Kill Switch - Reviews

[thedude]

I have this really bad habit of watching our man's latest release, and then watching Above The Law. I need to stop doing that, as it makes me think I'm seeing two different souls

I just don't know why he looks like he doesn't care anymore. More than the garbage editing and cut-scenes in fights, and the stupid story, if Steven put half the acting effort he did in Above the Law, we'd be having far different conversations here

 

[bellyofb]

true words. totally agree with you

 

[mayaxe]

how has everyone seen this movie??? I cant get it anywhere untill the 7th Oct - does anyone have a link at all that it can be watched on the net or something???

 

[seagalfan128]

Well, perhaps they do because it's more realistic?

Yes, maybe, but realism is not a sufficient excuse, seeing as it's an action movie. I understand what you're saying, and you're probably right (I'm not familiar with thsoe statistics) but in a film, especially a Seagal film, the last thing I want to see is a shoot out scene that's boring and long, and nothing happens. Sorry make a big deal out of it, but it's been happening way too much in Seagal's DTV films. Although I did like Mercenary For Justice's shoot out scene.

 

[rastafari]

Yes, maybe, but realism is not a sufficient excuse, seeing as it's an action movie. I understand what you're saying, and you're probably right (I'm not familiar with thsoe statistics) but in a film, especially a Seagal film, the last thing I want to see is a shoot out scene that's boring and long, and nothing happens. Sorry make a big deal out of it, but it's been happening way too much in Seagal's DTV films. Although I did like Mercenary For Justice's shoot out scene.

seagals best shoot out scene was BOTB which had a very good and for a STV film expensive looking shoot out

 

[fakeshemp]

Just watched this again, and I don't know whether I get so distracted or bored during the movie but what's up with that ending? I just don't get it. Not sure if I should post the details in case there are folks reading this who haven't seen it, but the final scene seems completely at odds with what happened in the scene before it.

 

[Sue]

There are some peolpe who haven't seen it but after reading these reviews does anyone still want to?

 

[rastafari]

Just watched this again, and I don't know whether I get so distracted or bored during the movie but what's up with that ending? I just don't get it. Not sure if I should post the details in case there are folks reading this who haven't seen it, but the final scene seems completely at odds with what happened in the scene before it.

terrible ending and IMO one of his worst STV films

 

[fakeshemp]

There are some peolpe who haven't seen it but after reading these reviews does anyone still want to?

Two things could have saved this film....Steven doing post-production work and making the need for dubbing and stand-ins (not counting stunt doubles here) redundant, and better editing. The choppy music video style editing on display here is headache inducing. There could have been a decent film here but it's just crap.

 

[rastafari]

Two things could have saved this film....Steven doing post-production work and making the need for dubbing and stand-ins (not counting stunt doubles here) redundant, and better editing. The choppy music video style editing on display here is headache inducing. There could have been a decent film here but it's just crap.

i must admit i was never looking forward to this much as seagal after serial killers had been done by seagal in GM and this was always gonna be a poor verison of that...plus i prefer seagal in revenge films and im glad both Ruslan and Keeper are revenge action films and even if they are as good as UJ ill be happy

 

[The Phoenix]

i must admit i was never looking forward to this much as seagal after serial killers had been done by seagal in GM and this was always gonna be a poor verison of that...plus i prefer seagal in revenge films and im glad both Ruslan and Keeper are revenge action films and even if they are as good as UJ ill be happy

heres to hoping that they are as good as UJ!

 

[The Phoenix]

Just watched this again, and I don't know whether I get so distracted or bored during the movie but what's up with that ending? I just don't get it. Not sure if I should post the details in case there are folks reading this who haven't seen it, but the final scene seems completely at odds with what happened in the scene before it.

I asked this question myself as it makes no sense. Was he cheating on his wife the whole time? I wish they just cut that whole ending scene out all together, made no sense.

 

[fakeshemp]

Here's Vern's review....

 

[Mystery Mom]

Thanks fakeshemp......

I'm printing that off and adding it to the back of my copy of Seagalogy for posterity.


Vern hit the nail on the head..... Now if the powers that be will listen to him, maybe the next go around will come around.

And, I will be watching for the A&E reality show with recorder warmed up.

P.S. also glad to see Dog back onscreen with his show.

Myst

 

[lee nicholson]

Where do i start, pointing out the many problems, this movie has?

First off.....the plot. I've come to expect over-complex plot points in
recent Seagal movies, but in KILL SWITCH it's not overly complex....it
just doesn't make any sense. The flashback to Seagal as a child
(witnessing his brothers murder) serve little purpose to the storyline,
but i guess they help pad out a few minutes of screen time. And believe
me, this movie felt padded. It doesn't even have the (so-bad-it's good)
camp value of ATTACK FORCE.

