Customer Reviews

Hard to Kill

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Being a huge fan of action films, it's hard to critique them because this genre of movie making has one purpose...to give viewers an escape from reality and a sense of enjoyment in seeing scumbags and criminals get what they don't get in the real world: The sh-- kicked out of them. For this reason, I rate films of this nature on production values and good action and effects, not necessarily the script or character definition. Most of Steven Seagal's films are better-than-average and this one rates near the top because the action is top-notch and the choreography of the hand-to-hand scenes is truly believable. His aikido skills are remarkable. There's even a little pathos and some humor thrown in to give viewers a little more than just bone-breaking fun. This is a good movie if you remember not to take it too seriously and just have fun and watch the bad guys get theirs in painful quantities.

This movie is worth seeing for five reasons:

1) Emotional storyline. Kill a guy's family, put him in prison, and you've got the making of a high-octane story. Yes, maybe it's not CASABLANCA but it taps into our deepest emotions and desires. Including trying to get your son back.

2) Martial arts. Love the sequence where Steven Seagal is training. Very Eastern. Very authentic.

3) William Sadler as Senator Vernon Trent. Hollywood's most underrated character actor and villain turns in an understated performance. Very smooth and slick.

4) Seagal's romance. Yes, it's cheesy, but I'm a chick. Sue me.

5) The hot tub scene with Sadler. Again, sue me.

This was definitely one of Steven Segal's finest films. Playing the role of a policeman Segal video tapes a crooked politician striking a deal with underworld elements. This causes hired killers to invade his home. This invasion causes the death of his wife and places our hero in a 7 year coma. His son is raised by a fellow policeman. Segal comes out of his coma and narrowily escapes being killed again. The pretty nurse takes him to an isolated retreat where he regains his health. The crooked politician has now become a U.S. Senator. Through the efforts of our hero the politician is brought down and our hero gains revenge. This is a must see video.

saw this about 9 times on tv
loved it more and more every time
shocking powerful action movie
with small bits of humor
like when Mason Storm gets down on his knees to look like he's playing fair with the robbers in the store
and he still kicks their ass regardless even while on his knees
now that's funny and powerful. Lebrock is lusciously pretty and very talented. if you like Seagal see Marked for Death, Exit Wounds. and other great titles. I got this on dvd 2 days ago. it's worth the thrills, laughs and excitement every watch
see this movie
if you like Kelly Lebrock, then see Weird Science. good and interesting movie

I'm conflicted about "Hard to Kill" (alternatively known as "The Seven Year Storm" - a better title, if you ask me). On one hand, it's a quality vehicle from Steven Seagal's glory days that displays his strengths to near-perfection, but on the other, it's a pretty dumb follow-up to his smarter-than-average debut, Above the Law. Rest assured, it's not a bad action movie by any means, features a couple unconventional touches not seen in other Seagal fare, and certainly belongs on any of Seagal's "best of" lists...but for many folks, that's not saying much.

The story: Seagal is Mason Storm - a lone wolf policeman who's made a breakthrough regarding a plot to assassinate a US senator. Before he can deliver the evidence, an attack on his home by the crooks leaves his wife dead, his son missing, and Storm himself in a coma. Protected by his friend and colleague Kevin O'Malley (Frederick Coffin, View from the Top), Storm lies unconscious for seven years until awakening to renewed assassination attempts and a thirst for revenge.

For the record, being shot and put into a coma would be the most devastating injury ever done to the near-invincible Seagal until some twenty years later in The Keeper. That doesn't stop him, however, from managing to outrun an assassin while still bedridden, mere minutes after he wakes up. Throw in the beard he grew during his coma and the taking off of his shirt, and you've got a respectable list of things you see in none other of his films. I suppose that's where the film's main appeal lies: he's put into situations you usually don't see him in - like needing to rebilitate himself to the tune of inspiring music - but the fact that he handles all of them in his usual superhuman way puts a bit of a damper on the thought that his character might be but a man this time around. Credit goes to director Bruce Malmuth (Nighthawks) for pushing him, though.

