Rating: Summary: Seagal could be on the right road. Review: I did not know what to expect from this as it had the same Director back from The Foreigner which was terrible. It seems however both the director and Seagal must of watched The Foreigner and saw where they went wrong and tried to fix it. Seagal is back to eliminating the bad guys with good old bone crunching effect. There is a sword fight thrown in at the begining of the movie but it betrays just how slow Seagal has become these last few years in comparison to the great sword fight at the end of Marked For Death many years ago. There are several fight scenes spaced out through the movie but none are executed the way they should of been. Some are slowed down while others are speeded up. The movie seems to be aimed more at an Eastern market than at the western market. Perhaps this is where Seagal is most popular at the moment. Seagal's acting seems to be getting as slow as his movements in his later movies. A better director may have gotten Seagal to inject some personality into the role with some witty one liners, much like in Under Seige, Out For Justice, Exit Wounds, Half Past Dead or even as terrible as it was Ticker. With a bit more personality in a role, a good action director and the right script, Seagal could be back. Some scenes in the movie do betray how low the budget was on this but worth watching for Seagal fans. Unfortunatly there is nothing here to make non Seagal fans jump up and take notice of Steven Seagal once again as the action movie icon he once was. Not a terrible movie but not very good either, more a wasted opportunity for a return to his earlier titles in the early 90's. Next up is Belly Of The Beast with a different director who could put Seagal back on the right road where he may surprise everyone with a good solid action movie once again.
Rating: Summary: Another nail in the coffin of Seagals action movie career. Review: I did not know what to expect from this as it had the same director returning from The Foreigner which was bad but not that bad that it was a complete disaster. It seems however both the director and Seagal must have watched The Foreigner and tried to produce something better for their next movie by incorporating more martial arts confrontations. Seagal is back to eliminating the bad guys with good old bone crunching effect. There is a sword fight thrown in at the beginning of the movie but it betrays just how slow Seagal has become these last few years in comparison to the great sword fight at the end of Marked For Death many years ago. There is several fight scenes spaced out through the movie but none are executed as they should be. Some are slowed down while others are speeded up and one weird confrontation has a man running along the walls of a barber shop trying to avoid Seagal. The first 20 minutes are not bad and I thought that I was going to be in for a better time than The Foreigner but the movie took a nose dive after the 20 minute mark. Seagal just doesn't even try to put the effort into saying his lines. Most of his scenes at the beginning are all done in voice over with Seagal just sitting there doing that strange lip motion that turned up in Ticker, perhaps a new addition to his acting method for his later roles!! Some scenes in the movie do betray how low the budget was with dodgy CGI flying sequences and background blue screen. Some of the actors even wear the same clothes all the way through the movie. Seagal just looks bored and over weight and probably wants to be off making another echo friendly save the whales' movie rather than this. Seagal's argument for leaving Warner Brothers was that they made him do movies he didn't want to do so by that logic now that he has left Warner Brothers, the type of movie he really wants to make to entertain his once large fan base are badly made, low budget, incoherent crap like Ticker, The Foreigner and this. Rent before you buy if you haven't seen it.
Rating: Summary: A GOOD SEAGAL MOVIE Review: I FEEL I AM THE ONLY TRUE SEAGAL FAN LEFT I OWN ALL HIS MOVIES{NICO HARD TO KILL,MARKED FOR DEATH,OUT FOR JUSTICE,UNDER SIEGE,UNDER SIEGE 2,ON DEADLY GROUND,EXECUTIVE DECISSION,THE GLIMMERMAN,FIRE DOWN BELOW,THE PATRIOT,EXIT WOUNDS,TICKER,THE FOREIGNER,OUT FOR A KILL,HALF PAST DEAD,BELLY OF THE BEAST.AND I RESPECT ALL OF THEM AND HIM.THIS IS A GOOD MOVIE WITH FANTASTIC ACTION SCENES.THE SPECIAL EFFECTS ARE POOR THOUGH FOR EXAMPLE THE SKY THE FIRE AND I HATE THE SCENE IN THE BARBERS WHEN THAT MAN IS RUNNING UP THE WALL ALL IN ALL A GOOD SEAGAL MOVIE YOU SHOULD ALSO STOP DISSING THE WAY HE LOOKS HE IS 55 FOR GODS SAKE
Rating: Summary: Not what I expected! Review: I have always been Steven Seagal fan, couldn't wait to see them all! But this movie had to be Steven at his worst. It jumped around from scene to scene, sometimes to leave you wondering what in the world was going on. It was hard to figure out exactly who was doing what. It couldn't hold our interest, and we found ourself dozing off. We actually stopped this movie before it was over. I won't be buying THIS movie to add to my Seagal collection!
