OUT OF REACH review!(Contain Spoilers)

TDWoj

Administrator
Staff member
steve said:
Just watched Out of Reach for the first time guys and have to say it was a little better than I expected especially considering some of the negative reviews it's been getting.

PROS - Seagal was more charismatic, he had some great lines, the villain was good, a liked the cinematography, it was well edited, there were some touching moments, there were no obvious stunt doubles, it was a decent story well put together.

CONS - not quite enough action, the swordfight was a little brief especially after how much it was built up, there wasn't any really dramatic music (a la Belly of the Beast), the fights weren't quite as thrilling as expected and of course those voice doubles!

I did quite like the film overall and don't want to dog it as it was very watchable and Seagal was very trim and charismatic in it. The voice doubles (I suspect Matt Schultz himself dubbed a lot of Seagal's dialogue as it sounds like his voice) were very noticeable though and that was the major drawback of the movie. Incidentally a lot was made of Seagal saying the 'f' word for the first time in many years - it wasn't him saying it it was his alternate voice at the time.

Otherwise though very nicely shot and put together, Seagal showed a lot of personality in this one and had some great put-downs just like the old days. He always looks very smart and trim in a suit and with his hair cut. Nearly but not quite as good as Belly of the Beast but most assuredly a million times better than anything Michael Oblowitz has or will ever throw at us.
Thanks for the review, Steve.

Clearly, however, you and I didn't see the same film! ;)

By the way, his hair wasn't cut - it was tucked up in a kind of reverse, inside-out bun (but that's something a woman would be more likely to notice than a man) and looked simply awful. And he was not trim; he was about the same size as he was in The Foreigner, give or take ten pounds. (I shudder to think how big he had to have been if he'd shed 24 pounds before filming even started on this pic.)

I agree he looks good in a suit (even if his belly was straining at the buttons in most scenes).

I disagree about him being "charismatic" in it. He wasn't doing anything other than delivering his lines. They weren't badly delivered, mind you; but one can hardly say he was "charismatic". That would require energy; whatever energy he was expending, it was the minimal required to get through the scene.

The villain did nothing for me. A villain is supposed to inspire the viewer to dislike him (or like him or at least admire him) and Faisal didn't do it for me. The villains in Steven's movies are usually way over the top, and that's what makes them so much fun. Faisal was so laid-back he was practically comatose.

A couple of poorly placed one-liners do not harken back to the "good old days" of snappy dialogue, intense performance and a good, overall story. The writing in this film was mediocre at best (at least it wasn't completely putrid as OFAK was), and banal and unbelievable at worst. There were just too many throwaway lines and plot holes you could drive anti-personnel vehicles through.

That being said, you are right in the sense that it's watchable. It is - barely. But for me, it was dull, boring, slow moving, nonsensical and frustrating, in the sense I kept waiting for something to happen, and nothing ever did. The effect it had on me is like missing an important phone call. You rush to the phone when it rings, you pick it up - but the caller has rung off, and you'll never know who it was that was calling. It's an "almost" movie. And I'm afraid, for me, "almost" doesn't cut it.
 

steve

New Member
Out of Reach

Well I do understand and respect a lot of what you say TD, it's each to his own I guess. It's naive to think Seagal is suddenly going to go back to his Nico days, he's over 50 now and I like to judge each film on its merits. Out of Reach I think was acceptable as a film and I enjoyed it. It was thin on action which could have otherwise given it a boost but I have to conflict on a few of the points you brought up.

HAIR - I see what you mean about it being tied up but it wasn't too noticeable. For the better part it made it appear as if it had been cut and this contributed to him looking very smart and trim in the part.

WEIGHT - I'd say he was a lot slimmer than in several of his previous films, I think it's unfair to say the buttons on his suit were straining. He was noticeably trimmer than in Belly of the Beast and was adept in all of the fight scenes.

