Into The Sun Reviews

[Littledragon]

Watch Submerged... A lot of people here like Into the Sun more, but Submerged is for me a lot better. Its a normal B-Action Flick. But i think even non-Seagal Fans like this one. I don't like Into the Sun too. No Action and no Suspense at all.

If you thought Into The Sun had no action at all, what do you call Submerged? There was 2 little less than a minute fight scenes of Seagal, Into The Sun had many more fight scenes than Submerged.

 

[Littledragon]

Plot:

Just like Submerged is a poor man’s version of Manchurian Candidate this is of(Or should I just say a blatant rip off) Rising Sun with Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes. A caucasian with a Japanese background conducting an investigation in Japan.

Dialogue:

The dialogue is written either by monkeys with typewriters or by amateur writers with the help of the equally unskilled Seagal. Just because he has certain talents doesn’t automatically make him a great writer.

I remember when I wrote my very first Script back in 1999. I re-read it recently and you know what I discovered? Not only did Into The Sun have the same amateur feel to it as my Screenplay but also that it was worse. I have matured since then and wrote two other more serious scripts that had nothing to do with martial arts. But that just shows you that this trio needs some writing lessons.

Acting:

Seagal delivered his lines in such a quite tone I had to let my remote run wild and was almost watching the film full volume which almost ruined my hearing because of the other normally acted scenes. He sounded like a dying Anthony Quinn making Avenging Angelo. But Quinn was 86. What’s Steven’s excuse? Maybe same one as for someone else dubbing his movies. Is this how he show’s his love for Japan? Then again his Japanese lines sounded like him. So I guess he mostly had his American lines dubbed. Guess he has no love for the US.

The rest of the actors weren’t memorable. And the side kick was not only very annoying but not very funny. He looked too young too for a CIA Agent. I say got back to school to finish your training. And maybe do stand up comedy by nights? That would improve your terrible one liners which weren’t funny here.

Unintentionally Hilarious Comedic Scenes:

Only scene that was hilarious was towards the end. Steven’s Japanese partner climbs over the fence and opens the gate for the big guy. But did Steven walk in? No, he rides in his Jeep. Hilarious simply hilarious.

Famous or Infamous(Your Pick) Sex Scene:

Let’s not forget about the sex scene. I have been having problems earlier with my remote. It barely worked due to old batteries. Thank god the batteries came through in the nick of time and allowed me to fast forward through this. I frankly for one don’t enjoy seeing older man of 50 or so with 18 year old looking girls.

The Action:

The Jungle Assault:

Actually not much of an assault to speak of. Seagal shoots a few men and there’s an explosion or two. Not a great introduction I would say. Seeing something like this can usually put people off simply because it feels too much like a B movie.

The Marked Fight:

This could be called a highlight of this film sadly. Short and violent in places. But 80 seconds or so isn’t enough to raise my hands and applaud this effort.

The Apartment Fight(About 20 or 30 Tedious Minutes Later):

Seagal infiltrates the gangster’s hangout and kills three or so men. It was very quick but at least he wasn’t doubled. Or so it seemed.

Pachinko Parlor:

Jackie Chan had a magnificent showdown in a Pachinko Parlor in his film Thunderbolt. It was realistic, brutal, and Ken Lo had quite a spectacular fight with him at the end on a bunch of display trampolines above the Pachinko Machines. Boy was I surprised when Steven casually walked past a bunch of Pachinko Machines without even thinking about fighting in this great background location. But then:

He took the elevator and did fight two henchman. Quite a good short fight. He even put the second henchman’s head through two Pachinko Machines to my surprise. So I guess I was quite happy in the end.

Then he faced Ken Lo. He was the amazing henchman Jackie Chan faced at the end of Drunken Master 2. Which to this day is the single best showdown captured on film. Ong Bak came close but it lacked heart. Sadly Ken Lo was wasted. He threw two kicks or so earlier on but they were very low to be called great. Considering he is known for his power kicks. The Steven fight was badly angled, dark, and lacking from the poor choreography. The close up’s made me think he was doubled. The cuts to the kicks without showing his face made me think he was doubled. And just the fact he used a double in the window fall made me already suspicious about the rest. Ken Lo had one good kick sadly which was slow motioned. And the hand to hand fighting was ridiculous. Ken Lo was attacking him with open hands. They weren’t even in a fist position. It’s like he was trying to pick Steven’s nose or maybe poke an eye out. As a Martial Artist I can tell you that is not how anyone fights.