Rating: Summary: More Straight to Video Pulp Nonsense Review: I have been less than complimentary in my previous reviews of Mr Seagals recent offerings, but please don't think I have anything personal against him. The reverse is in fact true in that I have often been admonished for being a stalwart fan over the years. That having been said, I simply cannot recommend this cringeworthy, and dire outpouring any more than his other recent turkeys, which have been pretty awful to say the least. Perhaps his material and script choices are letting him down too much? Earlier films were exceptional in comparison, and in a competetive genre, one was always, it seemed, able to rely on Mr Seagal to deliver the goods, so to speak. In the unikely event that a comparison was ever drawn between Steven Seagal and say Clint Eastwood for example, we would see that the latter has moved graciously into older and more believable roles that expand on the character, whilst still retaining enough action and eye candy for fans and mainstream viewers. Where Seagal has stuck with the same formula that worked in the past, and has resulted in him coming across as a comical 007 character, desperately in need of retirement. A brief synopsis here finds Seagal as an archeologist battling drug lords who are using his artifacts to traffic their product without his knowledge. He does of course take umbrage to this, and after his family, dog, pet hamster and any other thing dear to him have been attacked or killed (as usual) he justifiably goes on the rampage. That's really all you need to know, and wouldn't be too bad in itself if the film were then braced with mountains of action. But sadly, even the once revered fight choreography scenes now seem also to be in short supply, and the end result is textbook formula nonsense. I didn't really care about the characters, or the plot which is a real shame. I only hope the eagerly anticipated Under Siege 3 will bring us back to the earlier Seagal, and a much greater performance.
Rating: Summary: With this one, Seagal has reached an all time low. Review: I know there's really no excuse for renting a Steven Seagal movie these days but what can I say? I started watching his films as a kid (I saw his first film, ABOVE THE LAW at the theatre along with all that followed) and I figure since I've seen every one I can't stop now. Besides, I thought HALF PAST DEAD was a decent B action movie and I even got somewhat of a kick out of THE FOREIGNER even though I know it was a terrible film. I think I just enjoyed the bad guys (Max Ryan above the others) in that one for the most part though. Well, Seagal has reached an all time low with his latest effort, appropriately titled OUT FOR A KILL (a cross between Seagal's OUT FOR JUSTICE and HARD TO KILL). Now I'm not gonna accuse Seagal of ever being able to act but in this one he's worse than ever before. Words roll of his tongue like he's hypnotized and void of all emotion. Not to mention that every time some text appears on the screen to tell you where the characters are, the words look like you've accessed the subtitle button yet you'll hear a sound like it's being typed out on a computer. If you don't know what I mean, you'll see if you're unfortunate enough to actually watch this one. This was the longest ninety-minute movie I have ever laid eyes on and I even had to put the fast forward button to use. What's funny is, I went into this one expecting a bad movie (like I said before, I saw