Steven Seagal, Career guide:
With a mysterious past linking him to the CIA, to his jaw dropping martial arts credentials, it was no wonder Steven Seagal broke into the action movie world. Seagal certainly had the credentials, and it was important in the 80;s because the tough guys really had to be tough guys in the days before you could train Keanu Reeves or Matt Damon to look tough. Seagal though came into the business a genuine master of his craft, Aikido, an art that was as yet pretty new to cinema as martial arts in the movies were predominantly high kicking exploits by Van Damme and Norris.
As a start in the business Seagal worked behind camera as a technical advisor (famously breaking Sean Connery’s wrist while demonstrating a move for Never Say Never Again.). His on screen debut, which he co-produced and wrote, was Nico (Above The Law). This was Seagal’s launching point, and the start of his prosperous partnership with Warner Brothers. Nico made plenty of money and was followed by Hard To Kill which also made money. Seagal’s on screen persona was of a Brooklyn cop who was tough talking and bone breaking. He couldn’t be touched in a one to one fight. The simplicity of Seagal’s fight scenes were extremely interesting to watch as it differed so wildly from other on screen martial arts. At the same time it was different from the Van Damme style because it looked authentic. There was the feeling that the stunt guys were really going for Seagal and were really getting easily picked off with counter moves. His fight scenes were brief yet electrifying as the 6ft 4 giant looked almost untouchable.
What was evident was that Seagal was interesting the action fans as an antithesis to slow motion flying kicks (as entertaining as they are). Similarly the feel of authenticity and lack of the 80’s homoeroticism of the buffed 80’s action stars, gave Seagal the kind of bad ass aura to match Bruce Lee nearly 20 years previously. At the start of his career there was little to deny that Seagal was the ultimate bad ass (you need only watch the bar fight in Out For Justice). Seagal walked into a room full of thugs and barely broke sweat knocking them out one after the other. Following his first two hit movies, Seagal struck gold again with Marked For Death and Out For Justice. Both did excellent business while costing little to make. Still at this point Seagal had been well and truly pigeonholed as a cop with an attitude and high moral fibre. It was the next movie, which Warner Brothers took a gamble on, that really launched Seagal. To this point Seagal had been earning respectable grosses at the box office. Good returns on low budget films, however Under Siege was a bigger movie budgeted at 12 million (significantly more expensive than his previous films). The risk paid off in a movie that was far more in line with Seagal’s rumoured past and less about his martial arts background. The trademark aikido took a back seat, and Seagal took his fight to sea as a Navy cook (still ex-marine though and highly dressed).
Under Siege was a huge hit, with a gross rivalling the big boys, Arnie and Sly. Not only that but the film was critically well received, due to having a smarter than the usual action film script. Adding to that were the scenery chewing duo of Tommy Lee Jones (Oscar winner and 1 nomination) and Gary Busey (Oscar nominee), squaring off against Seagal. Warner Brothers were making a killing with Seagal and the man himself was suddenly in the position to do any film he wanted. He chose to direct and star in the eco-action film On Deadly Ground. Seagal has since this point often tried to add a message into his movies. He often plays eco-warriors or Buddhists, and also his highly moralistic lawman roles. On Deadly Ground was not well received though, and considered preachy. Despite the good intentions, it seemed action fans just didn’t want to be preached to in their action movie. Furthemore the direction of the film clearly lacked the competence and class of Andrew Davis, and the other action veterans Seagal had previously worked with (Dwight H Little, Bruce Malmuth). Following the flop of his directorial debut, Seagal returned to his best love character, Casey Ryback. The film, this time on a train, was a hit once more. Seagal was back in business. Seagal followed that with a cameo in the successful Kurt Russell action film, Executive Decision.
The next two films in Seagal’s career were not successful, and essentially killed off his box office power, or so it seemed at the time. Firstly was Glimmer Man which although a failure with a poor script, still remains one of the fans favourites because of the cracking action and zingers between Seagal and Keenan Ivory Wayan’s. The film is also, to many Seagal purists, the last time Seagal really looked a kick ass action hero. Fire Down Below was another eco film by Seagal and similarly he also included his passion for music in the film, showing his musical ability for the first time. Unfortunately the film wasn’t a success and remains a forgotten movie of Seagal’s CV, neither good, nor one of his worst. Following those two films was yet another eco-film, The Patriot, which up to this point was Seagal’s biggest disaster, going straight to video in the US and UK. The film again, like Fire Down Below, lack the action and excitement to appease the fans.
