Extreme Justice is inspired by the activities of the Special Investigation Section of the LAPD, though it is entirely a work of fiction.

Jeff Powers (Lou Diamond Phillips) is a cop who flies by the seat of his pants. He has had 20 departmental reviews for questionable incidents by the time his former partner Danny Vaughn (Scott Glenn) needs a new member for his team.

Vaughn heads the LAPD Special Investigations Section (SIS), which consists of Angel (Andrew Divoff), Larson (Yaphet Kotto), Lloyd (Richard Grove), Cusak (William Lucking), Devlin (L. Scott Caldwell) and Reese (Larry Holt). The team has two rules: target the most dangerous criminals and take them off the street, and keep quiet. They are the bad-to-the-bone cops who watch the most violent crimes being committed just so they are justified in using lethal force.

And this team does always use lethal force, often shooting the criminal in the back, and always leaving them with multiple gunshot wounds. They dispense extreme justice with extreme force.

The timing could not be worse for Jeff. He makes the team just as they attract the attention of his girlfriend, Kelly (Chelsea Field), an investigative reporter who never gives up on a story. By the time Jeff decides he is in way over his head, it is too late to get out. Kelly is pressuring him for answers, while his captain (Ed Lauter) protects the SIS in all their actions and the Internal Affairs investigator is scared to go after any of them.

It looks like Jeff may be the next person to take a bullet in the back.

Extreme Justice is a fantastic movie that combines action and suspense into a spellbinder that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I loved every aspect of this movie. The writing was outstanding. The story progresses smoothly and quickly, there is deep character development, and the suspense is ideally buffered with rounds of explosive action. Add a little romance and several moments of levity, and you have an above-average story upon which to create a movie.

The acting is also superb. These guys play off their racial and economic differences in a way that seems too relaxed and natural to be a script. Each is perfectly believable in their role and most seem ideally cast for their character. Divoff does an exceptional job of bringing Angel to life with style and color, standing out from the crowd.

The camera work is fantastic. I love the way every action scene was thoroughly covered. This camera crew earned their pay, big time! This is how action movies should be photographed.

Extreme Justice is an outstanding movie that distances itself from other action flicks. It gives action fans exactly what they want, but will also satisfy the drama and suspense fans. It is an all-around great film.