THE FOREIGNER, not to mention TICKER) and got something far worse. If the writer and director of this trash made more than 99 cents together than some poor producer wasted their cash (ha, Seagal received a producing credit on this one - way to go tough guy). I mean this is way below the caliber of even Seagal's previous bad ones. Poor guy. I don't know if you're supposed to feel sorry for an action hero in a movie but I did. He had to use camera tricks and stand in's to make it seem like he was even punching a guy. Seagal really shouldn't make any more movies. Oh well, as long as he does, I'll probably keep on renting 'em. They're good for a laugh at least. F
Rating: Summary: I feel dumber for having watched this movie Review: I made the mistake of buying this movie without checking reviews (I saw it in a dvd store). OH. MY. GOD. I have been a Segal fan from way back, but his movies are getting steadily worse. I was actually sort of impressed that someone funded The Stranger, lacking, as it did, any semblance of plot or interest. The direction was awful, the effects, the cinematography, the fight sequences, soundtrack, everything. This movie was worse. Moments of slow motion--for no discernable reason, stilted dialogue, HORRIBLE acting, poor action sequences, etc. Heck, half the action scenes (why else would you be watching a Segal movie) are from an angle that lead me to believe it's not even Segal, but a stunt double. If you make the mistake of watching the movie, you'll really appreciate the plane sequence. Segal, wresting control from the pilot suddenly scares the pilot into talking by making several dives near the ground. This is supposed to scare a pilot? Not to mention the 'movement' outside the plane windows are patently fake. I think it says it all when the movie is forced to use text during slow motion scenes to introduce people (who die offscreen). Segal pieces together the 'mystery' of the people he's looking for by the series of helpful clues--yes, the bad guys have left a trail leading him in the right direction via tatooing their henchmen on the arms. What the hell?!? Let's lead police or bad guys to the head honcho with TATOOS?!? For the love of god, if you want an action film, DON'T watch this one. Go watch Under Siege 1 or 2. Or Hard to Kill. Avoid this wretched excuse for a movie. While you're at it, avoid the Stranger, too. I want 1.5 hours of my life back and the IQ points I lost from watching this movie.
Rating: Summary: ONE OF SEAGAL'S BEST RECENT MOVIES Review: I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD EVER SEE A GOOD STEVEN SEAGAL MOVIE EVER AGAIN, BUT HE DEFINITELY PROVED ME WRONG WITH THIS ONE. A PROFESSOR IS FRAMED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING. BUT JUST DAYS AFTER HE'S RELEASED FROM JAIL, THE SYNDICATE THAT FRAMED HIM THEN KILLS HIS WIFE. WANTING REVENGE, HE GOES ON AN EXTREMELY VIOLENT QUEST TO FIND THE SYNDICATE THAT WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR IT ALL. MY QUESTION IS WHY WASN'T THIS RELEASED IN THEATRES? YOU GOTTA ADMIT, THIS DEFINITELY DOESN'T FEEL LIKE A DIRECT TO VIDEO MOVIE. FILLED WITH SPECTACULAR FIGHTS AND IT'S FILLED WITH A LOT OF THINGS TO GRAB YOUR ATTENTION. HOWEVER, IF YOU'RE SQUEAMISH, YOU MIGHT NOT WANNA WATCH THIS MOVIE DUE TO ITS EXTREME AMOUNTS OF VIOLENCE AND GORE. BUT OTHER THAN THAT, A VERY ENTERTAINING ACTION MOVIE WITH A SHOCKINGLY VIOLENT FINALE. GO TO YOUR LOCAL VIDEOSTORE AND RENT THIS NOW! YOU'LL BE GLAD YOU DID!