Seagal’s career was officially on the rocks and he did lead another film for 3 years. However his comeback was unexpected. Van Damme was struggling at this point, as were Sly and Arnold. Seagal looked all but set to continue his action career in straight to video movies, that is until old pal Joel Silver gave him a surprise call. Seagal led the action vehicle Exit Wounds, part of a hip-hop action trilogy from director Andrez Bartowiak and producer Joel Silver, which saw an action star team with a hip hop star. Exit Wounds saw Seagal take on the bad guys with rapper DMX. The film although critically panned, was a big box office hit and Seagal was in the spotlight again. However something about Seagal’s appearance was not right. Looking incredibly heavy set and weary, Seagal looked out of sorts as an action man. Still it was a hit and that’s all that mattered. Before he had shot Exit Wounds Seagal had already wrapped a supporting role in the appalling DTV action film Ticker, which remains his worst film. Following Exit Wounds Seagal once again tried the formula of teaming up with a rapper, yet this time the film lacked the polish of a Silver production. Half Past Dead sank in theatres and it was clear the big numbers for Exit Wounds weren’t entirely Seagal’s doing. Secondly the film was poor. It still however managed to make some money back on its small budget, yet the lack of wide interest was telling. Since that point Seagal has been doing straight to video movies. His films have suddenly featured an overweight and bored Seagal, churning up to 5 films a year sometimes. From Half Past Dead onwards, Seagal was looking jaded, and tired of doing the same old movies over and over again. His interest, enthusiasm and participation in the movies was dramatically less. Seagal was not at the entire shoots, and often his movie appearances account for as little as 75 percent of the movie, which is taking into account he is always the main lead. He was performing less of his own fights, stuns and even post production dubbing. Adding to his lack of enthusiasm and participation was also the poor quality of his films, reaching dire lows in Today You Die, Out Of Reach, The Foreigner in particular. A brief shining light of competence was his mooted comeback, Into The Sun, which was made with the intention of going to theatres. It was polished and well done and Seagal was clearly interested due to it filming in Japan. The film however lacked enough bang for the buck without an engaging enough story to make up for that. It ended up DTV.
At this point in his career Seagal is happily collecting big pay checks and doing plenty of movies, but the quality is not there. Still there are some promising possibilities including the New Orleans set action film Prince Of Pistols which will incorporate Seagal’s music, and will clearly strike some emotional involvement in the film. There is still a worrying amount of action films that are simply churners, to make money with little regard for quality. Seagal clearly is happy to appear as a headliner for several churners each year, while participating more enthusiastically in a more personal film. His fans will sadly have to wade through the mire for the odd rare gem, just as long as there are some gems still to find.
Seagals films on the 5 star rating.
With a mysterious past linking him to the CIA, to his jaw dropping martial arts credentials, it was no wonder Steven Seagal broke into the action movie world. Seagal certainly had the credentials, and it was important in the 80;s because the tough guys really had to be tough guys in the days before you could train Keanu Reeves or Matt Damon to look tough. Seagal though came into the business a genuine master of his craft, Aikido, an art that was as yet pretty new to cinema as martial arts in the movies were predominantly high kicking exploits by Van Damme and Norris.
As a start in the business Seagal worked behind camera as a technical advisor (famously breaking Sean Connery’s wrist while demonstrating a move for Never Say Never Again.). His on screen debut, which he co-produced and wrote, was Nico (Above The Law). This was Seagal’s launching point, and the start of his prosperous partnership with Warner Brothers. Nico made plenty of money and was followed by Hard To Kill which also made money. Seagal’s on screen persona was of a Brooklyn cop who was tough talking and bone breaking. He couldn’t be touched in a one to one fight. The simplicity of Seagal’s fight scenes were extremely interesting to watch as it differed so wildly from other on screen martial arts. At the same time it was different from the Van Damme style because it looked authentic. There was the feeling that the stunt guys were really going for Seagal and were really getting easily picked off with counter moves. His fight scenes were brief yet electrifying as the 6ft 4 giant looked almost untouchable.
What was evident was that Seagal was interesting the action fans as an antithesis to slow motion flying kicks (as entertaining as they are). Similarly the feel of authenticity and lack of the 80’s homoeroticism of the buffed 80’s action stars, gave Seagal the kind of bad ass aura to match Bruce Lee nearly 20 years previously. At the start of his career there was little to deny that Seagal was the ultimate bad ass (you need only watch the bar fight in Out For Justice). Seagal walked into a room full of thugs and barely broke sweat knocking them out one after the other. Following his first two hit movies, Seagal struck gold again with Marked For Death and Out For Justice. Both did excellent business while costing little to make. Still at this point Seagal had been well and truly pigeonholed as a cop with an attitude and high moral fibre. It was the next movie, which Warner Brothers took a gamble on, that really launched Seagal. To this point Seagal had been earning respectable grosses at the box office. Good returns on low budget films, however Under Siege was a bigger movie budgeted at 12 million (significantly more expensive than his previous films). The risk paid off in a movie that was far more in line with Seagal’s rumoured past and less about his martial arts background. The trademark aikido took a back seat, and Seagal took his fight to sea as a Navy cook (still ex-marine though and highly dressed).
