Rating: 
Summary: Not half bad...
Review: Half Past Dead, is a reasonably entertaining, comic book level, action flick. While no masterpiece, it does have its moments, and some pleasant surprises. Action veteran Steven Seagal heads a diverse cast, and though we don't see too much of his trademark fighting style, he delivers a solid performance, with perhaps a bit more depth of character than usual.Seagal is Sasha Petrosevitch, an undercover FBI agent, working to gain the confidence of Nick, a big time car thief, played by rapper Ja Rule. After a confrontation with the FBI, both men are incarcerated on Alcatraz. Bruce Weitz (Hill Street Blues) is Lester McKenna, a prisoner who has stolen and hidden 20 million in gold bullion. On death row, he is about to be executed, when the prison is invaded by the "49ers", a group of criminals who want McKenna to reveal the gold's location. Morris Chestnut is Donnie Johnson (49er One), the group's charismatic and ruthless leader. His second in command is 49er Six, played with style and panache, by the explosive and sexy Nia Peeples. Johnson's plans need to be adjusted, when the inmates get involved. Actor/Writer/Director Don Michael Paul provides an informative commentary that stresses and details, the trials and tribulations of bringing this low budget production to the screen. Paul's screenplay was originally written years before, but was shelved because of similarity to Jerry Bruckheimer's film, "The Rock". Rewritten to incorporate modern elements of hip-hop culture, Paul explains that his goal was to produce a fast paced film, with a stylized music video vibe. His big screen directorial debut was filmed primarily in Berlin, shortly after the 9/11 incident. Despite the monetary difficulties, the film delivers some decent action scenes, with enough of a plot to hold things together. Rated PG-13, it contains massive amounts of gunfire and violence, punctuated by a rap and metal soundtrack. Ja Rule's performance is quirky, and he does a passable job in his action scenes. Morris Chestnut makes an eloquent and intelligent villain. Linda Thorson, as a Supreme Court Judge, and Bruce Weitz, are not bad. Supporting characters played by Claudia Christian, Tony Plana, and the rapper Kurupt, are less developed and more one-dimensional. Nia Peeples is a suprisingly impressive bad girl. Costumed in a tight black outfit, her look combines elements from The Crow, and The Matrix. Peeples looks great carrying a gun, and performs most of her own fight scenes. Her background as a dancer is put to good use, as her flashy fighting style primarily features kicking and jumping, bringing an edge to the proceedings. As for Steven Seagal, this film, like Exit Wounds, seeks to build some ties with hip-hop culture. His character is troubled, reflective, and a bit restrained, taking the back seat at times to others. He doesn't engage in much hand to hand, and editing makes his fight scenes flow. Those looking for old school Steven, may be disappointed, but the reality is that time catches up with all of us. Nonetheless, Seagal carries the film, making it an enjoyable and entertaining escape for action film aficionados.
Rating: 
Summary: This is a tired and boring copy of a copy
Review: Half Past Dead... more like Half Past Alive. There were a couple times when I thought the movie was going to end up being good, but a couple goods don't beat fifty lames.
Here's the plot: Ja Rule and Steven Segal are partners in crime until they're unexpectedly arrested and thrown into the New Alcatraz prison. Coincidentally, an inmate there knows where 200 million dollars worth of gold is, but he's on death row, and he plans to take the secret with him to the grave. Some dirty government bad guys think differently though, and they decide to break into the prison and coerce the dead man walking into telling them where the gold is. The bad guys start killing people, so Steven Segal, Ja Rule, and the inmates get out of their cells, get a bunch of guns, and save the day, all with Ja Rule's music pumping in the background.
I guess I just wasn't very convinced. There were lots of gunfights and plenty of action, but I felt as if there was a large, dark cloud of unoriginality and hopelessness hovering over the movie. However, I was happy when the bad guy got blown up in the helicopter; he was such a punk.
