Director: Steven Seagal
Cast: Steven Seagal, Michael Caine, John C. McGinley, R. Lee Erney
Country: United States
Rating: R
Run Time: 101 minutes
Oh boy, this is the tipping point. I had always heard that On Deadly Ground, Seagal's sixth feature, was the film that began the end of his Hollywood career and slowly but surely turned him into a joke. And you know what, those claims were correct. On Deadly Ground is a cheesy but entertaining action picture with one of the most obvious political and anti-oil industry messages you will ever hear. Seagal has no interest in subtlety. He takes that political message of his and essentially lectures the audience for four minutes on it at the end of his film. I kid you not. After churning out four big hits (Above the Law, Hard to Kill, Out for Justice, Under Siege) for Warner Bros, Seagal cashed all of his studio credit in order to make this highly personal actioner that entertains in parts but fails as a whole. Still, even though Seagal makes for an easy target to lampoon here, I commend the guy for trying to make a message movie. Even if he did fail miserably.
Forrest Taft (damn, Seagal's names are always awesome) is an expert in cleaning up oil related fires. He works for Michael Jennings (Michael Caine), the CEO of Aegis Oil based in Alaska. Even though Taft has worked with Jennings for several years, recent oil spills lead Taft to suspect foul play on Jennings' part. When Taft discovers that Jennings is rushing a potentially dangerous oil rig to completion in order to maintain the oil rights in Alaska, his suspicions become officially confirmed. Jennings and his right hand man MacGruder (John C. McGinley) set an oil fire trap for Taft to resolve only to blow it up in the process. However, Taft survives and is revived by Alaskan natives. Upon realizing how corrupt Jennings is and seeing how victimized the Alaskan people are, Taft and fellow native Masu set out to destroy Aegis 1's newest oil rig and return Alaska's oil rights back to the people. In other words, environmental terrorism!
On Deadly Ground's spot on environmental message is so overwhelmingly preachy that few people will be able to take it seriously. Seagal repeatedly bashes the audience over the head with his anti-oil corporation message that it becomes down right hilarious after awhile. On Deadly Ground also proves that Steven Seagal should never direct again. The man can't direct actors to respond in a realistic manner or deliver upon subtle and convincing themes. Every performer goes way over the top; along with Michael Caine, one of the greatest actors of all time, turning in a hilariously awful performance as Jennings, the film's evil and heartless villain.
Seagal also fails to capture sound well because there is a ridiculous amount of ADR in the film. Whenever the camera is not on someone's face, Seagal squeezes a ADR line in there just for good measure. The heavy usage of ADR hurts the film so much that it never recovers from it. The inconsistent audio issues appear from beginning to end, that's how bad they are. Vern's Seagology book claims that the ADR in the film must be a part of Seagal's directorial style because it is so abundant and present! I love Vern's positive outlook on such a terrible aspect of the film.
Even with On Deadly Ground's cheesy final speech and ever abundant message withstanding, the film still delivers on some hard R action scenes that will please any action fan. Seagal directs some fine fist fights, tossing in a slow motion shot or two for good measure. He also racks up a massive kill count during the film's final oil rig face off. However, my favorite action scene of the film occurs inside of a cabin in which Seagal must face off against a number of hit men. The scene becomes especially awesome when Seagal picks up an old tusk and whacks the hell out of one of the hitmen.
On Deadly Ground was the turning point for Seagal. He poured his heart and soul into this environmental film that set out prove that he was more than a mindless action star. Unfortunately, critics ate him up for it. The man has since to regain his commercial stature and most likely never will. Therefore, On Deadly Ground makes for an interesting case in which an action star poured their beliefs into one of their films and paid the price for it. Still, the flick is entertaining for its bloody action scenes and makes for a "so bad, it's good" film at times. On Deadly Ground is the ultimate cheese, Seagal cheese that is.
Rating: 5/10 - An environmental action flick done poorly. Entertaining action scenes though.