The Temple Showdown:

While good it could have been better if Steven went in alone with no help. Would have been also more heroic. What was there was quite good. It was like a low budged version of Kill Bill. This was then quickly followed by the Boss Fight. But not before some embarrassing dialogue by Steven. Maybe this is the very part he wrote himself? The sword fight was good. Steven had a certain flow to his attacks I must say. But nothing spectacular or over the top. Maybe it did have a sense of realism but sometimes we want something else. Flashy unrealistic sword fights ala Kill Bill perhaps.

Last Thoughts:

In the end this film is what it is. A poor imitation of some other blockbusters. I don’t agree with some that say this is him going back to the glorious days of Out For Justice. This is far from it.

Also if this was Steven’s personal film about Japan well it was a poorly done one. Get the town’s people. Start a riot. Its sacrilege that a member has such negative thoughts about this film. I call it my opinion. Until Today You Die and his HK Project I am finished with Seagal. Mercenary and Submerged both will have to stay unwatched. That way I can save myself from some more disappointment. Belly of the Beast remains my top pick thus far. Just disappoints me watching dribble like this.

I thought Into The Sun was good but not great, compared to his other DTV films I thought this was his best one in my opinion, and much better than Out Of Reach and Submerged. I thought Out Of Reach was his worst DTV so far.

 

[Nick]

Looks like we all just have different opinions. I mean Action wise wouldn't The Foreigner be the worst if we started nitpicking(Through The Patriot is probably even worse. That movie had almost no Action period)? Slow motion flip, the fight with the black opponent who clearly had no martial arts training, oh and the ending fight that was 30 seconds long with the blonde assassin who also seemed quite untrained. Out Of Reach is probably next through. The forest fight was just a little too short, than the apartment fight, whore house shootout, and followed by the sword fight. They are all so short they aren't even worth mentioning really. Out For A Kill actually does have plenty of action. I enjoyed the sword fight, a brief moment in the monkey fight when Steven was sitting in the barber's chair, and the speeded up parts of the laundry fight. But the rest was ruined with the tedious slow motion and bad camera work. Into The Sun was a terrible film in my opinion. As a film it deserves a zero. Just tedious dialogue that somehow went on and on. The Action wasn’t as bad as my Review made it seem but when a film does this: Opening Shootout – 20 minutes later – Marked Fight - 40 minutes later – Apartment Fight – 10 minutes later - The Finale. That’s a major mistake. Never have gaps that size in a film that lacks any substance period. Those gaps just made me turn uncomfortably in my chair, look at the clock a number of times, get myself a drink etc

I remember visiting Amazon and reading this is a "Thinking Man's Film". That is almost as hilarious as reading that Out Of Reach apparently is the best spy film since Michael Caine's The Ipcress File. What could have saved Into The Sun for me would have been a little cutting here and there. Remove some of the tedious dialogue and it would have been better. Anyways we just all differ in our opinion. As a Film - 0 As an Action Vehicle - 1.5 End Verdict - 1.5

 

[hofmae]

Looks like we all just have different opinions. I mean Action wise wouldn't The Foreigner be the worst if we started nitpicking(Through The Patriot is probably even worse. That movie had almost no Action period)? Slow motion flip, the fight with the black opponent who clearly had no martial arts training, oh and the ending fight that was 30 seconds long with the blonde assassin who also seemed quite untrained. Out Of Reach is probably next through. The forest fight was just a little too short, than the apartment fight, whore house shootout, and followed by the sword fight. They are all so short they aren't even worth mentioning really. Out For A Kill actually does have plenty of action. I enjoyed the sword fight, a brief moment in the monkey fight when Steven was sitting in the barber's chair, and the speeded up parts of the laundry fight. But the rest was ruined with the tedious slow motion and bad camera work. Into The Sun was a terrible film in my opinion. As a film it deserves a zero. Just tedious dialogue that somehow went on and on. The Action wasn’t as bad as my Review made it seem but when a film does this: Opening Shootout – 20 minutes later – Marked Fight - 40 minutes later – Apartment Fight – 10 minutes later - The Finale. That’s a major mistake. Never have gaps that size in a film that lacks any substance period. Those gaps just made me turn uncomfortably in my chair, look at the clock a number of times, get myself a drink etc

I remember visiting Amazon and reading this is a "Thinking Man's Film". That is almost as hilarious as reading that Out Of Reach apparently is the best spy film since Michael Caine's The Ipcress File. What could have saved Into The Sun for me would have been a little cutting here and there. Remove some of the tedious dialogue and it would have been better. Anyways we just all differ in our opinion. As a Film - 0 As an Action Vehicle - 1.5 End Verdict - 1.5

Yes its right!!!!!! Actually i really agree with your text!!!