CHARISMA - I do think he was more charismatic in this one, he seemed to be enjoying himself and smiled a lot more than is usual for his on-screen persona. He rarely smiled in his movies even back in the old days but during the shootout, bordello and final fight scenes it was nice to see a wry grin on his face.

VILLAINY - I thought the villain was quite good. He was over-the-top in his slimyness and slithering charm. A villain doesn't need to be shouting to the roof-tops or dressing in drag to be 'over-the-top' or a decent villain.

ONE-LINERS - I thought there were quite a few which did recall the good old days.

"This is my favourite moment in life."
"I'm sorry about your head I didn't mean to do that."
"That's when the predator becomes the prey."
"I'm embarassed to admit I'm going to enjoy killing you slowly."
"You know what happens to whores ...they always get f*cked!"
"I was just kidding too."
"The I'm going to give you another 10,000 because I like you so much!"
"Wrong answer!"

To name but a few. I don't think they were poorly placed or badly written, I thought they added a lot to the charismatic charm and ruthless demeanour of his character. Seagal's films have always been about snappy one-liners and I think Out of Reach had a good portion to float the bill.

My major drawback as mentioned was the comparitive lack of action which the film could have done with to make it really good. But as with all the points above there were benefits to reap from the film, it wasn't a total loss and was still a good dose of Seagal entertainment.
 

TDWoj

Administrator
Staff member
You've got good ears, Steve - I only noticed ONE of those lines - "Wrong answer". I'm usually pretty good at picking up one liners, because they make a movie more memorable, and hence, something to enjoy more than once. The fact that they went right by me is indicative of how little impact the movie made on me as a whole. For me, those lines were banal rather than snappy, mostly because the delivery was so restrained, and, I suspect, most of them were dubbed. Which is probably why I didn't notice them - I have a good memory for voices, and if Steven said them, I'd remember them.

One thing, though, I'd like to mention and that is, this was a Franchise picture, and it was not - nor was it ever intended to be, because of the budget - a theatrical release. So the assumption that someone made a while back that if it's a Franchise picture, it'll get a theatrical release, doesn't hold any water. Hence my surprise that Into the Sun is supposed to be a theatrical release.

I am really, REALLY hoping that WB ties Steven to a chair and forces him to do his own post-production dubbing for that film.
 

suziwong

Administrator
Staff member
TDWoj said:
I am really, REALLY hoping that WB ties Steven to a chair and forces him to do his own post-production dubbing for that film.

hohohohohohohhohohooh!!!!! I liked this sooooooooooooooooo muchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh !!! :D

suzi
 

Tiggy

Banned
TDWoj said:
My understanding of aikido is that age doesn't matter for this discipline. Therefore, Steven should still be able to do his own thing, regardless of age (or even of condition!).

I don't think in Steven's case it's his age, or his weight (he was enormous in Out for a Kill and there was very little stunt doubling in that film). I think it's sheer laziness, or simply boredom - "been there, done that, don't have to do it any more". I don't think he even trains any more. And if you spend all day on your butt doing nothing except talking on your cell phone, you can bet the weight is going to pile on pretty damned quick.

He achieved what he set out to do: he got into the movies, he used aikido to do it, he reached, if not the top, then pretty damned near it - what else was left for him to do? No place else for him to go except down - and down he's come, thunderously. Only, I don't think he realises that just yet. And that's a shame, because I think he's still got it - he's just not wanting to use it.
Now come on you know he doesn't talk ALL day on his cell phone ... he has to have time out for all the cholate he gets through!!!! His trainer keeps looking at his picture so that he will recognise him, if he ever shows up again!!!!
 

Tiggy

Banned
Going slightly off topic - is it official that Arrissa is out - because she is still at the house, and I can't see him handing over that property to her, I would have thought he would buy her something?
 

suziwong

Administrator
Staff member
Tiggy said:
Going slightly off topic - is it official that Arrissa is out - because she is still at the house, and I can't see him handing over that property to her, I would have thought he would buy her something?


himmmmmmm !! May be he will buy a new house for her !!!
 

