Runtime: 101 minutes
Directed by: Famously, this is Steven Seagal's only directorial effort
Starring: Seagal, Seagal's massive ego, Michael Caine collecting a paycheck, John C. McGinley, Joan Chen, R. Lee Ermey
From: Warner Bros.
What does it take to change the essence of a man?
As sometimes broached by myself, I talk about a film here I hadn't seen in many, many years; it was finally time for me to revisit the most Seagal movie ever made, the only one where he had total control and was allowed to be a director. As it's a po-faced and tries to be serious concerning environmentalism & Native Americans, not a shock that many people (whether Joe Q. Public or nerds like us) thought he was a goofball at best. Me, I can enjoy this silliness despite-or perhaps-because of its issues.
Seagal is Forrest Taft, an expert firefighter (even though this implies that fire is far more predictable than it actually is; some people never saw Backdraft, I noticed...) employed by a polluting oil company run by a guy (Michael Caine w/ jet black hair!) who might as well be a Captain Planet villain; he wants to open an oil refinery on time despite the high probability of ecological catastrophe just because he does not want to lose rights to said oil to the Inuit people. Taft changes his ways in part due to a stereotypical vision quest and soon becomes an ecoterrorist and attempts to save the environment by... blowing up multiple buildings. That's one of at least a few plot points which can be seriously questioned.
Silliness aside, the movie still entertains me between the action, all the explosions, the rampant fluffing of Seagal's ego, a decent Basil Poledouris score, some amazing lines of dialogue, lovely Alaskan scenery, and a more than capable cast (Joan Chen, John C. McGinley, R. Lee Ermey, Billy Bob Thornton, Mike Starr in a legendary scene, director Irvin Kershner for a brief moment, and even Bart the Bear. While inelegant, I still appreciate the pro-environmental and pro-Native American messages; even the amazingly blunt speech at the end concerning big corporations being corrupt and polluting the environment probably is more truthful than most people would like to admit. That monologue lasts for a few minutes but originally was TEN minutes long; I'd be dropped off in the Arctic Circle wearing only bikini underwear in order to see the full speech!
That aforementioned legendary scene-taking place in a remote bar called Abby's-is one that people seem to hate but it tickles me pink... it's always nice seeing a cruel bully be emasculated by a hero, even if it's from someone who is likely a terrible person in real life. Believe it or not, I know some people who actually went to the real life bar that was filmed at... I am pretty sure it's not actually called Abby's but no further info is known by me. Needless to say, the actual interior is nothing like what was shown on screen. Oh, to walk on such hallowed ground...
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