The action is what you'd expect from Seagal at this age. The scene in the convenience store is one of the best examples of seeing practical aikido in use, but both it and the scenes that come after aren't quite as ingenius as in "Above the Law"; in the long run, it's nothing more than Seagal taking out the garbage as usual. However, a later combination of both indoor martial arts and gunplay is one of the finest that Seagal has ever been filmed in: it's a type of scene that hadn't really existed before Seagal and its style still isnt emulated very often, so count your blessings on it. The inclusion of Kelly LeBrock (Weird Science) - Seagal's then-wife - is a two-edged blade: while she gives little more than an acceptable performance, her interaction with Seagal seems to give the martial artist a confidence that he tends to lack in his usual acting and supplies him with a surprising flair that chooses to express itself during quieter scenes - I mean, when's the last time you've seen Seagal guffaw convincingly? Then again, since she was his real-life spouse, it's inevitable that they begin a relationship in the movie, and this doesn't really feel right considering that to Mason Storm, he just lost his beloved wife weeks ago; I figure they were intentionally trying to avoid drama, but it still feels weird.

However, when the bad guys get theirs, you some of the most satisfying scenes that our hero has ever uttered harsh language in: you really don't know how good you can feel for a guy until William Sadler (Roswell - Seasons 1-3) is standing with a gun barrel in his mouth, being told what's going to happen to him in prison. The ability to instill this marvelous feel for vengeance earns director Malmuth some kudos...but eventually, it feels like just another run-of-the-mill action vehicle for Steven, since the villain isn't particularly memorable and the scope of the film isn't very big. While it's more interesting than most of the films Seagal would involved in later in his career, it really doesn't top an old-fashioned, to-the-point Seagalian bloodbath like Out for Justice. Fans should definitely pick it up and 80s-action freaks should get a fix out of this one...but everybody else, rent it first.

Just after "Above The Law" and before his girth expanded, Seagal made this dandy little action thriller. Set seven years ago on oscar night( and that is as close as he would ever get to one) Seagal gets bad guy Sadler(always fun as the bad man) on video ordering a hit on someone. Well before you can say "kung fu" Seagal is shot and left for dead , his wife is killed and his son gets away. But as we all know, if you don't cut him into pieces, just like Jason, Seagal isn't dead, but he is REALLY, REALLY MAD. Never once is this believable but as it moves so fast you never really have much time to think about it.

Seagal plays Mason Storm, a Los Angeles homicide detective who is seen on the dock, one night, with a video camera and a tape recorder, spying on mystery guys who were plotting to turn a political figure into a memory...

Once he gets the evidence, Storm shares the information with a buddy, unaware that two crooked cops, in the next room, are listening in to their phone conversation...

Later that night, an assassination squad turns their automatic weapons against Storm and his family... They murder his wife, fail to kill his young kid, but apparently left him seriously wounded...

After Storm is taken to the hospital, he sank into a deep coma... His death was faked and his true identity was hidden away by a friend..

Seven years later, Seagal suddenly comes out of his coma, and begins to remember events that happened while he was conscious...

When he regains his full consciousness, he asks his beautiful nurse, Kelly LeBrock, to get him immediately out of the hospital...

In a house-sitting far back from the city, Storm prepares his health and wellness with Oriental healing traditions, stimulating the flow of energy within his body, by inserting fine needles into specific points on his skin...

Once achieving his skills of vitality, he set out to avenge his wife's murder by tracking down the crooked cops, and of course the ambitious, cynical politician, who was behind the grand scheme of things...

"Hard to Kill" is full of flying bullets and breaking-glass, with super-graphic fights and shootouts... Our great hero proves once again to have a threatening penchant for breaking bad men's arms, legs, wrists and backs...

Seagal and LeBrock look great together.. Their palpable chemistry is well translated on the screen... The gorgeous model eventually married the wonderful man, and they would have three children... However, in 1996 the two divorced and LeBrock began appearing a bit more, taking part in the feature film 'Wrongfully Accused' (1998), opposite Leslie Nielsen and Richard Crenna...