 

[zookie]

into the sun oh no

Sorry everyone for what im about to say.......

I just watched into the sun and i was SO disappointed
I seriously had to fast forward the film a lot.
Of course i was happy to see steven but this film is so poor

Last film i watched before this was the foreigner and ticker
lol it just keeps getting worse and worse

submerged is being delivered sometime this week so hopefully ill be more lucky with that!

thanks for listening!

 

[Amos Stevens]

Thanks for your review Zookie...will move your review to the "Into the Sun" movie review thread.
Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy "Into the Sun" not too sure you will be happy with "submerged" then

 

[Nick]

Yes, it does not matter how much I disliked Into The Sun from everything I read Submerged sounds like a step down. I mean some say it's a step up the ladder but when you compare it to Into The Sun. Therefore if you did not like Into The Sun I do not need tarot cards to guess you probably won't like Submerged.

I have my hopes somewhat high for Today You Die. But reading a Review of Les Weldon's(Writer) last film it sounded very corny. Hopefully the writing on this project shows. No one else attached except Steven of course impresses me much.

 

[Blue80]

This is taken from my webiste, Another Politics Blog here's a link

Secondly, I watched a direct-to-DVD release from earlier this year, Into The Sun, starring the incomparable Steven Seagal. Sadly, Stevie is relegated to inexpensive, direct-to-video releases these days, primarily because he wanted to stop making violent action films. So basically, Seagal makes "action" movies, only with a ton more dialogue. Anyhow, for those of you who don't follow the DTD market, Seagal plays a CIA operative, Travis Hunter, who is called in to investigate the murder of Tokyo's governor, which is believed to be the work of the Yakuza (Japanese mafia). However, instead of just going around Tokyo and kicking the new Yakuza leader's ass, Hunter asks around for information pertaining to the case. Really gets boring. In addition, he gets engaged to this Japanese girl associate who's like, half his age, but she gets killed. That, in addition to the death of his partner, finally motivates Hunter to go and kill the Yakuza leader, who the old Yakuza guys don't like because he ignores old Yakuza traditions and wants to make big business in China and America. Overall, this movie is almost 100 minutes long, but the beginning and the end are the only things worth watching.

If I can say some good things about it though, the production values are actually very good for a DTD release. Yes, images on computers and TV screens are obviously superimposed, but other than that, there were real elephants in the opening, Seagal's martial arts skills are as good as they've ever been, and the cinematography wasn't half bad.

But the most important thing about this movie is supposed to be the action, and there's barely any to be found. I know Stevie wants to "branch out" and make different movies, but let's face it, most of these suck. I like his classics like Under Siege and Above the Law for a reason: they had a lot of action, and the dialogue was limited to short conversations and some one-liners. I mean, Into the Sun's climax was a sword fight with Seagal and friends against the Yakuza, and it was cool, but had there been more of this and less sequences with the Yakuza gang conversing, it would've been a lot better.

Anyhow, I'm hoping Seagal will ignore the advice of his spiritual advisors and make one more violent, really bloddy action flick that'll go to theaters for a change so he can have one last hurrah.

Final thought: Some of it is just plain unbearable, but the few action sequences and the surprisingly good production values don't make it suck the whole way through.

Bonus: If you stick around long enough to watch the end credits, you can hear Steven singing. I didn't know it was him until the music part of the credits rolled, but after that I rewound so I could hear the whole thing through. He's actually a pretty decent singer. And that just gave me an idea...

 

[SweetChinMusic]

was I the only one bothered by all the subtitles in the movie?

 

[TwoCents]

It didn't bother me, this is my favorite DTV film of his I would have prefered if some of the characters who spoke poor english would have spoken their mother tongue and had that subtitled too, I watch a lot of foreign cinema so subtitles are never a problem for me plus whenever the action kicked in there was none to read anyway.

