Out For A Kill (2003)

Remember Steven Seagal back when he was Out For Justice? Remember that time he was Hard To Kill? Well, you may not ever want to remember when he goes Out For A Kill (is that like going out for a packet of cigarettes?? Who the hell named this movie??).

I am just going to blurt out the plot of this film in one go because, trust me, if I stop then I may collapse in fits of laughter and nobody will believe me when I get to the end of the paragraph. Seagal this time plays an archaeology professor by the name of Robert Burns who gets caught up in a drug smuggling operation, is wrongfully accused of being involved with the big baddies and then gets out to track people down and kick ass thanks to the skills he had earlier in life before he was a professor of archaeology and was, in fact, a fantastic thief and actually earned his archaeology degree while in prison. So he can handle himself too, when he's not busy winning awards for his work in the field of archaeology. Most of this is information supplied throughout the movie, I'm not making any of it up. With the lives of those around him endangered, Seagal must go, ummmmm, out for a kill. Or two.

There are moments throughout this movie that aren't that bad. Some of the action sequences are okay and the film is never boring. But then director Michael Oblowitz (who also helmed The Foreigner) tries to put in some fancy touches and makes some stylistic choices that just don't work. Be it computer effects clearly at the edge of the FX budget boundary or a bit of unbelievable, gravity-defying wire-fu, the flourishes that detract from straightforward, solid action prove to be distracting mis-steps.

The screenplay, mostly written by Dennis Dimster, is generally awful and there's just nobody good enough to cover over the material with any decent acting. If anything, Seagal seems to get progressively worse with each movie while the likes of Michelle Goh, Corey Johnson (though he's almost not too bad), Tom Wu and Kata Dobo all show a lack of any talent. Perhaps that's the fault of the material, maybe it was too weak to overcome, but the performances certainly don't help.

However, there is more effort made to actually display the fighting moves of Seagal in this movie as opposed to the gun-heavy antics of The Foreigner so die-hard fans will find enough here to keep them entertained.

4/10.

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

The Foreigner (2003)

The Foreigner of the title is Steven Seagal, a man entrusted to pick up a package and deliver it. Sounds simple enough. It soon turns out that a lot of people want to get their hands on this package and Seagal must fend off numerous foes while he tries to resolve the situation for the best.

Written by Darren O. Campbell and directed by Michael Oblowitz, The Foreigner is one big mess of a movie that somehow manages to avoid boredom by throwing in a BIG explosion every 20 minutes or so and letting Seagal kick ass often enough to appease his fans.

The acting is pretty terrible from all involved. Seagal himself is up to his usual standard (take that as you will) but the rest of the cast seems to be filled by jobbing actors who keep struggling to decide what accent they should be using. Max Ryan is the worst offender as Dunoir, the main foe for much of the movie, but Deobia Oparei uses his limited screentime to drag the movie down and Harry Van Gorkum isn't someone I will be looking out for in future. Jeffrey Pierce somehow comes out of this looking better than most, perhaps thanks to his laid-back character being a bit more relaxed than all of the uptight folk trying to keep straight faces. And Anna-Louise Plowman is both okay in her role and easy on the eyes.

Filmed in Poland and Germany, the movie feels like a cheap quickie made to please easily-satisfied action junkies. There are plenty of little editing tricks making the most of the footage and the same stuntwork crops up in most of the action sequences (just how many times do we need to see a "standard henchman" tumbling backwards from a ledge?) but I'd also have to admit that it actually does meet the requirements for low-grade action fare.

This movie marked the beginning of what we might call Seagal's wilderness years (numerous movies that didn't get theatrical releases before his "Steven Seagal: Lawman" TV show and his role in Machete) but it's still not the worst thing his fans could choose to watch.

4/10.

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews