There is too much trash-talk about Mr Steven Seagal on IMDb nowadays. He is being accused of being fat, unfit, slow, etc. His fans are being upset by his latest movies, movies like these. Jackie Chan fans are giving him names, while being triggered by Steven Seagal fans. I am no fan at all and I don't have rotating blades instead of my limbs, so I watched this film with an open mind. And I can say that I enjoyed it. Can I back my "enjoyment factor"? Get this, IMDb fault-finders.
No.1 The Steven Seagal character is a whispering jacket-clad easy-going rogue with incredible stamina and a charming smile.
No.2 The film is full of surprises.
Surprise One Instead of fighting some crazy flipping bad guy (who is simply ridiculous with his unnecessary acrobatic moves before the real brawl) our hero just shoots him with a shotgun. I was 100% sure there would be an aikido fight.
Surprise Two When coming to jail and meeting black men who have a usual "criminal ghetto quality" our hero starts talking rap (!) in his signature low voice. Can you name any other action movie with such a linguistic twist? Amazing. Our actors also did a great job, making Mr Steven Seagal sound like "Coolio". I almost fell from my sofa when hearing that black-men-rap jargon - grown-up people talking like 13-years delinquents...
Surprise Three The existence of some magical circles, "prophecy" playing cards, intricate Indian ornaments, nightmarish dreams of the female character, and other extravaganza rubbish. I expected it would result in some apocalyptic ending but there is no such thing.
Surprise Four The hero's haircut is strange and his choice of clothes is not run-of-the-mill. I have never seen a man of action in such a heavy leather coat. It must be damn heavy.
Surprise Five In modern action movies it is almost a must for every director to insert some indecent "sexual" scene. This film is devoid of that stupid tendency. This point alone is a boost on my scale.
No.3 The plot of the movie is quite hectic but is not very difficult to follow. The hero finds a job. He becomes a driver working for some old grinning man. Then the hero gets into a bloody mess and very soon is zooming through the streets of the city in a money-van. He crashes, loses consciousness, goes to jail, meets some black hoodlums, fulfils a grand escape, shoots the hell out of a few bad boys, wins a big amount of money, and helps an orphanage. During all this a black woman, who loves him, is loading his ears with her strange talks about her nightmares.
Mr Steven Seagal puts some strange type of an action hero on the screen, who doesn't have to jump high, run fast, flip and high-kick. And I think that it is quite all right if he is an aikido master. Isn't it all about inertia and control of the incoming aggression? Then it doesn't matter if he's fat or not. Sumo fighters even must have weight, must they not? And I think a sumo master is yet to come onto the screen and embody a new type of action star.
He can follow the flow of the fight, he can make one quick move instead of some freaky quick succession of dynamite hits, he can keep calm in all situations, and he can go to sleep without pulling off his big pyjama jacket. I think it is enough for a unique on-screen hero. He is no Jackie Chan and he should not be. I was very glad to see something different from a usual kung-fu/karate flick with explosive over-the-top fighting or a usual modern CGI "XXX" action.
Stop fronting on this film - it is not bad at all. If I should compare, "Matrix: Reloaded" is pure "expansion-remake-of-the-original" manure if compared to this action film, though the IMDb rating suggests the opposite, in my humble opinion of course.
I am sure that there's no need to mention the bad sides of this movie, which are popping out now and then. Many people say that he is doubled in his latest movies. If he is doubled in this one, it is the worst side of the film I suppose. I did not notice though. As to the corny acting - I've got no problem with that, while the film is corny itself.
It would have been marvellous if Mr Steven Seagal and Mr Jackie Chan had made a movie together, playing two rivals with dozens of wicked henchmen at their disposal. I can even imagine the final showdown as Mr Jackie Chan in his Chinese outfit is doing his best with his whirling moves and helicopter kicks while Steven character in a big pyjama jacket is backing off being as calm as ever and makes brisk counterattacks hurting Jackie character badly while whispering one-liners. With good choreography this would have been of the same calibre as the notorious "Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris" fight. Unfortunately this movie is non-existent.
