Product Details

• Actors: Steven Seagal, DMX, Isaiah Washington, Anthony Anderson, Michael Jai White
• Directors: Andrzej Bartkowiak
• Writers: Ed Horowitz, John Westermann, Richard D'Ovidio
• Producers: Bruce Berman, Dan Cracchiolo, Ernest Johnson, Joel Silver
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: February 5, 2002
• Run Time: 101 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (136 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00003CXW3
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #299,947 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

One can always count on Steven Seagal to act as the repository of yesterday's action-film clichés, and Exit Wounds is yet another case in point. Seagal plays Detroit cop Orin Boyd, a lone wolf lawman who gets in the middle of his precinct's losing battle against police corruption. Taking on a powerful but crooked cop named Montini (David Vadim)--who is busy making deals with a rich gangster (DMX)--Boyd soon sends fists and feet flying while Tom Arnold provides the comic relief. Director Andrzej Bartkowiak surely had less fun guiding Seagal through slow-motion fight sequences than he did Jet Li in Romeo Must Die, but as compensation he gets to work with the mesmerizing DMX, who looks as though he has leading-man possibilities. Plenty of gratuitous gore, awful cop banter, and miles of cleavage courtesy of Jill Hennessy, who plays Boyd's tough-as-nails boss. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Yes, I loved it anyway!, May 29, 2002

By 

Victoria Tarrani "writer, editor, artist, des... (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Exit Wounds (DVD)

Even predictable action flicks provide good escapism. Some of the predictability does not happen because the script needed another rewrite.

I am a Steven Segal fan. My first choice in films is action. "Exit Wounds" did not disappoint me on either count. However, several undeveloped script elements are just ploys to introduce characters or transition locations. Many of the problems with the movie belong to the screenwriter or film editor. I would have liked to see deleted scenes, which were not included in the DVD special features.

Segal's fight scenes are not overdone: he goes in, gets the job done without excess violence, and walks away calmly. He could be considered a knight of the round table, a Jedi master, a starship captain, or your average guy with extraordinary qualities.

This movie is action driven, but the intelligence that Segal brings to all of his characters shows through. Detroit cop Orin Boyd is a maverick officer, and his one-man shows frequently get him into trouble. The opening scene depicts him using his gut instinct, which is based in deductive reasoning and observation skills. He sees a cop, with a scraped ear, wearing an earring; the patrolman is one of the entourage who is escorting the Vice President from the podium, where he spoke about gun control, back to his hotel. Boyd rescues the VP from an assassination attempt, but instead of gratitude, he is sent from one precinct to another.

Who are these assassins? That inherent question is never answered, though I thought it would be before the movie ended. I see this as an opening gambit to create the plausible impression that "bad cops" were involved. However, even scene setting should have a reasonable answer.

Jill Hennesy is the captain of the new precinct and requires that Boyd attend a "rage class." In the class, he meets Tom Arnold, who is the comic relief, and never fails to do his job right. The classroom and meeting were also just a tool to provide a trusted resource when the investigation of a drug ring left no one to trust. Completely undeveloped is the romance between Hennesy and Segal, though innuendoes and quips pass between the two. A beautiful woman and a virile man, obviously attracted to one another, may have added the sparkle that is missing from most action films; it would have been so natural here, and not taken the focus away from the plot.

DMX, like Segal, carries an aura of calm assurance. He is dynamic and sexy, and could well be another superstar and box office draw. His character is quiet, and his reasons for the involvement in the drug investigation are excellent.

Even with the problems, I know I will watch this movie many more times. Therefore, I give it four stars. If you do not like violent, action packed movies with undeveloped script elements, then you might not like this one.

Victoria Tarrani

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Senseless title for a senseless movie, May 18, 2005

By 

Inspector Gadget "Go Go Gadget Reviews" (On the trail of Doctor Claw) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exit Wounds (DVD)

Despite Fire Down Below being a No. 1 hit in America, it went straight to video here in the UK and killed Seagal's career for four years. But then veteran action producer Joel Silver thrust Steve back in the limelight, put him on the Slimfast diet gave him slightly better material to work with. After all, an actor can only do as good as the script.

From a novel of the same name by John Westerman (but bearing minimal resemblance to it) the plot centers on Orin Boyd, a cop busted down to patrolman after a rough encounter with the Vice-President. Once on the streets Boyd's suspicious nose can't keep him out of trouble with undercover cops who are trying to bust local Drug Boss Latrell Walker...or so it seems.

There are many attempts at irony throughout the movie and surprisingly enough most of them work. Boyd is forced to attend rage control classes in which he meets eccentric TV host Henry Wayne (Tom Arnold) who becomes his wannabe partner. But sadly enough the classes don't work as Boyd continues to uses violence first, ask questions later. And there is a public service announcement too; Seagal survives a car wreck by airbag. A later car crash victim doesn't have one and dies.

Dozens of cop movie cliches staple the flimsy script together. And the bad guys are obvious from the moment they appear on screen. Bartkowiak's direction is better than in his debut Romeo Must Die, and adds a heavy dose of frenetic rush to such a fast-paced film. However the set-up and execution of the story is so dull you'll forget about it half an hour after the credits roll.

Seagal has learned a little, just a little, more in the acting area but still doesn't know how to express himself much. There's too much frowning and not enough other emotions from Boyd. We do want to feel more from him but he won't allow us. I guess this is just how Seagal is. He just can't get away from himself no matter what role he plays. I wish Seagal would try harder, but he just never bothers with making an effort.

Warner...release a Blu Ray, the DVD looks good, but it can look a lot better!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Oh my goodness....., August 2, 2001

By 

h (Vancouver, British Columbia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Exit Wounds [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Was this a bad movie or what??? I was so stoked to see this for months before it came out (since Romeo Must Die was so good), but I was horrified by how bad this was. Although Tom Arnold was kinda funny at times and Steven Segal wasn't all that bad, the movie was so darn cheesy (a la the slow motion shot of DMX putting on his glasses) that I nearly puked!

Avoid this stinker!