Customer Reviews

Out of Reach

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

While it has some minor flaws it's a quality movie. The action sequences aren't wire-fu or sped up. The story is more believable than some of his other movies and the bond he shares with a pen-pal girl is a nice touch, as well as him teaching her secret code. As in most of his other movies, he plays an ex-military/government agent that has more skill and wherewithall than any of the villians. While this concept is the same in virtually *every* Seagal movie, it's still enjoyable to watch. I do think he needs to branch out and play a different character than the same one he's played all this time. All this aside, it's decent entertainment and it's better than his last two movies.

Hot on the heels of "On Dangerous Lard", and "Hard to Floss", the secret agents man's man is back to thwart evil doers, beat up nefarious villians and stop on the way to do some eco preaching. Billy Ray Lancing is a former covert agent (I was so surprised to find that out!) turned "Survivalist" who spends his time rescuing animals and getting in touch with nature. He is called to action however, when he suddenly discovers that the foster agency he is using to help a young girl is actually a front for a human trafficking industry. In time honored fashion the girl disappears, and Steven must put down his pruning shears and hemp weed knitting and rescue her. Plenty of rough & tumble, hard stares and stern "If you harm her I'll......." warnings follow as he cuts a swathe through the immoral band of naughty men, and the movie follows the standard formula. Our hero can of course make a high powered weapon from a stick of gum, and an empty beer can, and you immediately know that the army he is fighting have no chance. I know I am quite damning about these recent Seagal straight to video productions, which might make you ask why I keep watching them? Well, to be honest I've always been a fan of the aimless action flick, and Seagal has done some really fine work. Sadly as I hold my breath and wait for a return to movies of the Under Siege calibre, I find myself turning blue watching stuff like this instead. This is probably not as bad as the previous two offerings he has made, and credit to him for still managing to churn this stuff out, (he's hardly a young man anymore), but it is still pretty bad. Another complaint is the eco stuff - I have no problem with his obvious desire to make people more ecologically aware and responsible, but there is a platform to do it on properly, and this isn't it. Like Dangerous Ground, Fire Down Below, and The Patriot before this, the moralising wears a bit thin, and makes you ask him to jump one way or another. Either make a gratuitously violent action flick, OR a Greenpeace documentary, but STOP putting the two together please. All that said, put your brain in neutral, grab the popcorn, and enjoy the fight scenes.

If you are a Steven Seagal fan, as I am, you will enjoy this movie for the plot and theme. He generally has a cause that he trys to express in many of his movies, and this is no different. I don't know much about the man outside of his movies, but from what I read in those I think he is a man with some deep convictions on certain topics. It shows in his movies. In this movie it is the human slave trade of young women which does go on, even today. People have different ways of making social statements and I think this is his way of doing it, through some of his films.

This movie though lacked the action scenes normally found in his films, and the voiceovers completely ruined the movie for me. How disconcerting to here the thoughts of the main character, Seagal, as an aside but with a completely different voice from his??? That happens throughout the entire movie. What in the world was the director thinking of? This was absolutely the dumbest thing I think I have seen in a movie. In addition, some of the action scenes were so obviously staged, and that showed too: specifically the sword fight and also in a couple other places. These made the action scenes seem unreal unlike most of his movies.

In any case it is worth a rental to watch. The theme and plot were well done I think, and the script was pretty good too. The young girl did a fine job of acting, also. I think most Seagal fans will like this movie, but be upset with the voiceovers, as I am. It is not one of his better movies in my opinion, so I only rated it 3 stars.

Is it me or does there seem to be a glut of Steven Seagal straight-to-DVD movies these days? I mean, we've had 'The Foreigner,' 'Belly of the Beast' and now the latest Polish-adventure installment, 'Out of Reach.' And as much of a 'fan' of Seagal's work as anyone can actually be, I have become accustomed to his fantasy, never-say-die screen persona in much the same way you grow used to the scars left by your youthful bout of chicken pox! Seagal's work is plot motivated for sure, the script worded a little too chessily for most tastes, the acts linked thinly at the best of times, but they are still good, honest, fun movies to sit back and crack a cold one to. In 'Out of Reach,' Seagal plays William (Billy) Lancing, a former covert agent turned survivalist who is thrown into his old line of work when he discovers that the foster program he is using to help a young girl is actually a human trafficking network. Sure, we've heard it all before, but it's the way that Seagal does his slow-mo karate moves on all the gun-totting assassins that makes it worth your hard earned dollars this time around! And, as I said before, this is set in Poland once again which is where last years 'The Foreigner' was set and trust me, his look is no different in either one! So, our man Seagal must have a two-for-the-price-of-one movie deal going on back a couple of years ago! Smart cookie! Oh yeah, of course there are fatal flaws in this film (in all his films!) - such as his supposed voice over which obviously is not his but is actually his arch enemy in the movie for some reason doing HIS dialogue! - but who cares anymore?! He sure doesn't so why should we? As stated, this is Seagal at his 'best' and so deserves to be rented or purchased as soon as possible!

