Final Justice - 1984
By The Bottom Reel Editorial Team ·
Final Justice (1984) – The Texas Cowboy Who Took On The Malta Mafia
Overview
Final Justice is a 1984 / 1985 Italian-American action film written, produced and directed by Greydon Clark. It stars Joe Don Baker as a Texas sheriff who causes chaos in Malta. Filmed entirely on location in Malta and Texas, it was also released as The Maltese Connection and distributed by Arista Films / Mediterranean Films.
Plot
Due to his violent past, Deputy Sheriff Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III Joe Don Baker – pronounced “Heronimo!” – has been transferred to a rural outpost on the Texas-Mexico border.
When his partner is killed, Geronimo arrests Italian hitman Joseph Palermo Venantino Venantini. The court orders Geronimo to extradite Palermo back to Italy for trial. The plane is diverted to Malta, where Palermo escapes with the help of local goons.
What follows is 90 minutes of Geronimo wandering Malta with his tour guide / love interest Gina Patrizia Pellegrino, getting into bar fights, being yelled at by the Maltese police, being told not to pursue Palermo, pursuing him anyway, getting arrested, escaping, and repeating the cycle. The climax is abrupt: Palermo is shot, Geronimo delivers a terrible one-liner, and a catchy country song plays over the credits.
As one synopsis sums it up: “A Texas deputy sheriff escorts a killer to Italy but only gets to Malta, where the killer escapes.”
Cast & Crew
Deputy Sheriff Thomas Jefferson Geronimo III – Joe Don Baker
Joseph Palermo – Venantino Venantini
Don Lamanna – Rossano Brazzi
Gina – Patrizia Pellegrino
Chief Wilson – Bill McKinney
Maria Cassar – Helena Dalli
Supt. Mifsud – Lino Grech
Director / Writer / Producer – Greydon Clark
Production Cos. – Arista Films, Mediterranean Films
Filming Location: Malta
Runtime: 1h 30m / 1h 31m, Rated R
Social Impact & Reception
Contemporary flop: The film had a tiny limited theatrical release Jan 25, 1985 and went straight to VHS. Critics called it “A clunky action yarn.”
Audience reception: It became infamous for being one of the lowest-rated films on IMDb. Reviews consistently describe it as incompetent but hilarious:
“An incompetent and hilarious mess of a film with the only talent coming from Joe Don Baker who's putting his whole heart into his performance.”
“Gratuitous titties and furry criminals occupy the most uninspiring depiction of Malta in the history of cinema in grey Greydon Clark's grey cop movie.”
“The film follows Joe Don Baker... a chubby Texan cop who ought to 'stop eating those damn donuts'.”
Other reviews: “Oh boy. Here we go again with another Joe Don Baker stinker... we spend the rest of the movie watching Joe Don Baker rough people up, kill people and be reprimanded by the local police. It's kind of a terrible movie.”
Legacy – MST3K: Its real fame came from Mystery Science Theater 3000 Season 3, Episode 19. The episode is considered one of the show’s best, with Joel and the bots mocking Geronimo’s tight alligator boots, his endless donut eating, and his inability to count bullets. The film is now a staple on “worst action movies” lists and in Joe Don Baker retrospectives after Walking Tall and Mitchell.
The people of Malta, by contrast, reportedly treated Baker like a superstar during filming because it was a rare Hollywood production on the island.
Budget vs. Box Office
Budget: Not publicly disclosed. Greydon Clark’s films of this era were typically under $1-2 million, funded by tax shelters and Maltese incentives.
Box Office: No domestic, international or worldwide gross reported. Box Office Mojo lists Domestic –, International –, Worldwide –.
Revenue Model: VHS, late-night TV, and later DVD/Blu-ray via MVD Rewind Collection. It never recouped in theaters; its value is entirely cult afterlife.
Ratings
IMDb: 2.3 / 10 to 3.4 / 10 depending on listing – consistently in the IMDb Bottom 100
Rotten Tomatoes: 13% Tomatometer from 1 critic review, Popcornmeter ∼24-46% from 250+ audience ratings
Letterboxd: ∼1.8 / 5
Bottom line: Final Justice is not good action, suspense or drama, but it’s magnificent as an unintentional black comedy about a cowboy cop enforcing Texas Justice in Malta while everyone begs him to stop. Watch the MST3K version first, then the clean version to appreciate how much Joel and the bots improved it.