There's something charming about the simplicity of this film's plot: it consists of an impassive Seagal working his way through a gang of Chinese Tong, murdering them one by one until his job is complete. That's it. No hassles, no interruptions, no sub-plots; just straightforward, methodological killing the way we like it. The surprise is that we get to see Seagal do some of his old fashioned kicking and Aikido kung fu methods, even sword-fighting at one point; seeing as his last film TICKER saw him sitting in a seat for the entire film, watching him back in action is a real surprise – and a guilty pleasure
This film is cheap, of course. Every now and then a terrible visual effect will pop up to show you that. The dialogue is nothing to write home about and the locations look particularly cheap. The storyline is clichéd and ridiculous and even the title is cookie-cutter perfunctory. But somehow it all gels together and works for a change. Seagal is in the limelight again, his hair a little longer, his belly a little more rounded, but still kicking backside with the best of them. Watching him destroy Chinese villain after Chinese villain with his well-practised arm and neck-breakings is a pleasure long forgotten in his recent run of movies and it certainly delivers the action goods with almost non-stop fight scenes and death.
Some filler is thrown in with a Mulder and Scully pair of cops but their importance is minimal. What counts is the strong-arm violence, the sleazy strip-joints and nude dancers, and most importantly Seagal kicking backside. Watch out for the hilarious decapitation finale and the crazed fight scene in which Seagal batters a barber who knows the monkey style and flies along the walls at breakneck speed! This kind of imagination has been sorely lacking in similar Seagal flicks recently which again makes it a nice surprise. Far from his best, but if he keeps making these films then he's definitely back on track.
This film is cheap, of course. Every now and then a terrible visual effect will pop up to show you that. The dialogue is nothing to write home about and the locations look particularly cheap. The storyline is clichéd and ridiculous and even the title is cookie-cutter perfunctory. But somehow it all gels together and works for a change. Seagal is in the limelight again, his hair a little longer, his belly a little more rounded, but still kicking backside with the best of them. Watching him destroy Chinese villain after Chinese villain with his well-practised arm and neck-breakings is a pleasure long forgotten in his recent run of movies and it certainly delivers the action goods with almost non-stop fight scenes and death.
Some filler is thrown in with a Mulder and Scully pair of cops but their importance is minimal. What counts is the strong-arm violence, the sleazy strip-joints and nude dancers, and most importantly Seagal kicking backside. Watch out for the hilarious decapitation finale and the crazed fight scene in which Seagal batters a barber who knows the monkey style and flies along the walls at breakneck speed! This kind of imagination has been sorely lacking in similar Seagal flicks recently which again makes it a nice surprise. Far from his best, but if he keeps making these films then he's definitely back on track.