Action hero Steven Seagal seems to make nothing but abominable, low-budget thrillers. Occasionally, he churns out a decent one, but nothing comparable to he did when he was slim and trim during his theatrical release days back in the 1980s and the 1990s. Since those halcyon days, he has made several potboilers with director Keoni Waxman. "End of a Gun" is their latest collaboration, and Seagal doesn't skulk around the edges on this movie. Indeed, he stars as the indestructible protagonist, a former DEA Agent named Michael Decker who got booted out of the agency for doing things his way. As this yarn unfolds, our tall, imposing hero intervenes when he spots a man mistreating his stripper girlfriend in a parking lot one evening. Like most Seagal fights, this one doesn't last long, and the arrogant Ronnie (Andrei Ciopec) makes the mistake of brandishing an automatic pistol. Predictably, Decker decks him with a minimum of shots. The Paris police confiscate Decker's favorite pistol, but his old pal Jean (Ovidiu Niculescu) doesn't arrest him. The beautiful lady, Lisa Durant (television actress Jade Ewen), that Decker rescued has an idea. She suggests Decker team up with her and the appropriate all of Ronnie's loot. The catch is that small fortune is locked up in the trunk of Ronnie's car, and the vehicle is parked in the police impound garage. Instead of taking ten percent, Decker decides to cut himself in for half of the loot. Meanwhile, Decker's chief adversary Gage (Florin Piersic Jr. of "Youth Without Youth") assembles a couple of gunmen, and they track Lisa down to the less than fashionable motel where Decker left her. The bullets fly, and Decker ices Gage's two henchmen without breaking a sweat. Nevertheless, Cage survives and manages to escape with Lisa. Gage's boss Vargas isn't pleased with his henchman's lack of progress in retrieving his money. Lisa convinces Gage to let her live so she can bargain with Decker. They set up a rendezvous to make a swap--the rest of the dough for Lisa--but she isn't fooling Decker. Decker relies on his Parisian friend to back him up. Mind you, Jean doesn't get out of all the gunfire without catching a slug for Decker. Unfortunately, all these shenanigans lack artistry, and Waxman lenses everything like the B-movie that it amounts to just to get it in the can and get on to the next picture. Waxman and co-scenarist Chuck Hustmyre generate nothing in the way of either suspense or momentum because the villains never properly challenge our hero. As the femme fatale, shapely Jade Ewen looks gorgeous, but she doesn't shed a stitch. Of course, she doesn't fool anybody either. Seagal talks a lot about honor in his gravelly voice. "End of a Gun" isn't anything to shout about, but it is better than the typical straight-to-video shoot'em up.
Review of End of a Gun
