Terminal Justice (1996)

Terminal Justice (1996)-* * *

Directed by: Rick King

Starring: Lorenzo Lamas, Kari Wuhrer, Peter Coyote, Chris Sarandon, Barry Flatman, and Tod Thawley












Sgt. Bobby Chase (Lamas) is an ex-Special Forces veteran of the 2002 Russia Cartel Wars. In that conflict which took place in the future which is now the past, his evil captors destroyed his eyes, and now, in the present/past of 2008, working as a cop, he has cybernetic vision. He’s assigned to protect movie star Pamela Travis (Wuhrer), who is constantly under assault from the goons of scientists who want to clone her. Yes. Scientist goons. The nefarious super-genius-evil-cloner is Deacon Vivyan (Coyote) who is working with fellow baddie Reginald Matthews. You know he’s evil because his name is Reginald. And because he wears high-collared shirts. 

Naturally, Chase and Travis end up becoming romantic, and in order to get to the baddies once and for all, Chase has to reluctantly team up with ponytailed techie Takamura (the awesomely-named Tod Thawley). Living in the future with all this newfangled technology can be a blessing and a curse, as Chase is about to find out the hard way. Will he ever get TERMINAL JUSTICE?

Things got really terminal in the 90’s, what with a spate of “Terminal” movies such as Terminal Velocity (1994), Terminal Impact (1995), Terminal Virus (1995), Terminal Rush (1996) and, of course, the movie on offer today, Terminal Justice (though it’s also known as Cybertech P.D.). And because it was the 90’s, we have another outing that involves VR and Cyber-matters. That truly was the obsession of the day, and Terminal Justice borrows from Demolition Man (1993), Johnny Mnemonic (1995), Virtuosity (1995) and even Hologram Man (1995). But yet, it also has some interesting ideas of its own. The whole “virtual reality crime scene” was a fascinating concept, and there are a few other gems in there as well. So it’s kind of a mixture of forward thinking sci-fi concepts mixed with The Kill Reflex (1989)-style murderous toy helicopters.

Lamas is especially meatheady in this one, almost to Evan Lurie levels. But we’ve yet to see Lurie display the type of emotion Lamas does here, he even cries, showing that he has a sensitive side and isn’t all long hair and comically oversized bathrobes.  His new partner, played by Thawley, is sort of a hybrid Keanu Reeves/Don The Dragon/Jerkface, who starts off as arrogant and unlikable, but you sort of come around. Kudos to Thawley for bringing us along on his character’s arc. Connecticut’s own Kari Wuhrer has never looked better, and though fans know her as Kari Wuhrer, for this movie she took her current husband’s surname and is credited as Kari Salin. Who did she think she was fooling? Regardless, it remains one of Salin’s best roles to date. She even has a talking house (in this case named Ludmilla), much like Ed Marinaro did in The Protector (1999). It should only be a matter of time until we all get our own talking houses.

Director Rick King, who brought us Prayer for the Rollerboys (1990), as well as arguably the best Kickboxer movie, Kickboxer 3: The Art of War (1992) - which singlehandedly saved that series from going into the doldrums - here delivers an unfortunately junky-looking final product. That it’s another “shot in Canada but we’re going to pretend it’s somewhere else” production is one thing, but the constant close-ups don’t really do the movie any favors either. 

But there is some energy and ideas, which is good, but the fact that it was released as a Platinum disc doesn’t bode well for potential viewers. At least he started the movie on an exciting note, with Lamas shooting a machine gun and screaming - and later got into talking about things going “online” with illegal VR games and such.

Despite some of the typical DTV pitfalls, Terminal Justice isn’t that bad. It can proudly stand with all the other Terminal movies of the 90’s.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Also check out reviews by our buddies The Unknown Movies and  DTVC!

Malevolent (2002)

Malevolent (2002)-* * *

Directed by: John Terlesky

Starring: Lou Diamond Phillips, Kari Wuhrer, Jack McGee, Edoardo Ballerini, Carmen Argenziano, and Steven Bauer











Jack Lucas (LDP) is an LAPD cop on the edge. Putting him even closer to the edge of the edge is the fact that a psychotic criminal mastermind is trying to frame him for a series of murders. The obnoxious and annoying Oliver “Ollie” Chadwicke (Ballerini) has it in for Lucas and is going to slyly and shrewdly send him up the river. Fighting for his life against the bogus charges actually perpetrated by Chadwicke, Lucas must use his wits to defeat him at his own game. Teaming up with a stripper with a heart of gold, Jessica (Wuhrer), as well as his father, Warren (Argenziano), Lucas must not only defend himself against Chadwicke, but from the mistrust growing amongst his co-workers. Especially with Captain Pruitt (Bauer) breathing down his neck. Will Lucas get justice?

