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Emilio Estevez, Cuba Gooding Jr., Denis Leary, Stephen Dorff, Jeremy Piven ... see more see more... , Peter Greene , Michael Wiseman , Angela Alvarado , Lydell M. Cheshier , Michael De Lorenzo , Nigel Gibbs , Galyn Gorg , Christine Harnos , Mark Phelan , Doug Wert , Eugene Williams , Will Zahrn , Stuart M. Abramson , Relioues Webb , Lynda Gordon , Judy Taylor , Lauren Robinson , Sean O'Grady , David Crowley , Erik Schrody , Michael DeLorenzo

In Judgment Night, an action-packed thriller directed by Stephen Hopkins, a group of young middle-class men Emilio Estevez Cuba Gooding Jr. Jeremy Piven and Stephen Dorff on a night out with the boys ... read more read more...take a disastrous wrong turn that leads to a run-in with a vicious street gang led by Fallon (Denis Leary). A cold, vicious and frightening criminal, Fallon and his band of thugs threaten to permanently silence the foursome after they witness a murder. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi

Flixster Users

53% liked it

9,310 ratings

Critics

27% liked it

15 critics

R, 1 hr. 49 min.

Directed by: Stephen Hopkins

Release Date: October 15, 1993

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DVD Release Date: April 7, 1998

Stats: 389 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (389)

  • yona71
    December 27, 2009
    yona71
    Denis Leary's portrayal of a deadly gang leader is a perfect example of playing the "oppposite" with his dry sense of humor, and that hard to distinguish smile. Definately someone who deserves much more credit as an actor.
    The film consists of four friends on their way to a boxi... read moreng match that get caught in gang-land as they get off the freeway in hope of a quicker route to their destination. All hell breaks loose when they believe they hit a young man who they bring aboard their RV to help, but learn that help is something devoid in this particular area.
  • FilmFanatik
    September 23, 2008
    FilmFanatik
    Often overlooked, this cat-and-mouse thriller, I always thought, was very well executed.
  • sanjurosamurai
    January 22, 2007
    sanjurosamurai
    a ggod flick about guys running around at night
  • Godless
    March 13, 2006
    Godless
    I liked this movie because it envolves scared white people.
  • weelee18
    March 21, 2009
    weelee18
    not bad..
  • monkeybobbob
    October 20, 2008
    monkeybobbob
    Not bad thriller.Emilio Estivez and friends are on their way to a boxing match but get stuck in a traffic jam on the highway.They try and take a short cut but end up witnessing a murder by a bunch of gangsters.They have to go on the run from the gang or die so a "deadly game of c... read moreat and mouse ensues"(i read that bit in a review somewhere) and the lads have to keep one step ahead of the gang or they're fucked.Not literally.It's ok, has some good moments of action,tension and stuff and Denis Leary's a pretty good bad guy but overall this is a bit pointless and looks quite dated considering it came out in 1993,it looks very mid-80's.It's only the cult-ish, groundbreaking at the time,rap/metal soundtrack that keeps this film from disappearing into nothingness and i don't know if that a good thing!
  • mistachy
    November 10, 2010
    mistachy
    A blast from the past! This is one of my all time favorites. It had the thrill, the suspense, and the intensity that one would expect to see from a top notch thriller. Everyone put on a magnificent performance and this is one to be watched over and over again. This movie will kee... read morep you on the edge of your seat and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.
  • FangsFirst
    March 13, 2008
    FangsFirst
    I randomly caught this film from about the middle about, oh, I don't know 12-14 years ago when it first hit cable. I meant to see it from the beginning ever since. I don't really know why--usually I am struck by the urge in such situations when someone says something that alludes... read more to an interesting or unexpected beginning. Perhaps I just wanted to know how these characters had gotten themselves into this mess.

    Basically, this is the story of four friends--Francis "Frank" Wyatt (Emilio Estevez), Mike Petersen (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), Ray Cochran (Jeremy Piven) and Frank's brother John (Stephen Dorff)--who are heading to a fight in Chicago in an RV that Ray has finagled out of a dealer to "test drive" for his nonexistent company. Frank's wife is suspicious of their actual intentions and reluctant to let her husband leave the home with his immature friends while she stays home with their newborn daughter. Frank argues his way into it and off they go, a more ridiculous RV yet to be seen carrying them into town until expressway traffic stalls them dead pm the way. A neighboring vehicle almost inspires a fight with hotheaded John, but Frank holds him back and the rather badassed Mike defuses the temper of the man they are arguing with. As a result. Ray decides they should take a "shortcut" around the traffic and wanders into the projects of Chicago. A near miss with a pedestrian who turns out to be shot leads them into conflict with Fallon (Denis Leary), a local druglord, who abhors thieves, liars--and witnesses. The rest is a fastpaced chase for survival on the part of the friends and "clean up" for Fallon and his gang.