Rating: Summary: MUCH BETTER THEN THE FOREIGNER WITH LOADS OF ACTION! Review: I recently purchased Out For a Kill on DVD. I know it dose not come out on DVD until August 19, but someone on Half.com had it in early, so I bought it. Out for a Kill has the same director as the Foreigner. He did learn his lesson that you need more action in Steven movies! This movie starts off as Robert (seagal) as an archeologists who unearthed artifacts in China with his partner. He discovers that the Chinese mafia the "Tong" are using the artifacts to ship drugs in them. He tries to flee, but his partner got killed. The police arest him thinking he killed his partner. He escapes goes back to his house to his wife and tells her that everything is fine. The house blows up with her in there. He then goes OUT FOR A KILL! Out For a Kill had much more action then the Foreigner, and is more interesting. I would have given this movie 5 stars, but there was something missing. The story is average. There is really nothing special. But the action does make up for it. Out For a Kill is rated "R" for Violence, Sexuality/Nudity, Language, and some drug content. I will say that the Foreigner did have one very good explosion, that this movie didnt. They needed to add one huge explosion. When the house explodes with his wife in it, it isn't very good. Combine explosions with this kind of action in this movie, you'll have pure Steven excitement! This is my final verdict: Acting-8 Action-8 Fun-7 Story-7 Overall- 7 Other movies I would reccomend is Under Seige (1 and 2), Half Past Dead, and Hard to Kill.
Rating: Summary: Truly, truly awful... Review: I think this is quite possibly the worst movie I have ever (willingly) seen...and that's quite a few! What can I say that is good about this movie? Pretty much nothing. Let's address some of its fatal flaws: (1) Poor dialogue. Yes, this is an action movie, but without more than 3 words per minute, it's hard to understand what's going on. Also, without a doubt some of the cheesiest lines for the bad guys I have ever heard. One says "You're f@#%ed white boy" 5 seconds before Seagal throws him through a window. (2) Poor special effects. Or, more accurately, a failure to mask the special effects that are in this movie. For example, the "sky effect" is very lame... at Seagal's house in the U.S. and when he's "interrogating" the pilot by pretending to crash the plane. Also, when he fights the guy in the barber shop who likes to float through midair like Casper the Ghost. Ridiculous. I think the producers wanted a "Matrix"-like effect with the fight sequences, but they want you to believe the fights are real (unlike the Matrix, where suspension of disbelief is part of the storyline, played to great effect), which clearly does not work. The CGI used is not at all necessary to make this movie, which makes it clear that this is a very low-budget flick. (3) Very flat characters. No, I didn't expect to know the innermost psyches of each character, but some vital ones are left almost completely undeveloped. Examples: (a) Seagal's cellmate, King, which seems to be a person Seagal will meet again (given the dialogue), never appears after he gets out. Very confusing. (b) Seagal's wife, very easy on the eyes, but obviously not an actress. She mumbles her words, and overdoes it with the facial expressions of dismay every time hubby decides to kick someone's butt in a crowded restaurant. We see her so little that when his house blows up with her in it, who cares? (c) The head Tong guy. So forgettable I don't even remember his name. All we see of him is his scowling at a table with ever decreasing henchmen. He repeats himself constantly, which is very annoying. (4) A totally disconnected plot. I mean seriously, we go from southern China, to America, to Eastern Europe, Bulgaria, etc. He can't stay in one location for more than 10 minutes. I understand this is the "Tong network", but why would each bad guy wait exactly in a predictable spot when they know Seagal is coming to kill them? And the biggest flop? An archaeologist who used to be a thief who knows advanced martial arts, might be a government agent, etc. Who is this guy? A spin on this theme worked in "On Deadly Ground" because his merc background was apparent from the beginning. However, such a notorious person going into hiding by becoming a world reknowned professor is laughable. This DVD landed in the trash can after one viewing. Just making it through to the end was a supreme effort of will, believe me. In the final analysis, this movie fails so horribly because I think it takes on way too much of a plot with such a limited budget. With the proper (major) studio backing, and a few competent writers, this could have been a much better film. As is, it has a film student project feel to it. Seagal should be ashamed to even be associated with this movie. I cried at the end not because it was dramatic, but because I wasted $20 on this piece of trash and the thought of someone else being victimized as well. Lesson learned: if it is straight to video a la Seagal, better get a second opinion first. Or, in the words of a previous reviewer, "rent it cheap!" Better yet, pass this stinker up entirely.
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