious martial arts movie starring Jeff Wincott and Brigitte Nielsen. It’s surprisingly well-structured and written, shining a light on several issues. However, don’t think for one second that we won’t get our montage of half-nude guys exercising in a gym. We will narrowly escape, though, half-nude guys practicing martial arts alone in the apartment late at night.
And that fact alone shows just how serious this movie is. We open with a domestic violence case, where Kurt Harris and his partner Lynn Steele apprehend an asshole husband. It’s nice to see an intro like this, bringing attention to this issue. The case also serves as a primer for the confrontation between Kurt and his brash superiors, forcing him to quit the force. At the same time, Dr. Rachel K. Larkin is running for mayor promising to clean up the crime-ridden streets with her organization Peacekeepers. They’re basically a vigilante group trying to help the undermanned police force.
And right away you see the connection between politics and a seemingly benevolent organization using force to reach its goals. This connection will grow in the coming years and decades with the rise of various militias and similar organizations. As I previously mentioned this is just one part of the movie. Mission of Justice is a highly entertaining movie that strikes a perfect balance between action and suspense. It’s one of those movies you can play late at night confident you’re going to finish it in one sitting. After all, we won’t go ten minutes without a fight or a chase of some sort. And some of them are quite long and well-choreographed.
Moreover, they show utter disregard for consequences with our main heroes just killing off people right and left. During an intense fight in the chop shop, Wincott hangs one guy and breaks the neck of another for no apparent reason. They didn’t have any guns or anything, he just saw a loose cable and went for it. Ahhh, I miss these old-school action movies where heroes could get away with almost anything. Wincott was great as the leading man, and I think this is his best movie by far. He was just so intense and energetic, especially during the fights.
However, the imposing presence of the Danish actress Brigitte Nielsen almost overshadowed him. You might remember her from such eighties classics as Red Sonja and Rocky IV. Here, she plays a villain just as she did in Beverly Hills Cop II. I love how she wears her hair long while making appearances during the day only to keep it short during the nighttime shenanigans. Apart from them, it was a pleasure to see Matthias Hues, a man who seemingly played a bad guy in every eighties and nineties movie.
Finally, I want you to give Mission of Justice a chance. It’s an excellent martial arts B action movie punching way above its weight. There are no lame attempts at humor or cheesy one-liners. The storytelling is excellent and direction competent. This is simply a great popcorn movie to take your mind off of things. And a guilty pleasure for all of us who grew up watching them. If you’re looking for movies like Mission of Justice check out Rapid Fire starring Brandon Lee. Additionally, you might want to take a look at Jeff Wincott’s filmography. Most of his movies are available to stream for free on Tubi, including the one we talked about today.
Director: Steve Barnett
Writers: George Saunders, John Bryant, Pierre David
Cast: Jeff Wincott, Brigitte Nielsen, Luca Bercovici, Matthias Hues, Karen Sheperd, Billy ‘Sly’ Williams
Fun Facts: Mission of Justice was originally supposed to be the third sequel to the Martial Law series featuring Cynthia Rothrock and Jeff Wincott as two rogue cops. However, after Cynthia decided to pull out of the project, the story was rewritten and she was replaced with Karen Sheperd.
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IMDb Link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104888/