TDWoj

Administrator
Staff member
Oh, there's no official word, just speculation: but there hasn't been a photograph of them being seen together out in public since the Gotti verdict last year (I saw him being interviewed on CNN when the Gotti verdict came down - Arissa was with him, with this "deer caught in the headlights look" as she stared into the camera, making her the focal point of the camera's attention, rather than on him who was being interviewed). It's the Asian woman first seen with him in Russia that's been "out" with him in public - it was she and not Arissa who was with him and his daughter Ayako at the knife show in Las Vegas in January (see suzi's pictures) and briefly seen in the ball scene in Out of Reach.

Maybe she's back to being just the babysitter?

Her expiry date is 2005, since it was in 1995 they got together, if he wants shed of her without paying half his fortune to her. (I'm not sure, though, if palimony works the same way as a registered marriage. Ref: Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, for example.)
 

TDWoj

Administrator
Staff member
Tiggy said:
Now come on you know he doesn't talk ALL day on his cell phone ... he has to have time out for all the cholate he gets through!!!! His trainer keeps looking at his picture so that he will recognise him, if he ever shows up again!!!!
LOL! And I bet his trainer got his picture from this site! We could create a set for him - before, after, now and should be, as examples!
 

Tiggy

Banned
Californian law is the worst in the world - but great if you are being dumped on! They have a child together and have lived together for long enough for her to make a packet - particularly as most judges would love to have a pop at him. Hope he has the sense to try for a private friendly settlement, has he been in any messy divorce fights in the past?
 

Reservoir Dog

MRKD4DTH
It Was Definitely Out Of Reach, August 8, 2004
Reviewer: Arty Kicker "72 Year Old Thug" (MD United States) - See all my reviews

I was super excited to see Lord Steven's newest offering, 'Out Of Reach', especially when I saw that he had yet again teamed with a director from Hong Kong. After last year's fabulous 'Belly Of The Beast'(directed by Ching Siu Tung), I figured there was no way I could be disappointed. I was wrong. Lord Steven is just looking sick in this movie. He's bloated and his hair is extra nappy. The action is pretty weak and the script pathetic. But the worst part is that at least fifty percent of Lord Steven's dialog has been dubbed over by someone(I'm pretty sure its the main bad guy in the film)else's voice, who sounds nothing like Seagal. Its pathetic. The entire film is pure doo doo. Very disappointing.
 

Reservoir Dog

MRKD4DTH
Latest IMDB review

tbresson


Date: 10 August 2004
Summary: Less gunfighting, fighting and not as good quality as before

I don't know about you, but everytime I see a new Steven Seagal movie, I'm looking forward to it, but then usually gets disappointed.

The manuscript is awful and most of the acting aswell. This is not Hard To Kill, Marked for Death, Under Siege or even Exit Wounds (one of his best ones) quality.

I understand it's important for him to tell of the unfairness of the world, doing the right thing, preserving nature and so forth, but there are many different ways to tell a story, and at least when ones trademark is his martial arts, a fan would expect to see this when watching a Steven Seagal movie, at least some good shooting both of which lacked in this movie.

I hope his next work is better than this, 3/10.
 

suziwong

Administrator
Staff member
Tiggy said:
Californian law is the worst in the world - but great if you are being dumped on! They have a child together and have lived together for long enough for her to make a packet - particularly as most judges would love to have a pop at him. Hope he has the sense to try for a private friendly settlement, has he been in any messy divorce fights in the past?


He was married the others but now they are not married, so they can easily agree on the seperation. But it will be sansational again huh ??

su
 

Vern

New Member
Hey everybody it's me Vern, I wrote the world's first review of this movie. And then everybody got mad at me. Remember.

I see I am not the only one that found it weak. But to be fair, it is only when you compare it to other movies that it seems bad. If you compare it to the mountain dew commercial it is pretty good. It is longer and also funnier.