 

[Littledragon]

Yes, it does not matter how much I disliked Into The Sun from everything I read Submerged sounds like a step down. I mean some say it's a step up the ladder but when you compare it to Into The Sun. Therefore if you did not like Into The Sun I do not need tarot cards to guess you probably won't like Submerged.

I have my hopes somewhat high for Today You Die. But reading a Review of Les Weldon's(Writer) last film it sounded very corny. Hopefully the writing on this project shows. No one else attached except Steven of course impresses me much.

You have a weird taste when it comes to liking Seagal films.

 

[Nick]

My tastes do differ from most people. I find I seem to enjoy Films which have been forgotten by most people. I tend to enjoy intelligent and intellectually stimulating Films. As far as Seagal my tastes are fine. Frankly if people have a problem with them I will gladly give them my password and they can edit all my Reviews and posts

 

[Littledragon]

My tastes do differ from most people. I find I seem to enjoy Films which have been forgotten by most people. I tend to enjoy intelligent and intellectually stimulating Films. As far as Seagal my tastes are fine. Frankly if people have a problem with them I will gladly give them my password and they can edit all my Reviews and posts

So you thought Submerged was an intelligent and intellectually stimulating film??


Just playing with you Nick.

 

[Nick]

If you notice the "As Far As Seagal" Let's be honest if someone finds Seagal's Films intelligent and intellectually stimulating they should have his head checked.

Anyways I don't see the point in bringing up old posts. If you are trying to rejuvenate the site. Well bringing up old arguments and topics isn't one way.

 

[Littledragon]

If you notice the "As Far As Seagal" Let's be honest if someone finds Seagal's Films intelligent and intellectually stimulating they should have his head checked.

Anyways I don't see the point in bringing up old posts. If you are trying to rejuvenate the site. Well bringing up old arguments and topics isn't one way.

No, no, no. Nick I wasn't trying to bring up a new arguement, but that statement did, so no. We don't need any arguments!!

Anyway some Seagal films actually do have a message. Like Fire Down Below and On Deadly Ground. Those films did have a meaning and were intellectual.

 

[Nick]

Yes, I agree those two are different. I like the last speech of On Deadly Ground. It made an impact.

 

[Littledragon]

Yes, I agree those two are different. I like the last speech of On Deadly Ground. It made an impact.

Ye I agree. The ending speech of On Deadly Ground like I said before, had so much emotion to it. Seagal had so much passion in that scene, it really touched me to bring the message of the cherising our land, our home.

 

[supertom]

Into The Sun was decent but unfortunately failed on a few counts. This had the makings of Seagal's big comeback but never quite came off.

In terms of story and setting this is more interesting than the average B-action flick, and one of Seagal's most interesting. In fact probably his best aside from Under Siege and Above The Law. Seagal's first 4 films were all quite similar with some cross pollinating character arcs and plot lines, and many similar ideas and settings and of course he has since retread ground from his earlier career. However the Yakuza, Japanese setting of this piece represents a change for big papa. The film looks great, the cinematography is crisp and the locations eye catching. Similarly the movie is good on a technical standpoint all round. Still something drags this down, because while this may be on material and efficiency one of Seagal's best works, on an entertainment level it is lacking. Now as a B-action man, Seagal's primary selling point and job is entertainment value, to give plenty of bang for the buck. This film isn't an all out action flick, it's got a slow pace, it moves very slowly, like the man himself and has a feel of contemplation, again like the man himself. Diehard action officionados though expect more bang for their buck. As Aint It Cools Seagal reference point, Vern (licensed Seagaloligist as he puts it) this is too competant to have a so bad it's good entertainment value and as such doesn't entertain as much as say the inane OTT films like Belly Of The Beast or Glimmer Man. Even garbage like Today You Die has that element in laughing at the appallingly slipshod editing, direction and of course the dubbing, doubling, and boredom of big papa. Into The Sun is too well made to be laughed at, yet has too little action or pazzaz to set the pulse going.