Secondly....The editing. This was some throwback to the days of
film-making in the 80's. Occasionly, Jackie Chan (or Tony Jaa) may
employ this 'repeated' camera angle stuff, but it's usually to
highlight an extremely choreographed fight move or stunt. In KILL
SWITCH however, it once again feels like padding (and given that it
runs throughout the movie, it feels like it's makers have only got 45
minutes of actual footage, and therefore NEED to show everything twice,
thrice and even ten times) Seagal is chasing a suspect at one point,
and he comes to a doorway. The viewer is treated to about 20 different
shots/alternative angles of this 'monumental' moment.

Thirdly.....The fights. To me it seems that Seagal was not trying to
make a martial arts movie at all. Apparently, the makers of KILL SWITCH
attempted to beef up (what would usually be a four second fight scene)
with extra stuff involving stunt doubles. This is all the more
annoying, because Seagal's actual fighting is better than his stunt
doubles. The final fight (against the serial killer) is all Seagal (and
it shows) it's quick, brutal and efficient. Yet all fights before it,
are heavily padded out with lazy punches, reversed shot of Seagal
(sometimes wearing a different jacket, because it came from another
scene) URBAN JUSTICE and PISTOL WHIPPED have proved that Sensei Seagal
can still mix it up as a fighter. But these shoddy film-makers are
tarnishing his rep, with these underhanded tactics. It(in turn) makes
Seagal look weak, as he'd usually demolish his opponents in 5 seconds
(such is why we like the guy) but here, the 'padding'implies that
Seagal can punch a guy 30 times (in the face) and STILL not put him
down. And i also want to see Seagal break an opponents arms and legs
with HIS hands....not a hammer. Don't even get me started on the shoddy
(couldn't hit a guy two feet in front of him) gunfights.

Finally...Steven Seagal. He actually puts in a good performance (once
you get over the 'southern' drawl) and looks in good (allbeit heavy)
shape. He rarely mumbles, and seems genuinely interested with the
project (unlike say...FLIGHT OF FURY?)

KILL SWITCH is a step back for Seagal (just as he was regaining some
well needed credibility) after URBAN JUSTICE and PISTOL WHIPPED.
Although the movie is U.S lensed, is well lit, and crisp
cinematography, the god-awful (quick cut, repeated shot) editing, and
unnecessary doubling, betray whatever potential this movie may have
had. The supporting cast is OK (Rest in peace Issac Hayes) and the
music is quite good also. Now that (it seems) Seagal is regaining his
passion for acting again, he needs to associate with better film-makers
in the future. His next movie RUSLAN is also directed by Jeff King
(director of this) so i won't be (honestly) expecting anything special
of that one. But as long as they don't start interfering and chopping
up their filmed product, it won't need to be great to be better than
this movie. My theory on KILL SWITCH is that they've only had limited
screen time with Seagal, and (hopefuly?) HAD to cut and paste this
movie, to pad it out. If they think that repeatedly showing a guy fall
out of a window 12 times, or making pointless scenes last four times
longer than needed to be....is cutting edge film-making then (to quote
Seagal) "Lord have mercy")

Big Lee gives this movie a 5 (only for Seagal's screen presence, and a
OK final fight scene)

 

[fakeshemp]

What did you make of the ending, Lee? Great review, as always!

 

[rastafari]

Where do i start, pointing out the many problems, this movie has?

First off.....the plot. I've come to expect over-complex plot points in
recent Seagal movies, but in KILL SWITCH it's not overly complex....it
just doesn't make any sense. The flashback to Seagal as a child
(witnessing his brothers murder) serve little purpose to the storyline,
but i guess they help pad out a few minutes of screen time. And believe
me, this movie felt padded. It doesn't even have the (so-bad-it's good)
camp value of ATTACK FORCE.

Secondly....The editing. This was some throwback to the days of
film-making in the 80's. Occasionly, Jackie Chan (or Tony Jaa) may
employ this 'repeated' camera angle stuff, but it's usually to
highlight an extremely choreographed fight move or stunt. In KILL
SWITCH however, it once again feels like padding (and given that it
runs throughout the movie, it feels like it's makers have only got 45
minutes of actual footage, and therefore NEED to show everything twice,
thrice and even ten times) Seagal is chasing a suspect at one point,
and he comes to a doorway. The viewer is treated to about 20 different
shots/alternative angles of this 'monumental' moment.

Thirdly.....The fights. To me it seems that Seagal was not trying to
make a martial arts movie at all. Apparently, the makers of KILL SWITCH
attempted to beef up (what would usually be a four second fight scene)
with extra stuff involving stunt doubles. This is all the more
annoying, because Seagal's actual fighting is better than his stunt
doubles. The final fight (against the serial killer) is all Seagal (and
it shows) it's quick, brutal and efficient. Yet all fights before it,
are heavily padded out with lazy punches, reversed shot of Seagal
(sometimes wearing a different jacket, because it came from another
scene) URBAN JUSTICE and PISTOL WHIPPED have proved that Sensei Seagal
can still mix it up as a fighter. But these shoddy film-makers are
tarnishing his rep, with these underhanded tactics. It(in turn) makes
Seagal look weak, as he'd usually demolish his opponents in 5 seconds
(such is why we like the guy) but here, the 'padding'implies that
Seagal can punch a guy 30 times (in the face) and STILL not put him
down. And i also want to see Seagal break an opponents arms and legs
with HIS hands....not a hammer. Don't even get me started on the shoddy
(couldn't hit a guy two feet in front of him) gunfights.