I enjoyed the movie though. The sword fight at the end was pretty cool. And I guess the dubbing was funnier to me than everybody else. I thought it was a good touch. For the next one I hope they get Breckin Meyer to dub his voice, I heard he did a good job dubbing Roberto Benigni for Pinocchio.

thanks,

Vern
http://www.geocities.com/outlawvern
 
Maybe they could get the woman who does Bart Simpson's voice to dub Steven's.

Now...on with the review!

OUT OF REACH -- 2 out of 5

I know I'm probably the last person on the site to post a review, so I'm not gonna do the whole "this movie is about this and they go and do this" because everybody already knows, so I'll just give the points.

THE GOOD:

Seagal did look better, although as TD pointed out, that damn bun thing was annoying. It would have been nice to see him more active in the sword fight at the end.

Matt Shulze was a worthy villain. Some studio should get this guy a movie of his own, pronto!

The score was good.

The scene were Seagal drops the guy onto the car and says "Wrong answer!" Fantastic! More of that please!

Po Chih leong seemed to actually have some style (Oblowitz take notice!).

THE BAD:

Poland does look like a very beautiful coutry and it was nice to see it shown in a nice light for once, but it was hard to distinguish the parts of the story that were supposed to be set in Turkey and Canada from the parts that took place in Poland, probably because they shot the whole movie in one place.

The scene with the Turkish guy with the fess hat was laughable. Suzi has a right to be pissed on that one.

Some scenes look gorgeous while some are alarmingly bad, like the one were Seagal is in the car with the kid and he gets him to i.d. Faisal. It's so overlit that Seagal and the kid are both squinting!!!

This happened a couple of times.

The plot was hard to follow and had several holes, like the Mr. Big bad guy disappearing after his first scene with Faisal? And the CSA Boss (what the hell is that? Just say CIA and be done with it) gets away unscathed.

The dubbing isn't as bad as I thought, but it's still awful.
The same can be said for Seagal's reliance on doubles. Very bad.

The one true action scene, the shoot out in the brothel, should have been like the hotel shootout in Glimmer Man, but it lacked impact and looked VERY cheap.

The budget of this movie was $20 million. It looked okay, but when you consider that The Transporter was made for about the same only a couple of years ago you soon realise that it should have looked a helluva lot better.

The opening credits were lousy too -- Franchise Pictures Presents...NOTHING!!!??? What? They couldn't afford opening titles?

Overall the film was defintely better than The Foreigner and Out for a Kill but that's hardly a glowing recommendation.

Fingers crossed for Into the Sun. :)
 

Clement3000

aka The Phoenix
I also copied this to All Amazon Customer Reviews (So Far) On Out Of Reach.


stars-3-0.gif
Theme and Plot Good, But?, August 23, 2004

[font=verdana,arial,helvetica][size=-1][/size][/font][font=verdana,arial,helvetica][size=-1]Reviewer: Dave "David" (Newark, Delaware) - See all my reviews [/size][/font]If you are a Steven Seagal fan, as I am, you will enjoy this movie for the plot and theme. He generally has a cause that he trys to express in many of his movies, and this is no different. I don't know much about the man outside of his movies, but from what I read in those I think he is a man with some deep convictions on certain topics. It shows in his movies. In this movie it is the human slave trade of young women which does go on, even today. People have different ways of making social statements and I think this is his way of doing it, through some of his films.

This movie though lacked the action scenes normally found in his films, and the voiceovers completely ruined the movie for me. How disconcerting to here the thoughts of the main character, Seagal, as an aside but with a completely different voice from his??? That happens throughout the entire movie. What in the world was the director thinking of? This was absolutely the dumbest thing I think I have seen in a movie. In addition, some of the action scenes were so obviously staged, and that showed too: specifically the sword fight and also in a couple other places. These made the action scenes seem unreal unlike most of his movies.

In any case it is worth a rental to watch. The theme and plot were well done I think, and the script was pretty good too. The young girl did a fine job of acting, also. I think most Seagal fans will like this movie, but be upset with the voiceovers, as I am. It is not one of his better movies in my opinion, so I only rated it 3 stars.
 

lee nicholson

Well-Known Member
Just got my region 2 OUT OF REACH today....

