It seems that between late 80s/early 90s martial arts screen heroes Steven Seagal and Jean Claude Van Damme,straight-to-DVD/video wise,that Van Damme's newer efforts rapidly suck,while Seagal's are getting more and more action-packed,and even stranger(and wilder),with his three latest titles "Out For A Kill"(Seagal vs. the Asian Triads),"Out Of Reach"(Seagal vs. a Euro,but American-run,child slavery ring),and the most action-packed and outrageous of them all,"Belly Of The Beast",which features Buddhist magic,a trannie villain for Seagal to duke it out with,Seagal doing Hong Kong-style action(although his double is obvious,but it still makes Seagal look more better and invincible---take note for your next movie,Don "The Dragon" Wilson[who's in sheer need of HOng KOng-style fight sequences]) and a Amer-Asian crime ring that Seagal(with help from his Buddha pal)takes out.
All three also feature Seagal sword fighting a lot,as well as Seagal tossing bad guys as if they were rag dolls,for if Seagal still in league with the theatrical run studios(instead of the straight-to-video/DVD ones),his career would have still stayed fully theatrical release-intact,had he done these three movies instead of sore LaHoo-ZaHers like "Exit Wounds" and "Fire Down Below",for these three films do show that Seagal has some fighting life left inside of him,acting-wise(and I'm not even the biggest Seagal fan to admit that).
What about Exit Wounds? I heard that that's good.
Steven who?
Seriously, I have a title for a new movie for him: Out Of Shape
I'm inclined to agree. If Seagal had done more movies like Under Siege, and fewer like On Deadly Ground, he might still be in theatres.
Exit wounds was pretty silly. It's 1/2 DMX showing off his wardrobe and 1/2 Segal kicking everybodys ass. I dont like the fights as much as the ones in the early Segal flicks. In Exit Wounds their more sensationalized, adding flips and high kicks and all that kinda crap. I prefered Segal just breaking everybodies bones for about 90 minutes. If you watch it turn off your brain.
"Out of Shape".
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry 'bout that. I liked Under Seige 1&2.
But I was 11 when I saw them, though.
Under Siege 1&2 were good. They were action packed and fairly entertaining. I think it was after the last one that it all started to go to hell.
I remember it because it was on TV a few weeks befor/after Sep. 11.
I should catch up with the latest direct to DVD Segal films. I wonder if Blockbuster is carrying any of them. I haven't noticed them.
I wouldn't worry if you don't catch them at the video store, Scott. They seem to go turn up on USA (or TBS like "Exit Wounds" did) within six months of the video release, almost as fast as Van Damme films do. I liked some of his early films, but now he's more fun to watch to appreciate the decline of his career, the ballooning of his weight, and the funnier and faker his hairpieces get.
There was a recent episode of "Biography" on A&E about him that was an entire puff piece (kind of like his face). It glazed over the details of his past, and whether he made up details. The spin they took on Michael Ovitz putting Segal in the movies and why was hard to take seriously. Half of the show was just promotional junk for some upcoming Segal film he was filming in Japan. This was supposed to be a big deal since he was filming for the first time in the country where he learned his martial arts. The show also claimed his music album was hugely popular in France, there's a recommendation.
Thanks Yaddo42, I'll wait till cable.
I saw the list of movies he's doing on IMDB and one's called TODAY YOU DIE - and in the imdb board there's a guy who phrased that the sequal would be called TOMORROW I EAT. I thought it was hilarious.
I didn't much care for Under Siege 2. Loved the first Under Siege, partly just because the battleship setting was so cool. In terms of acting but I think Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey deserve more credit than Seagal. He was a block of wood when he wasn't fighting, which I'll grant was entertaining in its own way. My friends and I used to shout "get my pies out of the oven" at any Seagal movie after that one. It was one of his best lines.