Most of his post 2010 "Born to Raise Hell" efforts so far have been pretty bad and judging by continuous low IMDb ratings, some are even below 4.0, maybe its time for him to retire. But do you think any of his movies even just one in 2020s and/or 2030s if he's still around be worth anything or even be average but watchable 5/10 achievements, or is it a dead end now for Steven Seagal's movie career?
shareWas he ever in a good movie?
He runs like a 6th grade kid and a plank of wood from Home Depot has more screen presence. A fairly seasoned MMA fighter could tear this fat boy to pieces.
He also likes to harass and shove around women when he’s not busy sucking off Vladimir Putin.
Fuck this guy.
UNDER SIEGE...HARD TO KILL...OUT FOR JUSTICE
DEFINITELY GOOD ACTION FLICKS.
He’s no Chuck Norris and he’s nasty towards women.
I hate the guy.
I WAS/AM NOT AWARE OF THE NASTY TO WOMEN PART...I SIMPLY ENJOYED WATCHING HIM CHOP AND KICK THE BADDIES WHEN I WAS A KID.
shareThis guy is a jerk.
He likes Putin and shoves women around.
THEN I WOULD AGREE...HE SOUNDS LIKE A REAL JERK.
shareI don't fault Seagal for having the correct opinion of Putin, but I've not heard too many other good stories about him. He came off as (very genuinely) harsh and abrasive in his early films and that was his whole appeal. His shtick wore off immediately when he got all preachy in ON DEADLY GROUND and his career has been a long downhill slide ever since.
share"Was he ever in a good movie?"
Under Siege 2 (1992) (his best film in my opinion) and same director Andrew Davis' Seagal debut "Above the Law" (aka "Nico") (1988) were both pretty good. A few others are decent and some are average but watchable, however, he has made some poor and truly terrible ones as well and his direct to video post 2010 efforts have been mostly continuously bad.
IT IS POSSIBLE...BUT IT WILL NOT BE A SEAGAL FLICK...IT WOULD HAVE TO BE SOMEONE HIRING HIM TO FOR THEIR FILM...AND KNOWING HOW TO UTILIZE WHAT IS LEFT OF THE ACTION STAR....IT'S A LONGSHOT...BUT IT COULD HAPPEN...MAYBE QUENTIN TATRANTINO IS A BIG HARD TO KILL FAN.
shareYou're right; something like his part in Executive Decision is probably his only shot at being in a decent movie at this point.
shareFundamentally...he is too old and fat for anyone to consider putting him in a movie.
He has survived the last 15 years or so making cameos in nondescript action movies, but even they have dried up.
And I dont think he was smart about his career. Look at Jackie Chan, another action star who is older and not able to do the sort of stuff he used to do...but he acknowledged it. He slowed down, started doing more dramatic roles (karate kid remake, The Foreigner, ).
And he comes across as very serious and dour...Chan, Arnie,
Stallone, The Rock, even Van Damme have shown a lighter side in movies.
Seagal is frankly a figure of ridicule these days, and there are many negative stories from people in the movie business about him.
I can't see any reason why anyone would give him an acting role, and am surprised that he still has fans out there that are seemingly mystified as to why he is no longer making movies.
I AGREE WITH THAT...ALMOST ENTIRELY.
I WOULD CALL MYSELF A NOSTALGIA FAN MORE THAN ANYTHING...I ENJOYED A HANDFUL OF HIS EARLY FILMS AND THEN EVERYTHING YOU SAID BECAME THE REALITY.
Thanks K, but even in his earlier movies like Above The law and others, my biggest issue with him was his thin, weedy voice.
He clearly had the fighting skills back then, but for me the voice never matched the physique.
I agree with you except for the claim that Seagal "comes across as very serious and dour" in his films. I can't comment on his more modern output, but every character he played from 1988 to 1997 (with the exception of his brief role in Executive Decision) had one-liners and moments of levity.
share"Kill Bill volume 1" (2003) allegedly borrowed the premise from "Hard to Kill" (1990). And Robert Rodriguez, Tarantino's major movie buddy, has cast Seagal in his "Machete" (2010) flick and as a (arguably first time ever) bad guy to boot.
shareNo, he doesn't give a shit any more. It stands out a mile from his more recent 'offerings'. In some of them he didn't even do his own ADR (and it's really obvious). He just rolls up, does the absolute minimum possible for the maximum amount of cash he can screw them for.
shareSince Seagal basically fled to Russia for various (I am sure including legal) reasons, there's a chance he'll start to show up in Russian and Chinese cinema, probably in small roles. I'm a bit surprised that this hasn't happened already as he's been gone from the USA for something like 5 years at this point, and he still enjoys some popularity in foreign markets.
I worked on a few of his movies in the early 2010's and was very puzzled myself how his films were getting funding as he was already then considered a joke in the USA. What I was told at the time was that it was all based on presales to various foreign countries like Thailand where he was still popular. I assume that's still the case in places like Kazakhstan etc where his name can help sell a movie.
I think whether or not he appears in a decent film again comes down to him and if he chooses to even try to get back into acting (which takes more effort than he has demonstrated in many years). I doubt he speaks Russian that well even though he lives there so he'd be the odd man out English speaker (or bad Russian speaker) in a Russian action movie, which could potentially be good if it shows the same novelty that NIGHWATCH or HARCORE HENRY displayed. I would say that it's beyond him at this point as he's just too old, fat, and lazy but he did slim down and show some effort again when he did EXIT WOUNDS, so there's a slim chance some of that same ambition is still somewhere deep down inside of him, assuming he finds the urgency and enthusiasm to tap back into it.
I think it could be interesting if he did put in a huge effort (maybe even with the help of these new weight loss drugs) to slim down and revisit his Nico Toscani character as a sequel to Above the Law.
Beyond that, it would be cool to see him appear (uncredited) in a small cameo for a big budget movie....playing either a bodyguard, assassin or henchman. Have him show some acting chops though...beyond just being a grunting tough guy.
Here's an example of a story it could be cool to see him in: As an aging assassin, 3 decades loyal to his boss, he is deployed as part of a team to take out some key figure. When they show up and take the guy out, the guys' daughter comes in the room and sees them. The team moves to take her out as well, but Segal's character neutralizes them and saves her life. From that point forward, they're on the run. And the only way to save their lives is for Segal to take out his longtime boss/friend.
This is pretty cliche and cookie-cutter, I know. But in the hands of the right Director (like Tarantino), it could be interesting. Slim him up, let the beard and goatee be greying....and direct some decent acting out of him. Show a vulnerable side of him, and make him likeable.