Fair job, Mr Steven Seagal, not perfect of course, but pretty fair: 6 out of 10 (the lingual twist alone deserves respect), just do what you can and make more zany action, keep off stupid bed scenes (like in this action flick) and don't be afraid to show yourself even if you are not in a top-notch muscular condition! And don't hit the gym because it is very harmful to one's health. Thanks for attention.
No.1 The Steven Seagal character is a whispering jacket-clad easy-going rogue with incredible stamina and a charming smile.
No.2 The film is full of surprises.
Surprise One Instead of fighting some crazy flipping bad guy (who is simply ridiculous with his unnecessary acrobatic moves before the real brawl) our hero just shoots him with a shotgun. I was 100% sure there would be an aikido fight.
Surprise Two When coming to jail and meeting black men who have a usual "criminal ghetto quality" our hero starts talking rap (!) in his signature low voice. Can you name any other action movie with such a linguistic twist? Amazing. Our actors also did a great job, making Mr Steven Seagal sound like "Coolio". I almost fell from my sofa when hearing that black-men-rap jargon - grown-up people talking like 13-years delinquents...
Surprise Three The existence of some magical circles, "prophecy" playing cards, intricate Indian ornaments, nightmarish dreams of the female character, and other extravaganza rubbish. I expected it would result in some apocalyptic ending but there is no such thing.
Surprise Four The hero's haircut is strange and his choice of clothes is not run-of-the-mill. I have never seen a man of action in such a heavy leather coat. It must be damn heavy.
Surprise Five In modern action movies it is almost a must for every director to insert some indecent "sexual" scene. This film is devoid of that stupid tendency. This point alone is a boost on my scale.
No.3 The plot of the movie is quite hectic but is not very difficult to follow. The hero finds a job. He becomes a driver working for some old grinning man. Then the hero gets into a bloody mess and very soon is zooming through the streets of the city in a money-van. He crashes, loses consciousness, goes to jail, meets some black hoodlums, fulfils a grand escape, shoots the hell out of a few bad boys, wins a big amount of money, and helps an orphanage. During all this a black woman, who loves him, is loading his ears with her strange talks about her nightmares.
Mr Steven Seagal puts some strange type of an action hero on the screen, who doesn't have to jump high, run fast, flip and high-kick. And I think that it is quite all right if he is an aikido master. Isn't it all about inertia and control of the incoming aggression? Then it doesn't matter if he's fat or not. Sumo fighters even must have weight, must they not? And I think a sumo master is yet to come onto the screen and embody a new type of action star.
He can follow the flow of the fight, he can make one quick move instead of some freaky quick succession of dynamite hits, he can keep calm in all situations, and he can go to sleep without pulling off his big pyjama jacket. I think it is enough for a unique on-screen hero. He is no Jackie Chan and he should not be. I was very glad to see something different from a usual kung-fu/karate flick with explosive over-the-top fighting or a usual modern CGI "XXX" action.
Stop fronting on this film - it is not bad at all. If I should compare, "Matrix: Reloaded" is pure "expansion-remake-of-the-original" manure if compared to this action film, though the IMDb rating suggests the opposite, in my humble opinion of course.
I am sure that there's no need to mention the bad sides of this movie, which are popping out now and then. Many people say that he is doubled in his latest movies. If he is doubled in this one, it is the worst side of the film I suppose. I did not notice though. As to the corny acting - I've got no problem with that, while the film is corny itself.
It would have been marvellous if Mr Steven Seagal and Mr Jackie Chan had made a movie together, playing two rivals with dozens of wicked henchmen at their disposal. I can even imagine the final showdown as Mr Jackie Chan in his Chinese outfit is doing his best with his whirling moves and helicopter kicks while Steven character in a big pyjama jacket is backing off being as calm as ever and makes brisk counterattacks hurting Jackie character badly while whispering one-liners. With good choreography this would have been of the same calibre as the notorious "Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris" fight. Unfortunately this movie is non-existent.
Fair job, Mr Steven Seagal, not perfect of course, but pretty fair: 6 out of 10 (the lingual twist alone deserves respect), just do what you can and make more zany action, keep off stupid bed scenes (like in this action flick) and don't be afraid to show yourself even if you are not in a top-notch muscular condition! And don't hit the gym because it is very harmful to one's health. Thanks for attention.