Director: Stuart Baird
Cast: Kurt Russell, John Leguizamo, Steven Seagal, Oliver Platt, Halle Berry
Country: United States
Rating: R
Run Time: 134 minutes
Note: Review contains spoilers regarding Seagal's character in the film.
Executive Decision is a unique film in the Seagal filmography because it was the first film that Seagal had a supporting role in and not the lead role. It was also the first film *spoilers, you've been warned* to kill Seagal off, and in the first 40 minutes as well! For all reviewing purposes, Executive Decision is not a Seagal film. It is a film with Seagal in it. He doesn't get to work in any of his own personal beliefs or become the star. In all honesty, Executive Decision is a Kurt Russell vehicle through and through. However, I believe the film plays an essential part in the end of Seagal's Hollywood career because it reduces him to a supporting role and kills him off; something that would never have been done to an action star like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone even at the top of their game.
The film opens with a raid on a safe house as Colonel Travis (Steven Seagal) and his team fail to recover a missing deadly nerve agent. Soon after, several terrorists take over a Boeing 747 and threaten to crash it into Washington, D.C. if the recently captured El Sayed Jaffa is not freed from custody. David Grant (Kurt Russell) is called into a meeting with the Pentagon consisting of the Secretary of Defense and Colonel Travis in order to discuss a strategy to save the hijacked plane. When Grant theorizes that the missing nerve agent might be on board the plane, Travis suggests using a stealth aircraft to get them onto the plane. When the men attach to the hijacked plane using the stealth aircraft, the connection goes haywire and results in the death of Colonel Travis. It is than up to Grant and the rest of Travis' team to disarm the nerve agent aboard the plane and to take down the terrorists before they crash the plane.
Executive Decision is quite terrifying to watch at times. You could never make a popcorn blockbuster out of a terrorist hijacking plot like this nowadays since the real life terrorist attacks on 9/11. Contemporary films based around terrorist plots like these are treated very seriously and typically made by respected filmmakers like Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty) or Paul Greengrass (United 93, Captain Phillips). Even though Bigelow and Greengrass' films contain terrorism and action, the subject matter is treated very carefully in order to respect the victims of such incidents and to treat the material as historical non-fiction instead of blockbuster entertainment. Therefore, Executive Decision marks a rare time in cinematic history in which terrorist plots could be treated as popcorn entertainment.
Seagal plays a small part in the film as Colonel Travis, the skilled leader of a team of Special Forces. Seagal gets to put his action face on in the opening scene of the film as he and his team take down a number of men inside of a safe house. He also gets to give his death stare during the meeting at the Pentagon as he stares down Grant for giving him incorrect intel on the nerve agent's location. However, I personally believe that Executive Decision is made all the better once Seagal is killed off during the scene in which the Special Forces make their way onto the plane. Once Seagal vanishes, the film turns into a tense nail biter as actors Kurt Russell and John Leguizamo become the center stage of the picture. The film becomes unbearably tense to watch as Grant and his team try to disarm a bomb and plan their takeover of the plane.
Although labeled an action picture, Executive Decision is more of a thriller with two action scenes sprinkled into the mix. But that's alright, because the film is a damn good thriller that even Alfred Hitchcock would enjoy. Still, the opening and closing action scenes in the film are first rate displays of 90s action done right with bloody squibs and affective framing. You know you are in for a bad ass film when the credit "Produced by Joel Silver" pops up.
Executive Decision starts off slow with a dull opening act. However, once Seagal is removed from the picture and the film moves entirely onto the plane, Executive Decision becomes a first rate action thriller seething with unbearable tension. Russell and Leguizamo do a great job carrying the picture along with fellow character actors Oliver Platt, Halle Berry, and Joe Morton. In terms of Seagal, the man would never seem to find his footing again after this film until his final hit, Exit Wounds, in 2001. Executive Decision seemed to be Warner Bros' further punishment to Seagal for churning out such a flop as On Deadly Ground. Therefore, I consider both films to mark the beginning of the end of the sensei's Hollywood career.
Rating: 8/10 - A stupendous action thriller seething with tension and great action.
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