Malevolent is a surprisingly solid and entertaining cop drama/thriller. It was smart putting LDP in the lead role, because he can easily carry a movie like this with his charm, charisma and acting ability. You could even say this is the continuing story of Jeff Powers from Extreme Justice. This isn’t really an action movie, in fact all of the action was edited in from The Corruptor (1999) and Marked For Death (1990). Anyone who has seen those movies will surely recognize the footage. But at least Malevolent is open and honest about it, in its own way: both footage sources get large, easy-to-read screen credits at the end of the movie. Other DTV items don’t do that. They try to hide their patchwork nature. So we give the movie credit for its openness.

You have to take this movie for what it is, it’s not going to change the world but it’s really not bad either. In its quest to be gritty, or perhaps different, there are some horribly (intentionally horribly) edited sequences that are trying to be “cool”. If the movie was just edited normally, that would have helped. Plus there are some highly cliched, even stereotypical characters, such as Lucas’ partner Carla, played by Gwen McGee. But Ballerini did a great job as the baddie, he really makes you hate him. It’s always nice to see Kari Wuhrer, we were happy she was on board. It was also cool to see Jack McGee, of The Quest (1996) fame as the bartender. Steven Bauer should have had more screen time as the captain. Also, Simon Rhee is credited as one of the stunt players.

LDP even wrote the lyrics for the movie’s most memorable song, “Pray For Dawn”, a bluesy-type number. He should get more credit for being multi-talented. Fans of any of the cast members involved, DTV cop dramas, or fans of stock footage (we know you’re out there), or anyone with some spare time on their hands might want to check out Malevolent.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

The Prophecy: Forsaken (2005)

The Prophecy: Forsaken (2005) -* *

Directed By: Joel Soisson

Starring: Kari Wuhrer, Tony Todd, and Jason Scott Lee












The Prophecy: Forsaken is a step down from Uprising. The problem is that the movie is just too short. There's no reason for this movie to be 75 minutes. It had some good ideas and scenes but it didn't go anywhere.

Kari Wuhrer once again plays Allison. She still has to stop renegade angels from getting the "The Lexicon". This book contains the access to destroy the earth. Jason Scott Lee and Tony Todd play characters who try to stop her.

Kari Wuhrer does a decent job as Allison. Jason Scott Lee was OK. Tony Todd was fun, but he goes over the top.



In the end: It could have been way better. It's worth seeing once just to complete the series.



Comeuppance Review by: Ty

The Prophecy: Uprising (2005)

The Prophecy: Uprising (2005) -* * *

Directed By: Joel Soisson

Starring: Kari Wuhrer, Sean Pertwee, Jason London, and Doug Bradley









The Prophecy: Uprising is surprisingly good.

I don't know why The Prophecy: Uprising was collecting dust on a shelf at Miramax, when this is a pretty decent movie that should've gotten a theatrical release.

You don't have to see the other "Prophecy" movies to watch this one. It stands alone, even though The Prophecy: Forsaken (2005) is the other DTV sequel. Kari Wuhrer is Allison, who finds a bible that can change the world. Sean Pertwee co-stars as Dani, a cop who has a terrible past.



Pertwee is excellent in the role. He presence improves the movie a lot.  Doug Bradley of the Hellraiser movies has a pivotal role in this too. The flashbacks and quick cuts also work very well. Of course, the script is silly sometimes, but that works to its advantage.

Don't be hit by "sequelitis" and pass it by. It's definitely worth seeing.



Comeuppance Review by: Ty

Phoenix (1998)

Phoenix (1998) -* * *

Directed By: Danny Cannon

Starring: Ray Liotta, Anthony LaPaglia, Daniel Baldwin, Jeremy Piven, Brittany Murphy, Kari Wuhrer, Xander Berkeley, Giancarlo Esposito, Giovanni Ribisi, Tom Noonan, and Anjelica Huston








Phoenix is a hidden gem. I've seen it over five times. For some reason, it never gets old.

Harry (Liotta) is a cop with a gambling problem. He can't stop. He owes money to "Chicago" (Noonan) and he if he doesn't pay up, he dies. Harry's partners Henshaw (LaPaglia) and Nutter (Baldwin) are dirty and are becoming "collectors" to bookie Louie (Esposito). Harry needs money fast and the only way is to rob Louie. Everybody goes along with the plan until there's a double cross.


There's not a lot of action in the movie until the end, but it's not needed. Ray Liotta is excellent in the movie. But the supporting cast steals it from him. LaPaglia is fantastic as Henshaw. He makes the character come alive. Baldwin, Esposito, Kari Wuhrer, and Anjelica Huston all get their time to shine.



Phoenix is a gritty crime movie that Liotta and LaPaglia fans must see.


Comeuppance Review by: Ty

To purchase the American poster click here