Rating:
Summary: H@/F p@$T De@d
Review: Half Past Dead Just two months ago, I wrote about how depressingly 80s action film retro I found `Ballistic: Ecks Vs. Sever.' Now comes another slice of the same bitter pie, `Half Past Dead.' Sascha (Steven Segal) and Nick (rapper Ja Rule) are two criminal buddies out to make a huge score with some stolen goods. When an FBI agent (Claudia Christian) interrupts the deal, the duo is sent to the new, improved Alcatraz to serve their prison sentences. While Sascha and Nick are finding their bearings, a team of thieves, lead by criminal mastermind Donny (Morris Chestnut, `Like Mike`), have broken into the prison to retrieve information from a death row inmate about 200 million dollars worth of stolen gold bars. With the FBI held at bay as Donny and his crew raise hell in the prison, it's up to Sascha and Nick to save the day. Television actor Don Michael Paul (`Renegade,' `Models, Inc.') makes his directorial debut with `Half Past Dead,' and somebody's been studying the Michael Bay school of action. `Dead' isn't anything new. It's chaotically photographed and sloppily performed like countless other action vehicles, scored with any rap or nu-metal track the production could get its hands on, and actually tries to make Steven Seagal into a sensitive hero, allowing the stilted actor some scenes of smiling, and even comedy, to open up his range. It's like watching Leatherface on `Whose Line Is It Anyways?' It just doesn't quite work or make sense. Even though the film is decidedly formulaic, you can only fight that for so long before you have to make due with what you've got. And `Half Past Dead' ain't half bad, if you can stomach the lack of creativity, and the employment of not one, but two rappers in the film (Kurupt has a small role). A small time rip-off of `The Rock,' `Die Hard,' and any other gun fetishizing, machismo actioner you can think of from the late 80s to the mid 90s, `Dead' attempts to be oceans of fun, but Paul shamelessly guides his film through the motions, without any idea that what he is committing to film here is beyond played out. It's not that he's wasting a great leading cast in the process. Though notorious for letting the camera sell his fight scenes for him, it seems Steven Seagal went one better and only showed up for his close-ups here in `Dead.' The once mighty, now just absurd action star doesn't help Paul out with his monotonous line readings and refusal to perform a single one of his own stunts. Same goes for baddie Morris Chestnut, whose matches Seagal scene for scene with his own brand of lifeless, embarrassing acting (this is the second film the actors have made together). And the less said about Ja Rule, the better. Can we even call what he does acting? Thankfully, Paul has cast his supporting players with a little more flair, and maybe even helped out some old friends in the process. Television vets Bruce Weitz (`Hill Street Blues') and Tony Plana turn in strong work as a death row inmate and an Alcatraz warden, respectively. Claudia Christian (`Babylon 5') brings a rough butchness to her FBI role, conjuring up more testosterone than any of the rappers. Even Stephan J. Cannell, old-school action producer of `The A-Team' and `Hunter,' shows up in a small role. And Nia Peeples, of all people, the eternally chipper host of the failed 90s dance show `The Party Machine' and a vet of countless TV movies, takes on the role of Donny's number one hit woman. Peeples steals the movie away from everyone, mostly because it appears she's the only one to show up for her stunt work. With an entire movie you can set your watch to, Paul's little casting surprises outside of Seagal keeps this desperate little film interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: The worst
Review: I couldn't get through it. The worst movie I have ever seen.
Rating:
Summary: Half Past Dead is an Understatement!
Review: I first "discovered" Steven Seagal when he made "Above the Law." HEre was this tall, skinny white boy who obviously knew something about the martial arts -- no charlatan he! Iloved the moral of corrupt government and his lone ranger approach to exposing that corruption. Then came "hard to Kill" and again,we dealt with crooked politicians and Seagal's one man gang approach to exposing them. "Marked for Death" interjected race and Seagal had a hard time justifying how he could destroy an entire Jamaican drug posse on their own turf. But even in that, he showed mastery of his craft and protected suburbia from the influx of Rastafarian ne'er-do-wells. In "out for justice" he avenged the death of his partner and played the role of a cop out for vengeance: "Anybody here know why somebody would wanna kill Bobby Lupo?" His Italian accent left a lot to be desired, but his martial arts skills were on display as he dissected an entire pool hall and at movie's end, some of William Thompson's front teeth. But from there we saw changes. He went big time with Under Siege and Under Siege: Dark Territory," but then took a jive role in "Executive Decision." From there it was all downhill. His major problem was pushaways. It was clear that he found it difficult to push himself away from the table! He got fatter and fatter and his martial arts degenerated from full camera angles to clips and stand-ins. He went on a tear of movies teaming up with even goonier rap stars: DMX and then this kid Ja-Rule. As he descended down the hill into the valley of mediocrity, no movie better evidences this slide than "half past dead." Somehow, he and Ja-Rule organize a prison riot and break. I don't want to give what little plot there is away, but in my view, Nia Peeples steals the show. Not only does she look great in her all black leather gear, but her martial arts skills are real and make Seagal look like a relative novice. Seagal is also upstaged by almost everyone else in the movie, and his fight scenes are laughable. The Steven Seagal who did "Above the Law" and "Out for Justice" has disappeared with flicks like "The Foreigner,""The Patriot," and a slew of others, that only seem interested in giving him star billing to lure poor suckers into renting videos (most of is movies, thank God, are going straight to video, bypassing movie theaters). This movie is embarrassingly bad for everyone except for hip-hop fans, who will enjoy Ja-Rule's role as a prisoner (yeah, like he'd make it without being some guy's boy toy). Don't waste your time, folks - he's not the same Steven Seagal. Perhaps his talents would best be put to use if he made a movie called, "Above the Kitchen Table," or how about, "Out for Grub"? Maybe one titled, "Under Siege: Curdled Gravy" or "Marked For a Diet."
Rating:
Summary: awful
Review: I like steven segal ,but this was almost unwatchable
Rating:
Summary: PRETTY GOOD TO ME
Review: I liked this movie. Although Segall seems to be gaining weight and looks a little bloated , his martial arts are still on track. Ja Rule was a pleasent surprize as an actor and the rest of the cast was fine also. People just want to diss the movie because its not some deep mind study of prision life. Its an action flick. Reality has to bend a little. By the way... Nia Peebles plays a great charter in this movie. She looks fantastic in the skin-tight outfit and she can fight like the devil. Her stunts looked fantastic. If she could she should make a movie herself with this type of character she might hit it big. Reccommened.
Rating: 
Summary: Half Past Dead
Review: I refuse to believe that anyone would give this rag 5 stars. Just trying to find some balance.
Donate your money to an animal shelter before you buy something as stupid as this.
Rating:
Summary: not boring
Review: I saw this movie on cinemax and its terific. Plus it has some good music like im a bang.
Rating:
Summary: Steven Seagal Rules
Review: I saw this movie the 1st. day it came out.I liked it alot.
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