This for good reason, was the end of Steven Seagal's time as the reigning action movie king. His five movie run previous to this was building up to his environmental passion project. This is what we got. One of the most self-righteous, self-masturbatory, preachy movies ever made. Yet that is kind of why I like it because it takes itself way too seriously and that is unintentionally hilarious. If you thought Seagal was invincible as an action hero before that this movie, watch this and tell me what you think. He survives a giant explosion in this could level a city block without a scratch. He never gets touched in a fight. He convinces racist and cruel men to change their ways by beating them in slapping fights. He becomes this white savior for Native eskimos. He preaches about taking care of the environment while blowing up oil rigs. It is insane. Apart from that it's got some great blood squibs. Michael Caine seemed to be the only person involved who knew the type of movie he was making and therefore gives some levity to an otherwise, serious, but unintentionally funny movie.
Synopsis: Forrest Taft (Steven Seagal) is putting his considerable talents as a fighter and marksman to use as a hired gun for the sleazy oil tycoon Michael Jennings (Michael Caine). The latter's bottom-line tunnel vision has him destroying entire communities if it means a bigger profit for his business. While in Alaska taking care of some business for his amoral boss, however, Taft meets a native Eskimo woman (Joan Chen) who helps him to discover the error of his ways and pursue a more righteous path.
The film starts with some of the brilliant aerial shots of snowy mountains and transitioning shots of animals like polar bears. That right away shows you what you are in for. Seagal as Forrest shows up and puts out a fire on an incomplete oil rig headed by his friend Hugh Palmer (Richard Hamilton). Forrest is with Jennings, who is the head of Aegis oil. Hugh accuses them of giving him substandard preventers, which of course ends up being true. This scene establishes the type of company man Forrest starts out as. Hugh accuses him of only wanting money and not caring about the people who are in danger. Forrest says, "For $350,000 I'd fuck anything once!" This of course sets up his arc.
The scene then transitions to a bar which starts the subplot of Forrest being this Native savior and saintly figure. This scene also has some amazing ADR in the background, as did the opening scene on the rig which gives it some more unintentional comedy. Seagal sees a bar patron played by Mike Starr beating up and belittling a drunk Native American. He gets into a bar fight and does his typical aikido stuff and breaks a bunch of people's limbs. He also kicks a lot of people in the nuts and there's some hilarious ADR for that. He then beats Mike Starr in a slapping challenge over and over again. While he has the entire attention of the bar he says, "What does it take to change the essence of a man?" Starr says, "Time." Forrest pats him on the back and walks away. What a scene.
Forrest finds out about the delay in proper equipment by looking at restricted files. Hugh plans to tell the EPA and makes a copy of the files. Right after he does this Jennings' right hand men played by John C. McGinley in a delightfully evil performance, and Sven Ole-Thorsen torture and kill him. While this is going on there are some great Michael Caine moments like him screaming at his makeup person. There is also a great scene that shows his obvious hypocrisy and self-righteousness when he films a commercial with deer and then he is disgusted he had to touch them. Irvin Kershner cameos as the director of the commercial. There is a press conference where he is rightfully accosted by the Native Tribes. Aegis had bought the rights to the land from the tribes 20 years before but the rights will go back to the Tribes if the oil rigs aren't completed in time, hence the use of faulty equipment.
Forrest reprimands Jennings for his use of faulty. In the only part of the movie where Seagal seems fallible, Jennings lures him to an abandoned rig site and tells him there is an emergency. While he goes in the building rigged with explosives, Jennings flies away and Seagal survives an impossible explosion. The scene then transitions to Seagal being treated by the Inuit tribe. He goes on a vision quest and sees the error of his ways and pledges to fight Aegis. All of this mysticism seems like something out of Avatar or Dances With Wolves. It goes on too long to be part of an action movie and is also too short to be one of the focuses of it. Jennings and company can't find Forrest's body so MacGruder (McGinley) and Otto (Thorsen) go to tribe to look for it and MacGruder kills the tribe leader and Masu's (Joan Chen) father.
In one of the film's only moments of levity Masu brings out the tribe's snowmobile. Seagal asks "You've had this the whole time?!" "For emergencies." They go to Forrest's house and find the copy of the files Hugh left there. Jennings wants to use an oil spill to keep the rights while also dumping toxic stuff into another field to profit. Some of Jennings' men come to the house. This starts the film's great use of gunshot blood squibs. You may think that Sven-Ole Thorsen could give Seagal a fight, no he takes him out in seconds. Jennings hires a mercenary team lead by R. Lee Ermey playing Stone. This shows Taft's ability to make traps as some of Stone's men are killed by grenade traps and others are impaled on spikes. These are some awesome bloody kills.
In the last act of the film Masu and Forrest make their way to the oil rig. There is some great kills and blood squibs as Seagal uses an automatic shotgun to take out some dudes. There are some bloody kills as well such knives through the eyes and people being thrown into helicopter propellers. There is a final confrontation between Jennings and Forrest that ends with Forrest trying to tell him about the people he will kill but he doesn't have a conscience to care. This of course sets up Seagal's preachy environmental speech at the end. While I do like the fact that he calls out the oil companies and government for their greed I don't like being hit over the head with the message, rather than have it be something that naturally comes in the movie. At least he isn't doing the modern thing of the world's going to end in 10 years give me money to stop it. Look for Billy Bob Thornton in an early appearance as one of the henchman who gets a funny monologue right before his demise. Basil Poledouris' score is also great.
Rating: 9/10 I just have too much fun watching this movie and honestly the action in the second half, while not very well edited, is bloody as hell at times.
Trivia: Seagal agreed to do Under Siege 2 if he could make this movie.
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