The Keeper (2009/I)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Keoni Waxman

Writer:

Paul A. Birkett (written by)

Release Date:

22 September 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action

Plot:

In the vein of "The Professional" and "Man on Fire", Steven Seagal plays an LA cop who after nearly being killed by his greedy partner...

Cast

Steven Seagal	...	Rolland Sallinger
Jessica Williams	...	Nurse Williams
Alexandria Morrow	...	Hooker
Liezl Carstens	...	Nikita Wells
Kisha Sierra	...	Allegra
Luce Rains	...	Jason Cross
Seri DeYoung	...	Socialite #1 (as Seraphine DeYoung)
Alessandra Hayden	...	Night Club Dancer
Trine Christensen	...	Regina Lawson
Arron Shiver	...	Mason Silver
Therese Olson	...	Cocktail Waitress
Brian Keith Gamble	...	Trevor Johnson
Steph DuVall	...	Conner Wells
Michael-David Aragon	...	Scar
Jack Brunacini Jr.	...	Bodyguard
Gilley Grey	...	Drug Dealer #2 (as Gilbert J. Anderson)
Kevin Christopher Brown	...	Texas Deputy Sherriff
Gianni Biasetti	...	Henchman #5
Kurly Tlapoyawa	...	Drug Dealer #3
Johnnie Hector	...	Manuelo
David Manzanares	...	Cop #1
Tomas Sanchez	...	Jorge
Brady Romberg	...	Lucien
Elwood L. Hoyt	...	Senior Detective
Michael R. Long	...	Henchman # 1
Edward A. Duran	...	Crew Cut
Gabriel 'Bam Bam' Merendon	...	Drug Dealer #1
Carlton Liggins	...	Detective

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence throughout, language, some sexuality/nudity and drug use.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Certification:

USA:R | Norway:15 (DVD) | Japan:PG12

Filming Locations:

Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Steamroller Productions

A definite step up the ladder for the king of action

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Roland Ballinger (Steven Seagal) finds himself fighting for his life after his partner double crosses him during a drugs bust and then comes back to finish him off on his hospital bed. Roland narrowly escapes with his life, but can't get back to a level of physical fitness where he can rejoin the force. Luckily, an old friend calls him from El Paso to act as a bodyguard for his daughter who's just survived a kidnap attempt. But the kidnappers are relentless and try again, forcing Roland into a deadly showdown to the death.

This is Seagal's second film for Optimum after the slick but empty Driven to Kill, and if The Keeper doesn't strike you as a particularly brilliant action film, looking back on all the hack job work he made with Sony Pictures, with their dubbing, obvious stunt doubles and iffy editing, it's at least refreshing to see such a professionally made and presentable film. And, in turn, Seagal himself seems more engaged in it, no great performance but certainly more quirky and interested than in any of the aforementioned Sony nonsense. He is still noticeably overweight, in his face as much as his body, but he's obviously the type of guy who works better with professionals and the result is much better. Luckily, there is a decent story here with some pretty good action to boot. There's also a much less gloomy and depressing feel than with a lot of the films he made with Sony, both in the lighting and in the soundtrack, and the script is to thank for parts of this too. Indeed, one of the few production cock ups is the back cover saying it's set in Romania when it's actually Texas (bit of a difference!), and this is all too relieving as Dracula Country is where a lot of the 'european lensed' disasters were filmed and sunny Texas drives away a lot of those bad memories.

This is basically Seagal's take on Man on Fire, and while there's nothing to make it especially memorable or remarkable, it's looking like his DTV career will end on a high as his role in Robert Rodriguez's big screen movie Machete beckons. ***