Belly of the Beast (2003)

An ex-CIA agent's quest to find his kidnapped daughter leads him on a trail of political intrigue, corruption, danger and betrayal; he will stop at nothing to save her.

Director:

Siu-Tung Ching (as Ching Siu Tung)

Writer:

James Townsend

Stars:

Steven Seagal, Byron Mann, Monica Lo

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steven Seagal	...	Jake Hopper
Byron Mann	...	Sunti
Monica Lo	...	Lulu
Tom Wu	...	General Jantapan
Sara Malakul Lane	...	Jessica Hopper (as Sarah Malukul Lane)
Patrick Robinson	...	Leon Washington
Vincent Riotta	...	Fitch McQuaid
Norman Veeratum	...	Suthep
Elidh MacQueen	...	Sara Winthorpe
Siu Tung Chan	...	Kong (as Chau Siu Tung)
Kevork Malikyan	...	Fernand Zadir
Pongpat Wachirabunjong	...	Mongkol (as Pongpat Wachirabanjong)
Alastair Vardy	...	Security Guard #1
Andy Adam	...	Security Guard #2
Shahkrit Yamnarm	...	Brice (as Shahkritt Yamnarm)

Storyline

Ten years ago, Jake Hopper was a CIA agent who was stationed in Thailand. Then one day, things went sour, and his partner, Sunti barely escaped with his life...after accidentally killing a woman. Jake called it quits and returned to the United States when his wife died, and Sunti became a Buddhist monk to atone for his sins. For the past 10 years, Jake has run a successful private security business, and has been raising his daughter Jessica, who is now an adult. While hiking in Thailand, Jessica and her friend Sarah Winthorpe are kidnapped. A group of Islamic fundamentalists known as the Abu Karaf claims responsibility. Sarah is the daughter of United States senator John Winthorpe. For ransom, the Abu Karaf demand the release of 20 prisoners from American custody. The US Secretary of State urges restraint -- he won't negotiate. Tom Collins, an ex-colleague of Jake's, recognizes Jessica on the ransom tape and tips Jake off. Jake knows that he must rescue the girls himself. An old CIA ...

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Plot Keywords:

thailand | skinny dipping | female frontal nudity | washington monument washington d.c. | cia central intelligence agency | 

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Taglines:

A Father's Rage Knows No Limit

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Genres:

Action

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and brief nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dedicated to Trevor Murray, who died suddenly during production.

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Goofs

The Thai have as strong touch-taboo - that's why they use the "wai" as a greeting instead of shaking hands or similar. Our Hero would know this, expert as he is in matters Thai, so he would not have touched the monk's hands after speaking with him.

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Quotes

Jake Hopper: I liked you a lot better as a bitch.

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Crazy Credits

In Loving Memory of our friend Trevor Murray

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Connections

References A Better Tomorrow (1986)

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Soundtracks

Bah Bau
Performed by: Silly Fools

User Reviews

As generic as the title suggests...

Steven Seagal movies exist in a pop culture vacuum. They cannot be judged against any other films in existence. They're such an acquired taste that to compare them to movies with other actors is almost pointless. In a sense, Seagal movies are very nearly critic-proof. What can I do, complain that Ticker just wasn't on the same level as Jaws?

Anyway, if you've seen pretty much any other direct-to-video Seagal venture lately, you know exactly what this one is all about- a distant and emotionless man with a shady history must take the law into his own hands and rescue/avenge his wife/daughter/Neopet. The movie is virtually indistinguishable from others he's released in the last few years.

Honestly, if you played this film alongside The Foreigner and Out For a Kill, you'd have one hell of a time telling them apart. All of the usual elements are there: bad acting/dialog, distracting music, and annoying editing. Jesus, the editing... has the slow-bullet effect been exhausted yet? Has anyone NOT used this in a movie? It's only used once or twice in Belly of the Beast, but it's played out to a ridiculous point. I'm still waiting for the day when technology will have advanced far enough to enable Seagal to smile or even laugh with the help of CGI.

You already know if you'll like this movie or not, unless in the case that you haven't seen a Seagal movie. If this is true for you, go and find Out for Justice, Above the Law, or Marked for Death. Any of these are far preferable to this monumental waste of time.

Details

Country:

Canada Hong Kong UK

Language:

English Thai

Release Date:

30 December 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Belly of the Beast

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$254,988

Company Credits

Production Co:

Century Time (H.K.) Ltd., GFT Beast Films Inc., GFT Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1