On Deadly Ground (1994)

Mystical martial artist/environmental agent takes on a ruthless oil corporation.

Director:

Steven Seagal

Writers:

Ed Horowitz, Robin U. Russin

Stars:

Steven Seagal, Michael Caine, Joan Chen

1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steven Seagal	...	Forrest Taft
Michael Caine	...	Michael Jennings
Joan Chen	...	Masu
John C. McGinley	...	MacGruder
R. Lee Ermey	...	Stone
Shari Shattuck	...	Liles
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Homer Carlton
Richard Hamilton	...	Hugh Palmer
Chief Irvin Brink	...	Silook
Apanguluk Charlie Kairaiuak	...	Tunrak
Elsie Pistolhead	...	Takanapsaluk
John Trudell	...	Johnny Redfeather
Mike Starr	...	Big Mike
Sven-Ole Thorsen	...	Otto (as Swen-Ole Thorsen)
Jules Desjarlais	...	Drunken Eskimo

Storyline

Forrest Taft is an environmental agent who works for the Aegis Oil Company in Alaska. Aegis Oil's corrupt CEO, Michael Jennings, is the kind of person who doesn't care whether or not oil spills into the ocean or onto the land, just as long as it's making money for him. He even makes commercials that make him look like he cares about the environment. Jennings is almost finished with building his new state-of-the art oil rig: AEGIS-1. The problem is that if he doesn't finish building the rig in thirteen days, the land rights will be returned to the Eskimos and the Alaskan government. When Jennings finds out that Taft's best friend Hugh Palmer has a computer disk that contains information about defective equipment on AEGIS-1, he sends out his goons to murder Palmer. When Taft tries to interfere, Jennings tries to kill Taft. But an Eskimo woman named Masu, who introduces Taft to her father Silook, the chief of her tribe, rescues Taft. With Masu's help, Taft begins a trek through the ...

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Plot Keywords:

oil | environmental | murder | tribe | oil spill | 

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Taglines:

His Battle To Save The Alaskan Wilderness And Protect Its People Can Only Be Won...

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Inuktitut

Release Date:

18 February 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rainbow Warrior

Filming Locations:

Carson, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,679,573, 21 February 1994, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$38,590,500

Company Credits

Production Co:

Seagal/Nasso Productions, Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Steven Seagal agreed to appear in Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995) if Warner Bros. allowed him to direct this film.

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Goofs

The Joan Chen character (Masu) plays an Inupiaq. Masu says that she is an Indian and that she knows how to ride. An Inupiaq would not refer to herself as an Indian.

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Quotes

Liles: Alaska is a Third World country. It's just one we happen to own.

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Crazy Credits

The first half of the end credits run over images of Alaska and its various wildlife, until we see Forrest Taft & Masu in a canoe, with Taft pointing out to Masu, a crow in front of them circling over the water (supposedly meant to be Silook in another form)

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: 8 Seconds/You So Crazy/Sugar Hill/On Deadly Ground/Fiorlie (1994)

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Soundtracks

Inuit Throat Singing
Performed by Qaunaq Mikkigak and Timangiak Petaulassie

User Reviews

Nice to see an action movie with a new locale and a few new angles, but a shame that on the whole the film is pretty inept.

What drew me to On Deadly Ground was that it had a few new ideas in its locker that I hadn't come across in many other action movies. The setting was Alaska, which sounded intriguing. The action was backed up by an environmental message, which also sounded intriguing. The hero was played by a wooden martial arts "actor", while the villain was played by a prolific, Oscar-winning superstar, which sounded like an irresistible pairing (just for the novelty value of seeing them on screen together). Add to that the fact that the music was by Basil Poledouris (whose scores for Conan the Barbarian and The Hunt For Red October are all-time great pieces of film music). On Deadly Ground seemed to have the promise and the potential to be something pretty interesting. Alas, the film fulfils very little of its potential. It's a particularly inept action flick.

Troubleshooter Forrest Taft (Steven Seagal) works for an oil company in Alaska fronted by the unpleasant Michael Jennings (Michael Caine, not in his worst ever film but certainly providing his worst ever performance). Taft gradually begins to realize that the company he works for is responsible for appalling environmental damage, but he can't get them to approach their business with a more environmentally-friendly outlook.... so he does the next best thing - he kicks some butt! Taft goes on a worthy crusade against his callous, single-minded bosses. Hired mercenaries are brought in to stop him, but Taft either evades or kills them in the Alaskan wilderness, and ruthlessly closes in on Jennings.

Seagal made a major mistake in directing the film himself. He lacks fluency as a director and has little grasp of how to link scenes correctly. Nor does he seem capable of coaxing decent performances from his surprisingly good cast. The film stumbles with near-random carelessness from one badly-acted scene to the next, diverting occasionally for the odd expensive-but-totally-soulless set piece. There are flashes of pretty cinematography, and in parts the action is crisply and competently choreographed, but generally the film is a disappointment. After the roasting that it received, Seagal's box office appeal took a permanent dip and Michael Caine stopped prostituting his talents in every film that was offered to him and actually started looking for scripts worthy of his ability.