Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Just noticed the review formatting has returned, thank god for that
Member since:29.08.2002
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In 2001 the movie making life of Steven Seagal seemed to change from him being the sole star to sharing the lime light with some rapper or another. The first film to cast Seagal with DMX was Exit Wounds released around the middle of 2001. While it was still a straight to video release it was a major change to his usual films. It really caught my eye but with straight to video releases I generally forget they are there until I see them on the shelf in Tesco's. So I decided recently it was time to catch up with a load of his films I've missed, starting with this one.
Seagal stars a Orin Boyd, a Police Officer who seems to be the bain of his Captains life. Having saved the Vice President from an ambush in an unconventional manor, disobeying every order given, Boyd is reassigned to one of the City's worst precincts. He quickly stumbles upon some dodgy dealings between some of the other Police officers and a local rich kid. The biggest problem facing Boyd is
exactly who he can trust to try and sort it out.
While Seagal has very much become typecast in these police Action type of movies it is a role he seems to be very good at. He takes to the role with ease and once again merges his own brand of action with his unique martial arts style. When in full flow he seems to be really enjoying what he's doing and that makes what otherwise would have been an average film easy to watch and enjoy. You know when you sit down to watch one of his movies that it only requires your brain to be switched off to enjoy it and occasionally that's exactly what is needed.
The film from director Andrzej Bartkowiak, the director of Doom and Romeo Must Die, didn't really receive much acclaim at the time of release. In working with Joel Silver, one of the Producers of The Matrix, Bartkowiak has made a pretty reasonable movie. It was never going to be a summer blockbuster, but it is a decent enough movie. The special effects look pretty good and the camera angles and lighting all seem to add to the action in the film. It is a typical big explosion movie, with car chases and some very well choreographed fight sequences.
While Seagal had never worked with the director before he had worked with the writer, Ed Horowitz before with On Deadly Ground. The two were reunited for Horowitz adaptation of John Westermann's novel into an enjoyable movie. The script is pretty solid and although never really challenging the viewer it is certainly enjoyable. The soundtrack is pretty reasonable as well. As you would expect a film staring DMX does have a couple of his own tracks on the soundtrack, mixed in amongst a number of other rap tracks. The music really suits the film though and this is quite a success for the director.
I wasn't sure at first whether Seagal and a rapper would really work as a team but it's certainly a formula that he's made work. Seagal himself is his usual calm self. Nothing seems to phase his characters too badly and Orin Boyd is another of those. There's something about his style that you know isn't that great but I just can't help watching his films. He's a Action star and despite being typecast he knows which roles suit him and has made some of the better straight to video releases.
This film really came about at the start of DMX's crossover from music to movies. He worked with the director on Romeo Must Die and once again puts in a decent performance as Latrell Walker. His performance is quite confident and that makes him the right kind of actor for the role of Latrell. I also enjoyed Anthony Anderson's performance in this film. Again it was really at the time where he seemed to be appearing in everything, but he's a good actor and fits the role as Latrell's best friend very well.
Overall this is a pretty decent movie. There are flaws with it and if you don't like mindless action flicks then you'll feel a little let down by this. It does however offer a bit of light relief and at only 98 minutes doesn't drag on, keeping a decent pace throughout. It's important to remember that it is a straight to video release and that is normally for a good reason. While the DVD and video will sell and will be enjoyed it isn't the type of film that would ever draw a crowd to the cinema. If your planning a night in with a mindless film though this is one I'd certainly recommend.
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This sounds pretty enjoyable. I'll look out for it on TV I think.
miggmoggspud 05.08.2006 13:05
I normally love Steven Seagal films but was really disappointed with this one. The fight scenes looked really staged, whch is unusual for Steven, and he seemed to spend a lot of the film sat down (I decided this was to try and cover the fact that he is getting on a bit and has put on rather a lot of weight in recent years). Not one for me but a good review. Alexandra x
Sometimes you have to go undercover to bring justice to the law: sometimes you have to ... more
walk in the darkness to bring the truth to light. From the acclaimed producer of 'The Matrix' Joel Silver brings you action hit 'Exit Wounds'. Fifty kilos of heroi...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: some interesting twists and fight scenes, some decent acting at times Disadvantages: stale plot, some rather overdone and pointless violence, I can act better than Seagal
adamsputnik 29.12.2003 ·
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Review of Exit Wounds (DVD)
![Exit Wounds [DVD] [2001]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78521837.jpg "Exit Wounds [DVD] [2001]")
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