Rating: 
Summary: (In Fact 2.5) Improved Seagal Film, But Still Needs Shape-up
Review: 'Belly of the Beast' is clearly improvement compared with Seagal's past two films done by Michael Oblovitz (who seems to have no sense of coherence), but still is far from his best. Though I only give 'JUST OK' 2 stars, however, the film has its own merits, and perhaps die-hard fans of him would welcome this one heartily. And those good things are its director and Seagal's sidekick.
Steven Seagal goes back to his origin in a sense, for he plays an ex-CIA man Jake Hopper, whose daughter is kidnapped by a radical religious group in Thailand, and they demand that unless certain members of their group in jail are released, the daughter will be killed. The scene is uncannily (and perhaps unintentionally) reminds of the recent incidents in Iraq.
But Jake, or Seagal, is a man who deals with the situation single-handedly, and he again does so. With a help from his former buddy Sunti, he fights against the villains who attack them with guns, swords, and deadly fingernails (Not kidding).
Proably avid fans of Hong-Kong films know it, but the director Ching Siu Tung is famous for his groundbreaking action scenes in 'Chinese Ghost Stories' and most recently 'Hero' and 'House of Flying Daggers.' His rather unique action style is the one merit of the film, though Seagal, unlike Jet Li, is not ready for the task.
Yes, fans, please admit it. The use of double (who is much thinner) in action sequences is too clear, and the contrast between Seagal himself and the stunt is glaringly conspicous. He needs shape-up, and that has been said by many for these three years, but he is not listening to them.
Still, the film has another great thing in it: Byron Mann as Seagal's sidekick. Unlike someone else, he can act, and shows considerable skills for action. I will not be surpised if I see a film starring him, even though you have not heard his name yet. Check him out.
The location in Thailand (where movie industry is growing) is a good choice, and considering the derivative plot and still bad acting of Seagal, the film is pretty entertaining. Still, my advice is, Rent it before you buy it.
Rating: 
Summary: THIS IS THE WAY A GOOD SEAGAL MOVIE IS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE
Review: AFTER HIS LAST MOVIE, ''THE FOREIGNER'', WHICH BY THE WAY, WAS VERY DISSAPOINTING, SEAGAL RETURNS WITH THIS COOL MOVIE. AN EX CIA AGENT [SEAGAL] LEARNS THAT HIS DAUGHTER WERE KIDNAPPED BY TERRORISTS. INSTEAD OF WAITING FOR THE CIA TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, HE TAKES MATTERS INTO HIS OWN HANDS. HAS VERY GOOD FIGHTS AS WELL AS GOOD STUNTS. THIS IS A MUST HAVE SEAGAL MOVIE. WHO KNOWS, IF SEAGAL LOSES WEIGHT, WE MIGHT JUST GET THE OLD STEVEN SEAGAL BACK!
Rating: 
Summary: Best Seagal movie since Exit Wounds
Review: After the average last couple of movies, Steven Seagal is back in his best movie since Exit Wounds. The acting and the action were awesome. If Seagal makes more movies like this, he will be back to theaters in no time. Everybody who felt letdown by the last 3 Seagal movies will be very pleased with this one. Defenitely worth a rent and maybe a buy.
Rating:
Summary: His best movie in a long time. Shame about the title!
Review: At last Seagal has put out an entertaining action movie. After being disappointed by The Foreigner(which was ok but needed a better script and more action) and Out For A Kill(which I can not bring myself to like), Seagal is back on the right path with this entry. It's by no means a match for any of his early titles like Out For Justice, Marked For Death or Under Siege and he plays the same character as all his other movies but its enjoyable for what it is. He uses a different style of martial arts than his normal style and his body double, if he can be called that as he is half the fatness of Seagal, is evident in many scenes. The action set pieces made up of a lot of gun play are over the top but then a Seagal film is not meant to be taken seriously. A very enjoyable way to pass an hour and a half. If he wants to continue in the movie business and have a bit of respectability then he first needs to lose some weight and secondly he needs to start saying his lines properly and not have him being redubbed by some bad voice over actor. He is over weight and very obviously so in this movie but saying it's because he is over 50 is no excuse. Look at other actors when they were in there 50's, Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, Sean Connery, Chuck Norris, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Charles Bronson who didn't hit the big time until he was 54 in 1974 with Death Wish and in some cases these actors stayed in good shape well into there 60's and 70's. To compare with Seagal's other recent releases this is as good as Half Past Dead and much much better than The Foreigner and Out For A Kill. Non Seagal fans should find something in this to enjoy so long as they don't expect to much and Belly Of The Beast is a must for all Seagal fans.
