Say what you want about Steven Seagal and his movies, but I have to admire the guy for at least knowing his audiences and presenting them with movies that they want to see. The big, lumbering action star has always known what his role was; basically to thrill audiences by breaking as many wrists as possible and mowing down scumbags by the dozen. To be honest, it would be nice to see a bit of a return to this type of brain dead Action film, seeing as the year’s best Action movie so far is from the guys that brought us Shaun of the Dead.
So many Action films these days are all gloss and camerawork instead of just giving us a proper amount of ass kicking, and frankly it’s frustrating. Watching an old school Seagal flick these days is almost refreshing considering how straightforward they generally run. Much like Chuck Norris and Charles Bronson movies, the movies’ main asset is simply their unstoppable, super bad ass hero. There are bad guys, then Seagal shows up, beats them up, and rides off into the sunset.
To be honest, even at their worst these movies seem to be a thousand times more fun than what passes for an Action film these days, with movies like Shooter and The Condemned stinking up the place or just being down right repugnant. Even most blockbusters just seem too busy giving us big, CGI filled wonderments that still lack the visceral quality of a well done stunt sequence. My big hope is that perhaps the new Die Hard can help turn this trend around. Still, I’ve got my DVD collection to keep me afloat until the next big Action star finally arrives. Anyway, enough of my ranting, onto the Seagal movies at hand.
Marked for Death Starring Steven Seagal, Keith David, Basil Wallace, and Tom Wright. Directed by Dwight H. Little
For his third outing, Seagal’s onscreen success in Above the Law and Hard to Kill was rewarded with an even bigger screen adventure, which was able to once again utilize his screen presence and martial arts skill, while minimizing his limitations as an actor. The movie is Marked for Death and Seagal must face off against the evil forces of the Jamaican mob, and their leader Screwface (Basil Wallace). With ridiculous action, a touch of voodoo, and the best Seagal one liner ever, Marked for Death is one of the best Action films Seagal’s ever been a part of.
Steven Seagal IS John Hatcher a DEA Agent who gets burned out after a mission in Mexico ends badly. After he beats up Danny Trejo and stuffs him in a car (this is an actual fight I’d love to see) Hatcher goes ahead with a sting operation though the risks are way too high that it won’t go smoothly. When things do indeed go south, Hatcher has to fight his way out cutting a couple throats and blowing away a slew of thugs. Unfortunately, his partner is also shot in the process, and Hatcher has to kill a naked prostitute to get his partner out alive, leaving him shaken enough to retire.
Too bad when Hatcher gets back to his old neighborhood, Jamaican gangs called Posses have taken over the streets, poisoning the schools with drugs. Though he initially stays out of the fray, when he stops a gang member from murdering someone during a gang battle with the Latino mob, Hatcher becomes targeted by the gangs when he and his family are, you guessed it, marked for death. To save his family, Hatcher goes to the streets himself, breaking necks and gouging out eyes all the way to the top.
Now, I’ll say upfront that while this is a good Steven Seagal movie, if you don’t like Steven Seagal movies, you probably won’t like this one. You’re also probably not a real man if you don’t like this movie. While Seagal isn’t exactly stretching here, once again playing his favorite character, Steven Seagal, he is fun to watch as he’s once again an unstoppable killing machine. Whether it’s in gunfights, car chases, sword battles, or hand to hand combat, Seagal receives nary a scratch as he mows down the bad guys. There’s a particular scene I love where Seagal returns from killing one man, and watching another jump out of a window as an alternative to fighting Seagal or explaining his failure to his boss Screwface. Waiting in a car for Hatcher is his friend Max (Keith David), with Hatcher not even looking at him when he sits down. Then we get this gold piece of dialogue.
Max: Well?
John Hatcher: One thought he was invincible… the other thought he could fly.
Max: So?
John Hatcher: They were both wrong.
This is really the extent of Seagal’s acting in the film, and thankfully Director Dwight H. Little doesn’t ask too much of him other than the requisite amount of mayhem, most notably a jewelry store fight scene and an assault on the Posse compound which features a ton of gunplay and one severed head. Pairing Seagal up with David Keith and Tom Wright also helps as the duo make for good buddies in the movie, once again helping to shield Seagal’s shortcomings. Keith doesn’t get to be They Live awesome, but he makes for a perfect bad ass partner to Seagal’s Hatcher.