Many reviewers will not give credit where credit is due. Seagal is a master in his art, and a good actor with great on screen presence. Hard to Kill is Seagal's best film ever. This is an action film, when was the last time an action film was supposed to be completely realistic. In this movie Seagal's character is Mason Storm, a high ranking detective who is violently murdered along with his wife by hitmen (fellow LAPD detectives) whom are corrupt and close-knit with an up and coming senatorial candidate Vernon Trent, after he learns of Seagal secretly taping a planned hit of his while undercover at a dock (beginning of the movie). The bad guys think Storm is dead when he suddenly appears to be alive but in a coma. Storm's best bud and fellow detective keeps it a secret for 7 years until Storm awakens from the coma. From there it's pure action as he both tries to escape the grasps of the bad guys once again and heal, and deliver some much deserved payback. Hence the name "Hard to Kill". To any Seagal fanatic, this is his best film ever, hands down. Everyone else who is just an action movie buff might not think so, but then they truly don't understand what Seagal is all about including his great martial arts backround and poise. This flick is great suspense and adreneline with a stupendous story, so grab the nachos, popcorn, snowcaps, goobers, sodapop or whatever, and hit the lazyboy and relax, and get ready to see an awesome film. If you're new to Seagal, start with his first flick "Above the Law", then this one, and go from there. If you want to see a most horrible Seagal film, see one of his latest flicks "Half Past Dead" Seagal gets a bad rap due to his more recent films in the mid 90's till now when he gained a lot of weight and picked and directed bad scripts and screenwrites while resting on his early accomplishments. Hard to Kill, however is pure action, and you can take that to the bank!

It's hard to hate Hard to Kill, but you will also find it hard to avoid soiling yourself after being subjected to the unintentional humor inherant in any quality Seagal flick, this one no exception. Grasshopper Steven portrays Mason Storm, a man brutally cut down in his home by crooked cops and presumed dead... that is until he shows signs of life in the emergency room and is kept alive in a coma for years. He awakens in the 1990s with the beautiful Kelly LeBrock as his nurse and soon realizes that he is being sought out by the same cops that attempted to murder him years earlier. Seagal manages to recall a shady Senator through a memory lapse and promises to take him to the blood bank. Some other humorous moments include Seagal punching a wood plank out of its ground anchor during his training sessions, Seagal covered with smoking acupuncture needles during therapy, Seagal throwing a tribal mask over the head of a defeated enemy, etc. Another winner.

...this is Steven Seagal at his Steven Seagaliest. What do I mean by that? It's perhaps the silliest of his early films plot-wise (apart from his directorial debut abomination On Deadly Ground, anyway), it shows him at his most invincible (getting away from multiple bad guys while on a hospital gurney), it's got some of his best lines ("This is for my wife. *beep* you and die!") and he's at his most over-the-top I-can-do-everything-I'm-Steven-freaking-Seagal throughout.

Basically he's an undercover cop whose family gets blown away early on after he discovers a deep mob connection involving a Senator (William Sadler, kind of wasted here). And Seagal (as "Mason Storm", one of his best names) is blown away too - except he lives, in a coma, somehow hidden completely away from public knowledge despite being in a regular hospital, for 7 years. Then he comes to in the presence of uber-babe Kelly LeBrock (Mrs. Steven Seagal in real life for several years) and starts trying to escape the baddies, find his old friends who can help him get the dirt on the Senator out in public, etc etc. Along the way he finds time to show off his knowledge of languages, a Seagal trademark (Chinese here), demonstrate lots of martial arts, show his Buddhist teachings (promptly to be ignored when it's time to do some killin'), and generally do plenty of bad acting and ass-kicking.

It's not really a "good" movie, even by low-budget action movie standards it's hardly great, but if you're a Seagal fan (and what conscious human isn't?) it is one of the must-sees; only Out for Justice is more fun overall I think, and that one actually IS a (pretty) good movie, with Seagal's acting being pretty close to competent, a great villain, and good New York location work.

DVD NOTE: Seagal's movies have been endlessly repackaged in 2fers, 4-packs and the like; obviously there's no reason to spend boucoup bucks on just this one alone. It's most often been put together with SS' previous (and first) film ABOVE THE LAW, as in this package: Steven Seagal Collection: Above the Law/Hard to Kill which seems like it might be your best bet at the moment I'm writing this (April 2011).