Extreme Prejudice (1987) from Tuna

Extreme Prejudice (1987) stars Nick Nolte in an excellent performance as a Texas Ranger, Powers Boothe as his boyhood friend who has turned drag lord smuggling over the Texas Mexico border, and Maria Conchita Alonzo who has loved them both. You may remember this former Miss Teen World from her performance opposite Robin Williams in Moscow on the Hudson. She has enjoyed regular film work, and has also become a recording star in South America.
In this classic tale of good vs. evil among strong men larger than life, we have DEA, Special Forces, Texas Sheriffs, Texas Rangers, and God knows how many others trying to either end or get rich from the drug traffic, but the main story is Boothe vs Nolte, both vying for the love of Alonzo and battling over the dope issue.  

NUDITY REPORT

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Alonzo looks great as always showing her breasts in a shower scene, and we have an unknown hooker who flashes a breast as well. The film is very contrasty and washed out, which I suspect was a deliberate choice to give atmosphere.

Maltin sees it as overly violent and covering no new ground, and awards 2 stars. Ebert sees it as a classic story done well, especially because of Nolte's performance. Ebert saw something that I also saw. This is a classic performance in the Gary Cooper tradition with men who are larger than life doing larger than life things. 
Scoop's notes:  

I've never seen this movie, but it was written by John Milius (Apocalypse Now), and directed by Walter Hill (48 Hours, The Warriors), so they had more talent behind it than you would guess from the reviews.

In fact, it sounds like Powers Boothe plays a character similar to the one Brando played in Apocalypse Now.

The Critics Vote

  • General consensus: three stars. Ebert 3/4, Maltin 2/4, 

The People Vote ...

  • With their votes ... IMDB summary: IMDb voters score it 5.7 
IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, I do have to mark it down a little for getting a little lost in a very complex story line, and award a C+.

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