Reviewed By: The Shootin Surgeon
What's It About?:
Steven Seagal stars as Professor Travis Burns, a mysterious archeologist who gets framed by the Chinese mob and used by the police to get to their boss. When the mobsters attack his family and turn his house into an ashtray, Seagal does what he does best: He Marks them for Death and goes Out for Justice against those who think they're Above The Law! Yeah, that's right...he's Out for a Kill!!
Is It A Good Movie?:
Bad acting, cheesy dialogue, strange martial art hand slaps and wild strip joint shootouts... just what you expect, and just what makes up the guilty pleasure that is a Steven Seagal film! Ever since he's become a certified weirdo, people have stopped taking Seagal seriously and this is definitely not the film that will turn him back into a big-screen action star, if he still even cares for that. The plot is somewhat incoherent and filled with more holes than my hairline and the actors seem to have been picked from the Official Lorenzo Lamas School of Grade B Acting. Despite all that, OUT FOR A KILL is still a decent way to spend an hour and a half provided you have an alibi in case somewhat asks you what you're doing. There's actually only one thing that saves this from being a total waste and that is the fact that there's still not one man alive who comes up to Seagal's ankle when it comes to flat-out kicking of ass. This ain't no Jackie Chan we have here!! This guy beats people up so brutally that you can't help but wince while watching. And even though his ass has grown to the size of my own, and he's now sporting one of the weirdest mullets around...he's still a huge (no pun intended) blast to watch on screen.
The supporting cast though, aside from Corey Johnson who manages to preserve some of his dignity, is a mess of non-descript, standard issue Chinese actors/karate guys and various other deservedly anonymous schmucks who may of may not have been asked to appear in the film when they showed up with the set catering company. Michelle Goh makes an absolute fool of herself as one of the DEA cops, but the weirdest is the screwed up Mob boss who just sits in a chair and speaks in a very, very odd constipated manner. Cheers to director Oblowitz for making the best out of the sad sack of talent he worked with and for incorporating some cool shots and a few nice visual effects, including a nice POV shot of bullets whizzing towards a truck and some wild Chinese dude crawling on walls (don't ask). Jeers go to director Oblowitz for bogging this down with an attempt at a plot rather than limiting it to what it should be....namely Steven Seagal beating people silly!
Video / Audio:
Video: Presented in Widescreen anamorphic 1.85:1 ratio, the DVD has a decent quality to it except during the credit sequences where the whole thing gets very pixelized. Not really the best transfer I've seen but hey, it's a guy beating up some Asian dudes! Who needs George Lucas for that anyway?
Audio: The track is available in English and French, Dolby Digital 5.1 and also in Stereo Portuguese and Spanish. One really weird thing is that Seagal's voice is dubbed for a large part of the movie and badly so at that! Some conversation sequences actually cut away during his lines and return for the other actor's reply. The dubbing also sounds like it was taped in my basement. Very odd. One theory is that it was taped while Seagal was in a safety bunker hiding from those real-life gangsters who have been trying to whack him for the last couple of years.
The Extras:
None to note other than the Theatrical Trailer and trailers for two other movies including Seagal's THE FOREIGNER.
Final Diagnosis:
If you're a die hard Seagal fan, you'll enjoy seeing him beat people stupid, but don't expect an actual movie to break out when you pop this into your player. Typical grade-B stuff that's sure to please fans of the genre and sure to disappoint anyone else.
Overall:
Movie : 2/5
DVD : 2/5
Overall : 2/5
What's It About?:
Steven Seagal stars as Professor Travis Burns, a mysterious archeologist who gets framed by the Chinese mob and used by the police to get to their boss. When the mobsters attack his family and turn his house into an ashtray, Seagal does what he does best: He Marks them for Death and goes Out for Justice against those who think they're Above The Law! Yeah, that's right...he's Out for a Kill!!
Is It A Good Movie?:
Bad acting, cheesy dialogue, strange martial art hand slaps and wild strip joint shootouts... just what you expect, and just what makes up the guilty pleasure that is a Steven Seagal film! Ever since he's become a certified weirdo, people have stopped taking Seagal seriously and this is definitely not the film that will turn him back into a big-screen action star, if he still even cares for that. The plot is somewhat incoherent and filled with more holes than my hairline and the actors seem to have been picked from the Official Lorenzo Lamas School of Grade B Acting. Despite all that, OUT FOR A KILL is still a decent way to spend an hour and a half provided you have an alibi in case somewhat asks you what you're doing. There's actually only one thing that saves this from being a total waste and that is the fact that there's still not one man alive who comes up to Seagal's ankle when it comes to flat-out kicking of ass. This ain't no Jackie Chan we have here!! This guy beats people up so brutally that you can't help but wince while watching. And even though his ass has grown to the size of my own, and he's now sporting one of the weirdest mullets around...he's still a huge (no pun intended) blast to watch on screen.
The supporting cast though, aside from Corey Johnson who manages to preserve some of his dignity, is a mess of non-descript, standard issue Chinese actors/karate guys and various other deservedly anonymous schmucks who may of may not have been asked to appear in the film when they showed up with the set catering company. Michelle Goh makes an absolute fool of herself as one of the DEA cops, but the weirdest is the screwed up Mob boss who just sits in a chair and speaks in a very, very odd constipated manner. Cheers to director Oblowitz for making the best out of the sad sack of talent he worked with and for incorporating some cool shots and a few nice visual effects, including a nice POV shot of bullets whizzing towards a truck and some wild Chinese dude crawling on walls (don't ask). Jeers go to director Oblowitz for bogging this down with an attempt at a plot rather than limiting it to what it should be....namely Steven Seagal beating people silly!
Video / Audio:
Video: Presented in Widescreen anamorphic 1.85:1 ratio, the DVD has a decent quality to it except during the credit sequences where the whole thing gets very pixelized. Not really the best transfer I've seen but hey, it's a guy beating up some Asian dudes! Who needs George Lucas for that anyway?
Audio: The track is available in English and French, Dolby Digital 5.1 and also in Stereo Portuguese and Spanish. One really weird thing is that Seagal's voice is dubbed for a large part of the movie and badly so at that! Some conversation sequences actually cut away during his lines and return for the other actor's reply. The dubbing also sounds like it was taped in my basement. Very odd. One theory is that it was taped while Seagal was in a safety bunker hiding from those real-life gangsters who have been trying to whack him for the last couple of years.
The Extras:
None to note other than the Theatrical Trailer and trailers for two other movies including Seagal's THE FOREIGNER.
Final Diagnosis:
If you're a die hard Seagal fan, you'll enjoy seeing him beat people stupid, but don't expect an actual movie to break out when you pop this into your player. Typical grade-B stuff that's sure to please fans of the genre and sure to disappoint anyone else.
Overall:
Movie : 2/5
DVD : 2/5
Overall : 2/5