Out for a Kill (2003) (V)

User Rating:

2.9/10   

Director:

Michael Oblowitz

Writers:

Danny Lerner (story)
Dennis Dimster (screenplay)

Release Date:

14 August 2003 (Italy)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Out for revenge. Out for payback.

Plot:

An unsuspecting university professor is an unwitting accomplice in a foiled Chinese cocaine deal. Wrongly imprisoned, he escapes to take his revenge and prove his innocence.

Plot Keywords:

Car Chase | Drug Smuggling | Tattoo | Assassin | Crime Boss

Cast

Michelle Goh	...	Tommie Ling
Corey Johnson	...	Ed Grey
Tom Wu	...	Li Bo
Ozzie Yue	...	Fang Lee, 'The Barber'
Bruce Wang	...	Tang Zhili, 'The Bird'
Chike Chan	...	Mr. Chang
Hon Ping Tang	...	Sai Lo
Dave Wong	...	Yin Quinshi
Chooi Kheng-Beh	...	Wong Dai (as Chooi Kheng Beh)
Steven Seagal	...	Prof. Robert Burns
Elaine Tan	...	Luo Yi
Michael J. Reynolds	...	Dean
Kata Dobó	...	Maya Burns (as Kata Dobo)
Vincent Wong	...	Luo Dazhong
Ray Charleson	...	Harry 'Crash' Kupper

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language, nudity and some drug content.

Runtime:

Argentina:96 min | Australia:86 min | UK:88 min

Country:

Aruba | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Germany:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Sofia, Bulgaria

Company:

Millennium Films

Goofs:

Continuity: When in the Chinese Barber Shop, the barber pulls the blind down over the door, a few seconds later, he closes it again.

Quotes:

Prof. Robert Burns: Stay out of my life. Stay out of my way!

Movie Connections:

Edited into Direct Contact (2009)

Soundtrack:

Welcome To The End

WARNING. FOR MEN ONLY!!

Men have a place in their brains called the macho cortex (MC) buried in the limbic system which, when sufficiently stimulated, turns us into drooling morons with only two desires; survival and sex, not necessarily in that order. Most action flicks are designed to stimulate the MC by flooding our senses with big, ugly dudes who are bad (we don't care why) and we want to see killed or luscious babes who are good (all babes are good, even bad ones) and we want to...well, you know. This parses as Big, ugly = bad, Babe = good. All we need is some kind of Rambo-like hero with whom we can identify and, presto, we're there, vicariously getting off as we watch the hero (us) waste the bad guys while the babes swoon.

The problems with the formula in Seagal's formula action outing "Out for a Kill" are manifold. First, the hero, Seagal, doesn't fit the strong, silent type paradigm because he looks like a porky zombie on ludes. Second, the hero is married and then quickly widowed. So, now we're stuck with a porky zombie on ludes who is in mourning. Yuck! Thirdly, as Seagal trucks through a plot flatter than a saltine, there are no babes watching or waiting to drop their skivvies at the end. So, where's the prize? No respectable action hero would go to so much trouble with no hotties watching and waiting. Hottie cop Goh is waiting at the end but she's a platonic thing because she can't jump the hero since he's in mourning. Duh! Therefore, all the killing is a needless, senseless waste of time, the MC never gets engaged, and we, the men, are left with no reason to drool so boredom sets in and that's a bad thing. (C-)