Rating:
Summary: STEVENS FIRST GOOD MOVIE IN A LONG TIME!
Review: Belly of the Beast stars Steven Seagal! He is about to retire from the CIA, when he gets news that his daughter has been kid napped by the terrorist group Abu Karaf, when he is Hawaii. He goes down to Thailand when his daughter was abducted and visits some of his old friends in the CIA or that were in the CIA. There is betrayal, and seduction in this movie. In my opinion, this was like Under Seige except a lower budget. Stevens fighting sequences are the best! Its like when he was 10 years younger! He does still look a little big, but you can tell he lost weight for this movie! I was happy to see a lot of American actors in this movie. Out for a Kill had only 2 or 3 americans. This had many many more. Steven and his actors did a really good job. The scenery was better and not cheap looking like in Out for a Kill. You can tell that the budget was much more. I would say 2 or 3 times the amount of Out for a Kill. The director Ching Sui Tung did an awsome job of directing. I was very pleased with his work. If steven is going to make another movie in Thailand, I hope it is with him. The action was more real and the violence was bloodier! This movie will give his carier a boost for sure. My ONLY complaint was that there was no explosions! I love explosions and I was a little disappointed that there were none. But the movie makes up for it. Here is how I would rate Belly of the Beast:
Acting- 8
Action-10
Directing-9
Scenery/Budget/Special affects-9
Story-9 Over all- 9 Steven make movies more like this! Very good job!
Rating:
Summary: Bashful's DVD Summary #006
Review: Best: 1) Steven Seagal gets back to his eastern martial arts roots.
2) The shoot-'em-up scenes were sweeping and included lots of people.
3) The girls held hostage weren't just whimpering kittens waiting to be rescued.
4) The acting, dialogue and editing was smoothly done. Worst: 1) The hero characters seem to have supernatural abilities when it's cool to watch, then lose it whenever the filmmakers choose.
2) Seagal relied heavily on a stunt double for many of the fight scenes.
3) There are no special features on the disk. Recommendation: If you're a big action and/or martial arts fan, you'll definitely want to see this one at least once. If you often rewatch movies like this, you'll want to buy it. The lack of any special features, however, is a big factor in deciding that the going price may be too high for some people.
Rating: 
Summary: Best Seagal flick since Exit Wounds
Review: First of all, let me explain my 3-star rating. For Seagal flicks, I rate this one 3.5/5. For over-all action movies in this genre, I rate it about 2.75-3/5. As well all know the last half dozen or so Seagal flicks have lacked the penache his original outings did, but this one as is, is not bad. If this one would have been made earlier in Seagal's career, it may have been one of the top ones next to greats like Out for Justice, Marked for Death, or even one or both of the Under Siege movies.
This movie has it all for a Seagal flick. Gun play, martial arts, and wire-fu with slo-mo effects. Well, I normally write longer, more in-depth reviews, but I'm leaving this one short and sweet. But if you're debating on whether or not to pull the trigger on this Seagal flick, don't hesitate. It's a fairly good one for a change.
Rating:
Summary: Rockin' Good Time
Review: Great action. Convincing plot. I found the acting well done and the supporting cast really helps make this movie a winner. Enjoyed the special effects. I like the soundtrack and thought it went well with the film. Hopefully there will be more Seagal films like this one!
Rating:
Summary: Nothing new but still fun to watch.
Review: I have been a fan of seagal since the 80's and said to say I am finally getting tired of him. If you have seen at least three of his other movies then you dont need to watch this one. If you are ready for an exciting action movie with guns, martial arts, and more guns then get this movie.
Rating:
Summary: A good review for a change
Review: I have read reviews about Seagal and his movies and I don't see anything good mentioned. His movies never claimed to be "high art" or have a lot a lot of special effects. You get plain, solid action. I really like Belly of the Beast. Steven was very good. The Foreigner will make you laugh until you can't breath. He kills one guy and he keeps coming back. In the belly of the beast he is unrelenting in getting his daughter back. Review of his movies talk about Seagal's bad acting and that is not the case in this movie. The girl who is his daughter might be guilty of bad acting but not Seagal. Judging but his reviews everyone thinks he sucks. If he does why do you keep going back and watching the movies? I say if you can't write a decent, fair review of Seagal and his movies then just dont' bother to rent or buy them. As for me I really like them and I hope he contines to make more even if they are "straight to dvd".
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