Perhaps the standout performance in the movie is Basil Wallace as Screwface. While I wouldn’t say he was Oscar worthy or anything, Wallace makes Screwface a pretty imposing villain and manages to make his character a memorable one amongst the usual cannon fodder in Seagal’s movies. I do wish the character’s “secret” was a bit more clever, but Wallace is still quite effective here and makes for a fun heavy for Seagal to wallop. The final battle between the two is a ridiculously violent encounter in which the loser’s back is broken in two and he is thrown down an elevator shaft.
Is Marked for Death an excellent movie? No, it is not, but it is a very fun one with tons of fights and interesting plot twists. The film would be another success for Seagal, and would lead to his next picture, which was and remains his grittiest one to date. Helmed by B-movie auteur John Flynn, Seagal would hit the streets like never before, and he’d be Out for Justice.
>Out for Justice Starring Steven Seagal, William Forsythe, Jerry Orbach, and Ronald Maccone. Directed by John Flynn.
Steven Seagal IS Detective Gino Felino, a member of the Tactical Narcotics Team of the NYPD who has a problem with authority, but gets results. He also talks with a thick, ridiculously fake Italian accent. I think outside of Under Siege, which is undeniably Seagal’s most solid effort, Out for Justice is the film I like the most. To me, this film more than any of Seagal’s flicks fits in the “Cop on the Edge” category, and with the help of a solid director makes this a rough, dirty thriller with fights that just feel more violent than most of the fights we’ve seen him in before.
The film is also a decent Revenge movie as well, as the film revolves around mobster and psycho Richie Madano (William Forsythe), a former friend of Gino’s who assassinates Gino’s best friend Bobby (Joe Spataro) on a crowded street. Hopped up on drugs and full of bloodlust, Richie is killing everyone in his way, from fellow gangsters to random motorists. With their back against the wall, the NYPD has no choice but to let Gino have full authority to do whatever it takes to bring Richie in.
This is where the film really gets interesting, as Flynn creates an fascinating world around Gino who actually has ties to the mafia because of his upbringing, and is even treated as one of their own amongst the mobsters. Others though, still treat him as an outsider, as instead of doing the “honorable” thing, he chose to become the enemy and join the police force. It’s this tension that drives most of this film, with Seagal perhaps turning in his best performance as this conflicted cop.
He’s also at his ass kicking best here, with Flynn setting action sequences that feel raw and extremely painful. The best is a scene in which an entire pool hall gets decimated by Gino, as he uses pool cues and balls to absolutely crush the hoods that are trying to take him out. Teeth and arms get smashed by Seagal, with Flynn really making it look like it hurts. Another sequence has Seagal taking out some of Richie’s thugs in a butcher shop, with one guy getting his hand nailed to the wall with a cleaver. Even the shootouts in this film just seem to have a little more impact, such as the film’s finale and another sequence in which Seagal has to shoot his way out of his family’s house.
We also get good supporting work throughout the movie, as Gina Gershon and Dominic Chianese (The Sopranos’ Uncle Junior) get good screen time as Richie’s sister and father. Forsythe though, comes off as a mad dog, let loose in a city where no one is able to put him down. I know it’s no stretch for Forsythe to be playing a maniac, but he’s especially unhinged in this picture. I just wish we were given a little more history between Richie and Gino, as their background together is only hinted at. I think as good as the dichotomy of their relationship in the flick; it could have been that much stronger. The final showdown between these two is a blood soaked brawl, with Richie throwing everything he has at Gino, including what kitchen utensils he can get a hand on. Once again, Seagal is invincible, but this time you really feel like Forsythe’s character has it coming, making it a satisfying moment of vengeance for Gino.
When it comes to Seagal’s more street-wise type movies, Out for Justice simply stands above the rest as far as viciousness and entertainment value. Seagal takes the “cop on the edge” mold that Bruce Willis, Chuck Norris, and Clint Eastwood had used before and fits it to his style, giving his most believable role, despite the ridiculous accent. The movie is just another terrific entry in the career of John Flynn’s who’s Rolling Thunder remains one of the best Revenge movies ever made. No Seagal collection is complete without this one.
Picture Credits: impawards.com, seagal.mirrorz.com
