Steven Seagal double session (I).

[Neville]

No, I'm not insane (yet). It just is that despite hating that jerk that Seagal is, I love bad action movies. This is the reason why, just after two weeks of posting about what a jerk he is, now I plan to review his two last movies, "The foreigner" and "Half past dead". I rented "The foreigner" just days ago, and this weekend I plan to watch "Half past dead" in a theatre (shrugs). This is the reason why the post has two parts.

The foreigner.
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Not that I was anxious to watch this one. As I mentioned before, I hate Seagal, and more specially, the aura of narcisism which uses to acompany the characters he plays and his vehicles. As I took the case from the shelf,  I tried to tell a wide-opened attendant that I honestly believed Seagal' s later movies were better than his first vehicles, quite probably because he had less control over them. Indeed, I think that with time they have become more a matter of "Let's do an action movie WITH Seagal" than "Let's do a Seagal vehicle", if you know what I mean.

In this particular case, the idea is to add  more action to a spionage film framework. By action I mean gunfight and explosions,  since there are no martial arts in this one. Add to the formula one of those scripts that has a twist every ten minutes or so. Seagal is as bad actor as ever, but at least his character this time is neither invincible nor particularly clever, although he is given the usual trademark "dark past", just in case we didn't  recognise Seagal in the abulic, out of shape character he is to play. I found quite funny that Seagal's decrepit  physique (he looks more wrinkled, overweighted and haggard than ever) makes him a good choice for the role of a retired, tired of everything CIA agent.

About the movie itself, it is not as bad as I expected, honestly. Sure, the plot is minimal (Seagal is asked to deliver a package by his former employer and has to face several murder attempts), and the constant plot twists soon leave it without any sense. Acting is mediocre at best, and the director seems more interested in feiging an unexistant stylishness (dark cinematography, MTV editing, slow-mo, fast-mo a plenty) than in anything else.

But in despite of all these faults, the movie is never boring, it is action packed, and the role played by Seagal is somehow refreshing after all this years of omnipotent, unbeatable pseudo-mystical characters. Here Seagal is cheated, used and even caught off guard a few times. Also welcome is the idea of the change of genre (as I said, this is more of a spionage movie than a thriller). I was getting tired of seing Seagal either as a cop looking for revenge or as a John McLane wannabe.

Conclusions: Bad, yes, but genuinely entertainning and even a bit refreshing, considering Seagal's career.



Post Edited (06-13-03 09:57)

[Dolph Lundgren]

Neville, I know exactly where you're coming from.  Bad action movies are my absolute favorite, so I'm always defending myself against people who think I'm crazy for liking them.  I'd rather watch the latest direct-to-video Van Damme "classic" than summer blockbusters.  Hell, I'm even a fan of Chuck Norris, which causes people to look at me like I'm insane.  I try to defend Seagal, and you're right, he is a dick in real life.  But that doesn't mean that some of his movies aren't entertaining.  I agree with your review on the Foreigner.  This movie got ripped apart by everyone, yet when I watched it, it wasn't THAT bad.  Yeah, Seagal's getting old and slow, but the movie tried its best to hide that.  It wasn't boring.  You summed it up pretty well with your review.  I've seen a lot worse, put it that way.

As for Half Past Dead, I enjoyed it, and my roommate even did, and he hates Seagal.  Don't get me wrong, the movie sucks and Ja-Rule is as annoying as you'd think he'd be.  If you thought the Foreigner was stylish, this movie makes it look like a joke.  You've got a small handful of John Woo-esque gunfights, tossed in with ridiculous yet occasionally entertaining action, and that's Half Past Dead in a nutshell.  Mindless entertainment.  Stupid, yet watchable.  Certainly not Seagal's worst, although some people say it is.

Nick

[Great Sage]

Hahaha... Both of you are dead on about Seagal.  Mainly, I see his movies just to see how awful it's gotten, or maybe to see how he's improved.  I agree, the newer films are better with less control by Seagal.

Typical Seagal Charaters:

â€" Cop, CIA or Special Ops
â€" Dark Past
â€" Invincible fighting skills
â€" Keen, quite demeaner while calm and collected
â€" A rogue character that doesn't follow the rules
â€" Some kind of tie-in with the Orient

[michael]

I'm about 2/3 the way through watching "The Patriot" and it really isn't that bad.  I heard this movie was so bad the studio wouldn't release in theaters and sat on it for four years until finally just doing the straight to video path.

This is not great or even a good movie, just not the absolute piece of garbage I was expecting.  I'm interested in what others think of this movie as compared to his others.

[JohnL]

I didn't buy him as a doctor for even a second.

[Neville]

Hey! I never said that "The foreigner" was stylish! I said it tried to be, and there is a difference.

About "The patriot", it is one  of the worse and funniest movies Seagal has ever made. He made it shortly after that insane movie he also directed as well, and it has many of the same problems (to sum up, it is idiotic and ego filled). It is quite enjoyable, in this so-bad-it-is-funny sort of way. Ken Begg made an awesome work reviewing this one and Seagal's only directorial effort at www.jabootu.com, and there's nothing I can really add to his views on the matter. Go read them if you are interested, they are probably the best reviews on Seagal I have ever read.