Under Siege was a huge hit, with a gross rivalling the big boys, Arnie and Sly. Not only that but the film was critically well received, due to having a smarter than the usual action film script. Adding to that were the scenery chewing duo of Tommy Lee Jones (Oscar winner and 1 nomination) and Gary Busey (Oscar nominee), squaring off against Seagal. Warner Brothers were making a killing with Seagal and the man himself was suddenly in the position to do any film he wanted. He chose to direct and star in the eco-action film On Deadly Ground. Seagal has since this point often tried to add a message into his movies. He often plays eco-warriors or Buddhists, and also his highly moralistic lawman roles. On Deadly Ground was not well received though, and considered preachy. Despite the good intentions, it seemed action fans just didn’t want to be preached to in their action movie. Furthemore the direction of the film clearly lacked the competence and class of Andrew Davis, and the other action veterans Seagal had previously worked with (Dwight H Little, Bruce Malmuth). Following the flop of his directorial debut, Seagal returned to his best love character, Casey Ryback. The film, this time on a train, was a hit once more. Seagal was back in business. Seagal followed that with a cameo in the successful Kurt Russell action film, Executive Decision.
The next two films in Seagal’s career were not successful, and essentially killed off his box office power, or so it seemed at the time. Firstly was Glimmer Man which although a failure with a poor script, still remains one of the fans favourites because of the cracking action and zingers between Seagal and Keenan Ivory Wayan’s. The film is also, to many Seagal purists, the last time Seagal really looked a kick ass action hero. Fire Down Below was another eco film by Seagal and similarly he also included his passion for music in the film, showing his musical ability for the first time. Unfortunately the film wasn’t a success and remains a forgotten movie of Seagal’s CV, neither good, nor one of his worst. Following those two films was yet another eco-film, The Patriot, which up to this point was Seagal’s biggest disaster, going straight to video in the US and UK. The film again, like Fire Down Below, lack the action and excitement to appease the fans.
Seagal’s career was officially on the rocks and he did lead another film for 3 years. However his comeback was unexpected. Van Damme was struggling at this point, as were Sly and Arnold. Seagal looked all but set to continue his action career in straight to video movies, that is until old pal Joel Silver gave him a surprise call. Seagal led the action vehicle Exit Wounds, part of a hip-hop action trilogy from director Andrez Bartowiak and producer Joel Silver, which saw an action star team with a hip hop star. Exit Wounds saw Seagal take on the bad guys with rapper DMX. The film although critically panned, was a big box office hit and Seagal was in the spotlight again. However something about Seagal’s appearance was not right. Looking incredibly heavy set and weary, Seagal looked out of sorts as an action man. Still it was a hit and that’s all that mattered. Before he had shot Exit Wounds Seagal had already wrapped a supporting role in the appalling DTV action film Ticker, which remains his worst film. Following Exit Wounds Seagal once again tried the formula of teaming up with a rapper, yet this time the film lacked the polish of a Silver production. Half Past Dead sank in theatres and it was clear the big numbers for Exit Wounds weren’t entirely Seagal’s doing. Secondly the film was poor. It still however managed to make some money back on its small budget, yet the lack of wide interest was telling. Since that point Seagal has been doing straight to video movies. His films have suddenly featured an overweight and bored Seagal, churning up to 5 films a year sometimes. From Half Past Dead onwards, Seagal was looking jaded, and tired of doing the same old movies over and over again. His interest, enthusiasm and participation in the movies was dramatically less. Seagal was not at the entire shoots, and often his movie appearances account for as little as 75 percent of the movie, which is taking into account he is always the main lead. He was performing less of his own fights, stuns and even post production dubbing. Adding to his lack of enthusiasm and participation was also the poor quality of his films, reaching dire lows in Today You Die, Out Of Reach, The Foreigner in particular. A brief shining light of competence was his mooted comeback, Into The Sun, which was made with the intention of going to theatres. It was polished and well done and Seagal was clearly interested due to it filming in Japan. The film however lacked enough bang for the buck without an engaging enough story to make up for that. It ended up DTV.
At this point in his career Seagal is happily collecting big pay checks and doing plenty of movies, but the quality is not there. Still there are some promising possibilities including the New Orleans set action film Prince Of Pistols which will incorporate Seagal’s music, and will clearly strike some emotional involvement in the film. There is still a worrying amount of action films that are simply churners, to make money with little regard for quality. Seagal clearly is happy to appear as a headliner for several churners each year, while participating more enthusiastically in a more personal film. His fans will sadly have to wade through the mire for the odd rare gem, just as long as there are some gems still to find.
Seagals films on the 5 star rating.
- Under Siege- ****
- Above The Law- ***
- Out For Justice- ***
- Hard To Kill- ***
- Marked For Death- ***
- Executive Decision- ***
- Glimmer Man- ***
- Under Siege 2- **1/2
- Exit Wounds- **½
- Into The Sun- **½
- On Deadly Ground- **
- Fire Down Below- **
- Belly Of The Beast- **
- Half Past Dead- **
- Submerged-**
- The Patriot-**
- Black Dawn- **
- Out For A Kill- *
- Clementine- *
- Today You Die- *
- Foreigner- *
- Out Of Reach- *
- Ticker- *