The films problem is predominently a lack of action. When I think of B-action gods previously treading the water in Yakuza action flicks I recall Lundgren and Brandon Lee in Showdown in Little Tokyo, which is thepolar opposite of this. It had no integrity, it had no plot, it was merely 75 minutes of non stop action and one liners, and many action fans loved it's simplicity and style. A better example and a pretty decent all orund flick was Crying Freeman (US posters won't have seen this unless they have a bootleg verison or multi region player) from Christophe Gan's (Brotherhood Of The Wolf). Freeman was gorgeously filmed, and featured one of the most underrated action men, Mark Dacascos who gracefully kicked Yakuxa ass in several lush action scenes. Had the film taken more of a leaf out of either book it would have come up more rosy. As it is the film heavily drags through the middle section before an excellent final 15 minutes fll of the action and brutality an action junkie expects. The finale is the best of all but Under Siege in Seagal's CV. This really needed a few more brawls with suited Yakuza men, or a car chase thrown in for good measure.

The lack of action is not the only problem. This film has far too many scenes of people sitting down talking. This is something any scriptwriter is taught to try and avoid. Meandering conversation to meandering conversation will not entertain unless it is intereesting dialogue performed by excellent actors. These scenes often stretch endlessly and seem longer than they are. We seem to endlessly switch from people sitting and talking and this doesn't catch the eye visually or engage intellectually because the script isn't high art and the actors aren't high calibur. Similarly the films mid section could really have done with a top class actor to help lighten the load for Seagal. There are plenty of reliable actors floating around the low budget world, fallen idols like for example great Seagal co-star of yesteryear, Gary Busey. Someone who can engage the audience, bring to life cardboard characters. Matt Davis as Seagal's partner is not such an actor. He floats in and out of the film with no impact, partly the writing, partly his limitations. Ditto to the other Seagal sidekicks who have no back story, and no development to speak of. The love interest in this piece has nbo impact on the story, no development and as such her inevitable death has no emotional impact. In fact neither the death of her or Davis raise even an eyebrow on Seagal's face or my own as a viewer. As such we care nothing for the side characters.

Seagal himself is far more engaged and involved. His character is very serene as usual, which means he really needs someone to play off to get some engaging and as I mentioned there is no-one. Seagal does well though, but on acting alone he cannot hold this movie together alone and it's a failing of this piece. By simply adding a few action scenes could have helped the pacing of the film enormously.

Overall this is a worthy and interesting addition to Seagal's CV but still a missed opportunity. It marks a massive improvement over quickly made pap that Seagal seems uninterested in (Black Dawn, TYD, MFJ) indeed Seagals credits as writer, producer and musician on Into The Sun show his enthusiasm for this Japan set actioner and it seems more than a studio churner made on minimum effort and artistry. Although Into The Sun may have let me down in some departments it gives me hope for future projects which have Seagal's stamp of approval, like Prince Of Pistols for instance. There's life in the old dog yet. **1/2(out of 5)

 

[DrunkenMonkeyKungFu]

Here's my review of the flick I wrote over at IMDb

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0358294/usercomments-36

Steven Seagal returns as Travis Hunter, a former CIA agent who's brought out of his retirement as a sword-smith in Tokyo to help with an investigation involving a pact between The Yakuza and The Triad.

Soon Travis is under threat and he must use his deadly skills in the martial arts and the blade in order to take down the Yakuza and the Triads who are both out to end his life.

This movie really surprised me, I'm not a huge fan of Seagel's recent efforts but I was so impressed with Belly Of The Beast that I decided to give this a try.

First off, Seagel actually looks like he wants to be in the movie, going as for as to give some effort in the acting. Te story isn't all that great and there are some very cliché moments but overall it was enough to keep my interest through out.

The action was well paced and nicely choreographed, Seagel's fight with Ken Lo being a highlight but it was good to see they didn't hold back when it came to the sword fighting as he cuts his way through various sword wielding thugs in order to get to the final showdown, there's lots of blood on offer there.

I was nice to see Seagel being backed up by a strong supporting cast, even going as far as the let the Asian actors speak their native languages instead of making them speaking very bad English, I have to say as well Seagel's Japanese was way better the his Thai in Belly Of The Beast.

To finish off I have to say I'd like to see Seagel make more movies like this in the future, it seems mink* new what he was doing when he directed this as he gave the movie a nice level of flashiness without making it look like an MTV music video.

So if Seagal decided to make more hack and slash type movies, I'd definitely be interested.

 

[Oldsexyblackman]

Skip to the end of this movie and watch Seagal use a sword to kill people. The rest of the movie is super boring.