Joseph Heller could have easily been talking about Steven Seagal when he wrote: "Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them." Steven Seagal plays Lansing in "Out of Reach." The basic plot goes something like this: Lansing is an ex-government agent (something called C.S.A) with a dark and mysterious past that is never even remotely revealed; he now lives on a wild life refuge and exchanges letters with a little girl (Irena) in an orphanage. This would at first be a little creepy, but an even creepier guy shows up at the orphanage and draws our attention away from Seagal because he takes all the girls to Turkey and sells them online to other creepy men like himself. Apparently, trafficking a dozen teenage girls is a 100 million dollar illegal business that everyone in Turkey turns their eyes away from, except our hero, Lansing, and a beautiful, blonde, and (let's not forget) single cop. Also making an appearance is Seagal's strangely combed back hair, which makes him look oddly like Sesame Street's The Count. Give the Count months of protein shakes and growth hormones, maybe even a cold, slightly bored stare, and it would be just as menacing as Seagal in this film. Also, let's not forget the slightly condescending and effeminate narrative voice-over. (Voice-overs always mean it's a high quality film.) Seagal also passes down some Eastern philosophy: "Pave your own path. Do not wait for others to lead you." But lucky for him the antagonists have idiotic one-liners that are juxtaposed next to his, thus elevating anything Seagal says: "Like any rose, the company must cut its thorn"; "Learn to love pain, it'll set you free"; and my favorite mixed metaphor of the movie, "If you don't protect your King, you're on the road to ruin."

Murat Yilmaz (Azimi) delivered a surprising performance. He plays a quiescent, alcoholic, sneaky kleptomaniac 12-year-old who is smarter than the entire police force in Poland and likes to communicate with nods and raised eyebrows. Apart from every scene he's in, my favorite scene has to be when the blonde cop asks Lansing why he cares so much for this girl, and he replies by talking about his dark and mysterious past: "There is something bad I did in my past, and I'm trying to make up for it." At first it's a mystery what he's talking about, but it becomes clear later that the bad thing he did was either "Half Past Dead" or "Exit Wounds."

dd

When I saw so-so actioner 'Belly of the Beast,' I thought Steven Seagal was well on the way to his 'comeback,' finally realizing that authentic-looking martial arts actions are what gave him the stardom, which is however fading away very fast. Now I saw this film, and know I was terribly wrong. His next film 'Out of Reach' is a huge letdown, probably the final nail in the coffin.

Don't get me wrong, I really like his films made in the 90s, like 'Under Siege' action-packed escapism entertainment. In 'Out of Reach' Steven Seagal plays one Billy Ray Lancing, an ex-agent living in the wilds of Canada, where he finds injured animals and bring them to health. Yet another embironmentally conscious hero from Seagal, but ... doesn't he see that these social messages have nothing to do with making good action films?

Add to that, Billy Ray exchanges letters with a little girl Irena living in an orphanage in Poland. When it is reported that she is missing, and a nasty businee of 'human traffic' is suspected, he travels there incognito, secures a help from the local policewoman (while he has no ID), speaks a bit of French, and hits a PC keyboard like a pro, better than a Polish technichian, to restore a secretly recorded image. We meet a hissable baddie (Matt Schultz), but anyway we are sure Seagal will win, because he has taught the little girl how to decode the 'cyphers' (and check out how she uses it, a scene which makes unexpectedly hilarious 'you-gotta-be-kiddin' 0moment).

So, how about the fact-moving kicking and chopping, once Seagal's trademark? No, these thrilling martial arts actions are gone forever in this new film. You just don't have actions in 'Out of Reach.' As I counted them, well, in the first 40 minutes of 'Out Of Reach' you can see only two action set-pieces: in one, Seagal's hero Billy breaks a few arms and legs of the unkind government agents (about 30 seconds), and much later Billy smashes the glass of hotel bathroom and drops an assassin onto a parked car (another 30 seconds). That's it, that's all.

There are more actions to come, obligatory shoot-outs and sword fights, but not enough to call 'Out of Reach' an action film. The pace is terribly tedious, the images (when at night) are too dark, and worst of all, not only Seagal but slmost all the Polish cast sleepwalk in the pedestrian story. Little girl looks bored while she is supposed to be in danger.

Finally, about director Po-Chih Leong (fairly good in Jude Law's brooding thriller with a vampire theme 'The Immortal') who is the least likely choice in Seagal's entire filmography to succeed in staging exciting actions, and the results turned out as we feared. The slow-paced story is sleep-inducing, and what little action bits in the film are amateurish at best, with poorly-constructed shots in which fast editing attempts to conceal Seagal is no longer moving his bodies like he used to do.