    I know what most intrigued me about the film (I know I recognized Emilio at the time, but I'm not sure about the rest) was the presence of a villainous Denis Leary. Leary was still known as a comedian at that time, which I've since heard him say was his method of "lateral entry" into the acting business,* and this was one of his earlier--if not his earliest--serious role. Well, debatabely--Fallon is as smartassed as Leary himself, but is no less threatening for this fact. Still, he's a menacing, homicidal and vaguely psychopathic presence, which is, zingers or no, a far cry from the comedic role he was known for otherwise. Frank is the rather subdued, adult and mature of the gang--intentionally--and Emilio's performance is lowkey as a result. Occasionally even a little iffy, but nothing distracting. Mike is, well, this is before Cuba flushed his career and everyone's opinion of him down the toilet. He has that wild-eyed energy and bravery masking cowardice down pat, and I recognized that slack-jawed far-off look from a key moment in his later performance in What Dreams May Come--which is not to say he seems mired in the same character, but rather that he knows the business of that, and he knows that's how he can play that particular role. It works, and that's what matters. His arrogance and actual bravery earlier in the movie are of the kind that one finds endearing in movies (though likely irritating in reality)--at least so long as he is a "good guy," which he is here. Dorff is given the least to work with as "the younger brother" but does quite well anyway. Finally, we have Piven as Ray, who is only now getting his due as a fast-talking sleaze sort who can still be charming. He's early on that character kick here, as the negotiator of the bunch, the one who talks big but obviously has little to back it up and collapses when actual threats begin to appear, constantly feeling he can't keep up and reacting wildly when backed into a corner.

    I know exactly where I came into this movie at least a decade ago, and that's during Ray's scene of negotiation with Fallon and his gang. Director Stephen Hopkins puts together a great popcorn action flick (I'm not a fan of that term, as I hate to use terms that imply artistic inferiority when they are not intended to relate to "artistic" films in the first place, but it works and most people would know what I mean by it) and that scene is unbelievably tense even now. The only real dents in the film are a rather intrusive score (Alan Silvestri?! What?! How did he do this silliness?!)--when the friends first find themselves being chased, the music is ridiculously clichéd and incongruous in terms of energy, feeling completely out of place where it appears, and a few horn bleats for shock stings at moments of theoretical surprise are also somewhat annoying. And, of course, there's a certain air of familiarity in almost any action film that is tough to overcome, and a good star is necessary. Emilio's passable performance drains some energy, though Cuba, Piven and Leary tend to do their best to bring it back up.

    All said, though, it's a nicely suspenseful movie, one that doesn't really take any ridiculous mis-steps--usually the kiss of death for an action movie--or suffer poor editing. It's nothing I'd immediately throw out to people, but it's a good choice if you want an entertaining story of uptown folk caught where they are not prepared to be and fighting for their lives.

    *Perhaps explaining his uncomfortable tendency to steal Bill Hicks gags. It's debated, but that's really a joke. Leary is dodgy about discussing it, pretends it didn't happen--but that just makes him seem even more guilty, if you ask me. Mind you, I remain a fan of Leary--but more for his acting, which is sort of okay with me if he insists the comedy was to get him into that. But I digress. Severely. Nevermind.
  • SaginTheWolf
    July 8, 2007
    SaginTheWolf
    A well casted, high tension thriller of a group of people out of their element and being hunted. Denis Leary is excellent as the villain.
  • campbell16
    April 12, 2007
    campbell16
    You know the movie is bad when more people buy the soundtrack than go see the flick. GREAT SOUNDTRACK...like a preview of the future of music.

View All Judgment Night Reviews

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff
September 2, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety

This is an exceedingly well directed, cleverly filmed and edited, tension-filled affair. It is also a wholly preposterous, muddled, paranoid view of the inner-city nightmare where the slightest misste... Full Review

Janet Maslin
May 20, 2003
Janet Maslin, New York Times

A tight, energetic sleeper in the action-adventure genre, manages to pack a few anti-machismo sentiments into an otherwise brawny tale. Full Review

Richard Harrington
January 1, 2000
Richard Harrington, Washington Post

The filmmakers have made a big deal of a soundtrack that features 10 collaborations between rappers and rockers (the theme is performed by De La Soul and Teenage Fan Club), but their casting conscious... Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

It's refreshing to know that it's not just characters in horror films who are irredeemably dumb. Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Perhaps the ultimate Judgment comes from Estevez, who observes: 'Nothing about tonight makes sense.' Full Review

Luke Y. Thompson
December 17, 2003
Luke Y. Thompson, New Times

Excellent soundtrack, appalling acting, especially by Gooding.

Clint Morris
November 18, 2003
Clint Morris, Moviehole

A classy, edge of your seat thriller. Fun all round!

Marc Savlov
January 1, 2000
Marc Savlov, Austin Chronicle

Fallon's obsessive quest to eliminate witnesses comes to seem more and more like utter madness -- but then, maybe that's the point. It's hard to tell amidst the layered gunfire and random explosions. Full Review

Jeff Vice
January 1, 2000
Jeff Vice, Deseret News, Salt Lake City

Pretty tense stuff most of the way. Full Review

Emanuel Levy
July 14, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Judgment Night Trivia

  • Four friends are on their way to a boxing match in an RV. While stuck in traffic, they decide to get off the freeway in a less-than-pleasant neighborhood, and happen upon a murder. The four friends spend the rest of the night being pursued by the killer, a ruthless gang lord.   Answer »
  • in what 1993 movie did Stephen Dorff, Emilio Estevez and Cuba Gooding Jr all star in?  Answer »
  • This is from the soundtrack to what film?  Answer »
  • Name the movie these two actors were in: Denis Leary and Emilio Estevez  Answer »
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