OK, this was never gonna be Citizen Kane... Hell, it was never gonna be Out For Justice. But I am happy to confirm that Seagal's latest DTV opus is one of his best in a long time, fulfilling on the promise of Urban Justice and Pistol Whipped as an upturn in his descent into c-movie hell. His last movie with writer/director Waxman (The Keeper) was enjoyable enough, with some fun character stuff (for a Seagal flick, that is!) and competent film- making, although there were issues with pace and a lack of action. Here, the movie starts hard and keeps on going, only lagging slightly in the second act.
Big Steve resurrects one of his DTV staple characters - the wrongly accused, embittered ex- con. There is also reference to a Special Forces history to explain away his awesome ass- kicking ability this time. The plot is fairly straightforward, not as convoluted as they can be, despite warring criminal factions and a crooked cop conspiracy. There are a few concessions to the low-budget but on the whole it is fairly well edited and well paced.
But let's face it... what fans wanna know is how the action fares. Well, I'm pleased to report it's pretty action packed, especially for a DTV. Seagal is in hard-hitting, bone-snapping, bloodily violent form. The frequent fight scenes are let down by some too-close camera-work and jumpy editing, but we still get the sense that big Steve can still pull out the stops, there is no noticeable stunt doubling during the fights, and he even brings back some of the old school Aikido throws and locks. A highlight is a fight in which Seagal makes deadly use of a chopstick that has to be seen to be believed.
There is some dubbing involved, unfortunately, but the guy doing so is a lot closer to Seagal's voice and delivery than ever before, and as I said, no noticeable double work. He actually seems engaged in the flick, particularly in the second half coming across as natural and relaxed. There are a couple of cool supporting characters, in particular a Russian Gangster with a code of honour and a hatred for cops.
It's not going to win any new fans over, but for those hardcore fans that have stuck with the Tall Guy it's a welcome return to some sort of form, and for those old school fans that have skipped his recent work (and I don't blame you!) is well worth a look.
Big Steve resurrects one of his DTV staple characters - the wrongly accused, embittered ex- con. There is also reference to a Special Forces history to explain away his awesome ass- kicking ability this time. The plot is fairly straightforward, not as convoluted as they can be, despite warring criminal factions and a crooked cop conspiracy. There are a few concessions to the low-budget but on the whole it is fairly well edited and well paced.
But let's face it... what fans wanna know is how the action fares. Well, I'm pleased to report it's pretty action packed, especially for a DTV. Seagal is in hard-hitting, bone-snapping, bloodily violent form. The frequent fight scenes are let down by some too-close camera-work and jumpy editing, but we still get the sense that big Steve can still pull out the stops, there is no noticeable stunt doubling during the fights, and he even brings back some of the old school Aikido throws and locks. A highlight is a fight in which Seagal makes deadly use of a chopstick that has to be seen to be believed.
There is some dubbing involved, unfortunately, but the guy doing so is a lot closer to Seagal's voice and delivery than ever before, and as I said, no noticeable double work. He actually seems engaged in the flick, particularly in the second half coming across as natural and relaxed. There are a couple of cool supporting characters, in particular a Russian Gangster with a code of honour and a hatred for cops.
It's not going to win any new fans over, but for those hardcore fans that have stuck with the Tall Guy it's a welcome return to some sort of form, and for those old school fans that have skipped his recent work (and I don't blame you!) is well worth a look.