Nipped out of work at dinnertime, and purchased the SENSEI's latest. £10.99 from WOOLWORTHS (HMV & VIRGIN are charging £19.99) and i'm going to watch it (with my beloved) tonight. I will post a full and frank review tonight (or maybe tomorrow)
Disc runs in at 82 minutes, certificate 15, lanuages in english/french. 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and features trailers for the following;
BOA VS PYTHON
THE FOREIGNER
HALF PAST DEAD
THE PUNISHER
STARSHIP TROOPERS 2
THREE WAY
There's no OUT OF REACH trailer (not a healthy sign!) but i'll post a review ASAP


Peace
 

steve

New Member
Out of Reach

Sounds good mate, let us know what you think. Strangely it doesn't seem to have even been rated by the BBFC yet, though there's nothing in it stronger than a '15'. Good old Woolies....
 

Storm

Smile dammit!
Well it finally came out In the UK today so i got it today.:D I will read through the reviews after i have seen it and add mine,as there are bound to be spoilers. At £16.99 i expect a decent watch!
 

lee nicholson

Well-Known Member
Right then, i'll be honest about the movie

First off, i enjoyed the movie (a little slow, and not a great deal of action, but at least it was SEAGAL fighting) It returned to the brooding menace, that SEAGAL always used to show. Come the final fight in the 'white' castle, SEAGAL takes great pleasure in stalking his prey, and his gentlemanly call, to settle it like men outside, was a unique touch. The movie was more or less, a espionage thriller (in the vein of THE FOREIGNER, but easier to follow) and like that formentioned movie, OOR could have done with more fight scenes. The ones that were in it, were good. SEAGAL has certainly still got IT, i just wish he'd show more.
In the early scenes, he seems a lot heavier, but come his scene at the airport, he seemed to have lost weight, from then on, SEAGAL looked a good healthy weight, and became more believable in the (limited) fight scenes.

And now, the only thing i hated about the movie....(and you can guess what THAT is?)..............

THE T E R R I B L E DUBBING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Besides making SEAGAL sound like WOODY ALLEN, it was just silly, and made the plot more confusing. Us die-hard fans are aware of this technique, but a novice viewer, may question, were EXACTLY this 'noise' was coming from. MATT SCHULZE sounded more like SEAGAL than the voice double. I could see the logic (or at least, reason) in having a different voice, read out the letters (since the girl had never actually spoken to SEAGAL) but in some scenes were SEAGAL was ACTUALLY mouthing the dialogue, it simply looked stupid. Me and my girlfriend (MARIA) both had to agree, that it added a serious dent to the movie.

Secondly, i don't think that any of it is SEAGAL's fault. I think the movie was rather dialogue-lite, and most dubbing seemed to added on as 'quips', and in most cases, off camera. I reckon the makers decided to add some more dialogue, way after SEAGAL had left the project. I'll bet WARNER BROTHERS don't pull any of this sh*t, with INTO THE SUN?

OVERVIEW:
OUT OF REACH, whilst not as flashy as BELLY OF THE BEAST, is miles ahead of any OBLOWITZ 'product'. Light on action, and a rather laboured plot, it still confirms SEAGAL as a serious force in action-cinema. I do think, though, he need's to make more US movies (and it's about time he played a cop again!)
I did notice however a few stand-ins. The opening (and finishing) long shot of SEAGAL walking through the woods, is clearly a double (it looks nothing like him) and this repeat scene at the end (showing only the kids in the woods) indicates that SEAGAL left the set long before the movie wrapped. He needs to but a little effort into his next films. I'm sure (as my girlfriend also noted) that he's not seen this movie, as surely, SEAGAL would object to the shoddy dubbing techniques, that almost ruined an otherwise decent thriller.
Better than THE FOREIGNER/OUT FOR A KILL.......not as good as HALF PAST DEAD and BELLY OF THE BEAST.

7 out of 10
 
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