Finally...Steven Seagal. He actually puts in a good performance (once
you get over the 'southern' drawl) and looks in good (allbeit heavy)
shape. He rarely mumbles, and seems genuinely interested with the
project (unlike say...FLIGHT OF FURY?)

KILL SWITCH is a step back for Seagal (just as he was regaining some
well needed credibility) after URBAN JUSTICE and PISTOL WHIPPED.
Although the movie is U.S lensed, is well lit, and crisp
cinematography, the god-awful (quick cut, repeated shot) editing, and
unnecessary doubling, betray whatever potential this movie may have
had. The supporting cast is OK (Rest in peace Issac Hayes) and the
music is quite good also. Now that (it seems) Seagal is regaining his
passion for acting again, he needs to associate with better film-makers
in the future. His next movie RUSLAN is also directed by Jeff King
(director of this) so i won't be (honestly) expecting anything special
of that one. But as long as they don't start interfering and chopping
up their filmed product, it won't need to be great to be better than
this movie. My theory on KILL SWITCH is that they've only had limited
screen time with Seagal, and (hopefuly?) HAD to cut and paste this
movie, to pad it out. If they think that repeatedly showing a guy fall
out of a window 12 times, or making pointless scenes last four times
longer than needed to be....is cutting edge film-making then (to quote
Seagal) "Lord have mercy")

Big Lee gives this movie a 5 (only for Seagal's screen presence, and a
OK final fight scene)

lee i agree with most apart from the final scene

although its seagal fighting it still badly shot....you cant see whats happening and all you
see his seaagl waving his arms in the air

i agree with you about the fights and i reakon they lasted 10-20 seconds so the film makers thought about amking them longer

the bar fight for instance seagal throws the black guy and then theres a 3 minute fight then after that seagal gets the black guy and smashes his teeth against the bar asking for info

i think in the original version of the film seagal throw the black guy and smashed his teeth and all the middle bit was added but cleearly the filmmakers thought seagal fans would hate such a short fight.

 

[fakeshemp]

The fight scene with the blonde dude in the hoodie contains a ridiculous number of the same shots of Seagal. I showed that scene to a friend this afternoon and she noticed it straight away. She's no movie buff but she said it was the worst edited film she'd ever seen.

The thing I still don't get is that Steven gets a writing credit for this. Did he not write enough to fill a feature film so it had to have fight scenes padded out? Was there a subplot excised that made the final scene so confusing? Most confusing of all, did he not fight to see that a film made from his own script came out okay?

 

[lee nicholson]

Fakeshemp

I know what you mean about the endless use of the same shots during the fight scenes. At one point (the hammer fight, i think?) Seagal was wearing a suit, but in some shots (lifted from an earlier fight scene) he was wearing a leather jacket.

As for the 'end sequence'....i'm still gobsmacked. Was his character meant to be living a double life, because of his twin brothers death? And why was his new family Russian?

Is Seagal playing the same character in Ruslan?

Rastafari

I know the final fight was chopped up/edited to death, but it was still Seagal doing the sweeps/punches and throwing. On it's own merits, the fight was nothing special....but coming after about 80 odd minutes of badly doubled boring fights...it was a small blessing (and a clear indication of how maybe all the fights were originally shot with Seagal)

Like i said earlier, i could understand the doubles, if they were doing all types of crazy ninja sh*t....but the double looked nowhere near as impressive as Seagal did anyhow. Therefore it enhanced nothing....thus pointless.

Maybe it might grow on me (ATTACK FORCE has) but after 2 great comebacks, i expected more.

 

[rastafari]

Fakeshemp

I know what you mean about the endless use of the same shots during the fight scenes. At one point (the hammer fight, i think?) Seagal was wearing a suit, but in some shots (lifted from an earlier fight scene) he was wearing a leather jacket.

As for the 'end sequence'....i'm still gobsmacked. Was his character meant to be living a double life, because of his twin brothers death? And why was his new family Russian?

Is Seagal playing the same character in Ruslan?

Rastafari

I know the final fight was chopped up/edited to death, but it was still Seagal doing the sweeps/punches and throwing. On it's own merits, the fight was nothing special....but coming after about 80 odd minutes of badly doubled boring fights...it was a small blessing (and a clear indication of how maybe all the fights were originally shot with Seagal)

Like i said earlier, i could understand the doubles, if they were doing all types of crazy ninja sh*t....but the double looked nowhere near as impressive as Seagal did anyhow. Therefore it enhanced nothing....thus pointless.

Maybe it might grow on me (ATTACK FORCE has) but after 2 great comebacks, i expected more.

i think the films shows JK cant shoot fight scenes which is worrying for ruslan

and no ruslan is not connected to this has i asked kirk shaw and he said ruslan is a separate film

i still believe thought that ruslan will be better than KS and i hope TK is also a decent film although i hear it might be a nu image film