First of all let me remind everyone that I'm a huge fan of Seagal and own almost all of his movies (except for some of the most recent). I used to buy every Seagal movie that came out to the store but now (after seeing The Foreigner) I rent all of them. While I did enjoy this movie more than The Foreigner and Out For A Kill I cannot really say if I liked it better than Ticker. It is probably almost as good of a movie as Belly of the Beast but, if I were you I'd put your money into BOTB. One thing that is an issue with me is the voice-overs. There seems to be two different people who do Seagal's voice-overs throughout the movie and that is a bummer. I could see fixing one...maybe two spots in the film but the voice editing was throughout. Even though this is an enjoyable story I find that Seagal's fight scenes (are there really only two martial art fight scenes?) aren't his usual. I was, to say the least, disappointed in the final fight scene. Other than the voice editing which I totally don't enjoy in a movie and the not so well fight scenes (the camera shots play a roll in this) this is a decent movie to rent and watch if you are a fan of Steven Seagal. Otherwise, I'm not sure why you would even be interested in this film. Steven Seagal does have a few more direct to video movies coming out in the next year or so and there is talk of one going to the theaters which I'm sure I'll enjoy.

Steven Seagal has finally made a comeback! This movie portrayed a more in shape, less slow motion martial arts Seagal that kicked some [...] on child pornographers. This is Seagal's best film since Exit Wounds. The action is not as frequent as previous films but fits the character and age of Mr. Seagal and the action scenes are shot in full speed, rather than in the dark slow-mo, like films before. Out of Reach contains great acting, action, and plot... key ingredients to a great movie. This movie has made me look forward to Seagal's next film Into the Sun due to release this year. Ignore the negative comments and at least rent this movie at the video store to see for yourself. This movie is big on Aikido, plot, and acting, but low on explosions and unrealistic gun fights.Five stars for an enjoyable movie

I just finished watching "Out Of Reach", and unlike the easily-definable DTV hits and misses like Urban Justice and Submerged, I'm thoroughly undecided about whether or not I like the movie or not. Sure, it's nowhere near the quality of Steven Seagal's theatrical work, but it fails to suck a'la Out for a Kill. It's got plenty of unlikable attributes that would ruin any other film, but the question that must be considered for all Seagal-starring flicks is whether or not its pluses outweigh its negatives. Let's look at it in an orderly fashion; maybe coming to a conclusion that way will be easier.

Story: Seagal is a reclusive ex-agent spending his time tending to injured woodland animals and writing to his pen-pal, 13-year-old Polish orphan Irena (Ida Nowakowska). When the girl is kidnapped by an international human trafficking ring, Seagal kicks butt to get her back.
Now that Liam Neeson's Taken has been released, the story will be considered old-hat but nonetheless proves serviceable. While some of the chance happenings border on the ludicrous, the plot's not bogged down by endless sub-tangents and convolution. Straight-arrow is good for Seagal, even if you have to bend reality to keep it that way.

Acting: Fans know not to expect a lot from Seagal and they shouldn't change this prejudice for this one. Steven's his same old mumbly self but bad-guy Matt Schulze (playing almost the same role he did in The Transporter) bests him for over-the-top hamminess...in a bad way. The rest of the cast is pretty acceptable, though: hero cop Agnieszka Wagner ("Thomas the Falconer") and baddie agent Robbie Gee (Underworld) don't discredit themselves, and young Ida Nowakowska is pretty good for a Polish girl reading and English script (her friend Jan Plazalski, on the other hand, could be the best child actor in the world but it wouldn't show through the completely weirdo role that was written for him).

Action: Most of the hand-to-hand action is quick and one-sided, but the choreography is fine and Seagal didn't call in too many stunt doubles this time around. A couple of solid gunfights distract from the lack of car chases. As a treat, the final showdown between Seagal and Schulze is a swordfight in a courtyard: it's nowhere near as fast-paced, lengthy, or exciting as the ones in Marked for Death and Into the Sun, but is undeniably styled like a John Woo scene and therefore art-y enough to be appreciated.

Production: The editing is solid and without obvious glitches, though a few too many scenes feature off-screen voiceovers. Even worse, about a third of Seagal's dialogue is dubbed by another actor - one that sounds absolutely nothing like him - as well as a few of Matt Schulze's lines. The shooting locations aren't as drab as most of Seagal's made-in-Europe fare tends to be, with decent cinematography keeping most shots worth looking at.

I think I'm warming up to the movie, but purely because it's a Seagalian feature. Non-fans of his don't even need to think about checking this one out. The use of the very real crime of human trafficking as a plot device is realistic without being exploitive and is generally handled very well by director Po-Chih Leong (Immortality). Seagal's more likeable in this film than he had been recently, by way of his connection to the young girl via secret codes he taught her. The lengthy dubbing really gets on your nerves before long, though, and is probably the major reason why many perople don't approve of this one. In short, there are most definitely better DTV titles that our hero has done, but even if it's at the bottom of the "acceptable" rung, "Out Of Reach" fails to fall into the category of Seagal's bad movies. Fans will no doubt remain divided in opinion, but for what it's worth, it's staying on my shelf.

i can't believe how a movie could be so terrible and nonsense..it was so awful that we could not even watch till the end..i recommend everybody not to waste their money and time with this piece of garbage..