Customer Reviews

Shadow Man

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Lord Steven releases lots of movies, so much so that its like having Christmas three or four times a year. Now, my past few little "Christmases" have been disappointing. So, I wasn't holding my breath for a masterpiece when I picked up "Shadow Man"(its lame cover not easing my mind in the least). Boy, was I pleasantly surprised.

The plot is ridiculously convoluted, but here is a vague outline of what happens: Lord Steven plays a billionaire businessman who was formerly a CIA agent. He's also a widower raising a young daughter. His father-in-law is still in the CIA and meets with the Lord and his daughter in Romania for a family trip. Pops secrectly slips the Lord some sort of high-tech nano-virus without Seagal's knowledge then gets promptly blown up by a car bomb. At the same time, the Lord's little girl gets kidnapped. The rest of the movie is doublecross upon doublecross and no one really has any motive save for Seagal, who is out to get his daughter back. Throw in some Russian gangsters(one of which who curiously looks like a mixture of Christopher Lloyd and Max Headroom)out to get the virus, shady government agents also looking for said virus, a femme fatale taxi driver, some excessive violence, and you get a quality Seagal feature.

Firstly, let me say that for the first time since 'Belly Of The Beast' that one of Seagal's movies has a director that actually seemed to give a crap. Michael Keusch, a former German TV director, crafts a fine film with nice camera work, good dialogue, lots of action(mostly hand-to-hand with some nice akido showcased)...but the thing I really liked were the little details: the bad guy with syphilis and his creepy mask, some eyeball ripping, a few brutal gunshots to the face, and a funny cab driver who shows up for a few moments. Its nice, for once, to see a Seagal director take the time to go all out in everything from fight scenes to extraneous details. This is the first time in a while that I've felt like the makers of a Seagal opus actually tried to make it be a good film.

Despite its silly opening scene(just watch for the watermelon and you'll know what I mean), 'Shadow Man' is easily Seagal's best film since 'Belly Of The Beast'. He looks decent, though still a bit pudgy, but better than he's looked in a while. There's some great fight scenes(the Lord's stuntdouble for once isn't quite so obvious), there's hardly any dubbing, and has quite a bit of excessive violence. All the actors are good(even a small role from Brit actress Imelda Staunton), the plot is interesting if overly ambitious, and Seagal seems into it for once. There's no cheese here, no filler at all. 'Shadow Man' is, by far, Seagal's leanest, meanest most action-filled flick in a while. Seagalogists won't be disappointed.

"Shadow Man" is one of the better entries in a string of direct-to-video Steven Seagal films. The productions are decent and the supporting actors are better than usual. It is far from such films produced by major studios as `Under Siege' or `Exit Wounds,' but well, he seems doing most of his actions himself. But I believe most action film stars are supposed to do his stunts or at least make it look like that.

The story is, as usual, nothing special. Seagal is an ex-CIA operative whose daughter is kidnapped. And he is involved in some conspiracy about a bio-chemical weapon. As the story unfolds, you just start to follow the convoluted plot and anyway will decide to sit back and keep watching Seagal killing the typical villains mostly sporting English with Russian accent.

But what really matters is action, and the first 30 minutes are pretty good. The film opens with Seagal teaching his pupils in his dojo, flipping and throwing away them with his aikido, and that reminds me of his earlier films in the 80s. Then there are some OK car actions and shoot-outs, which are shoddily edited, but the stunt persons are doing good jobs. The film then loses steam, and actions get more and more insipid. Wait for one unintentionally funny scene in which Seagal's character fights back a helicopter only with a pistol. The results are laughably cheesy effects

As a mysterious taxi driver beautiful Eva Pope appears. Maybe she is too good for this film, but more surprising is the cameo appearance of Imelda Staunton, winner of Laurence Olivier Theater Awards and Oscar nominee for her amazing acting in `Vera Drake.' Watching her standing side by side with Seagal is a bit surreal experience for me.

"Shadow Man" is a better than average Seagal direct-to-video actions, but that isn't saying much given the efforts put to his recent films.

Unlike many of Seagal's movies in the past few years, this one is actually pretty well-written and directed. There really aren't big plot holes in this film like some of the others, and the camera work is pretty well done on the action scenes and fight scenes. Plus, the supporting actors are serviceable and the film being shot on location in Romania added a nice backdrop for this espionage-type action movie. Perhaps best of all, unlike "Attack Force" or "Kill Switch" there isn't any obvious stunt double or voice dubbing. So the movie has a very clean and tight feel to it. There really was only one really "cheesy" scene where Seagal shots down a helicopter with only a pistol and it explodes in the air - that was pretty bad. However, there were some cool scenes of him using his Aikido with an acceptable level of Hollywood effect added to it.

My main criticism of the film is that it just wasn't all that interesting. Except for the opening chase scene when Seagal's daughter is kidnapped, and the typical Seagal-like finish to the film where everyone ends up dead, the middle of the movie is quite dull despite only being a 95-minute movie it felt like it dragged on for over 2 hours. In fact, I was so bored by it at times that I paused it a couple of times to get something to eat & drink - something I don't often do if I'm really into a movie. But overall I think Seagal fans will probably like this one.

The plot of Shadowman is a bit over-complicated...and it really doesn't break any new ground...BUT Seagal looks committed to this movie. Almost no fight doubles, he does his own over-dubbing, and acts like he is having a better time than he has in some of his past direct-to-video films. Movies seem to be an after thought. Check out his CD's to hear Seagal's totally passionate about what he is doing -- playing the blues.

I agree that this movie may cover no new ground. But Mr. Seagal does not use a stand in and does his own work. His acting is believable, even if the ex-CIA billionaire is not. Once again he is an ex-CIA agent that ends up in a quest to find his kidnapped father. He is betrayed as usual, but nothing will stop him from finding her.

As a side plot, his daughters kidnapping is orchestrated so that his character will wreck havoc and get the attention of all the nefarious forces that are trying to gain a deadly bio-toxin which has been stolen from the CIA labs. Seagal performs some basic aikido and a couple of MacGyver tricks. So just sit back and enjoy the ride, it makes for a pleasant evening at the movies.

Great plot and superb action! He did a fine job in this film!!

Here is Steven Seagal, again playing an ex secret agent, in a DTV that is once again shot in eastern Europe. This film was more enjoyable than some of Steven's last few movies. Seagal is more involved in the film, appears to be enjoying himself. There is enough action (gunfights, aikido) to hold your attention. Two thirds of the way through the film, he again puts on his familiar leather coat - even though it looks to be spring/summer in Romania. Biggest laugher - Steven takes on a large military helicopter with his trusty .45 automatic. Guess who wins that fight?

People should give Seagal some credit. He actually did most of the fighting except the beginning sequence. Some of the moves actually reminded me of some of his old stuff. Hats off and I hope he does more films like this one! Great action fights. Yes he's a little slower, but so is Jackie Chan. It called aging people so you morons cut him some slack.

The movie was shipped quickly and was in the condition described. The film itself was a flop - I haven't seen a more mediocre piece of cinema in some time...but I asked for it so that is no reflection on the seller!

From the amateurish opening scene car chase, with Seagal's chubby mug filling the entire screen (and the green screen backgrounds from the car) to the really hokey ending - ugh!

The budget was very low, as the special effects of Seagal shooting down a helicopter gunship with his .45 really sucked And the insipid Kung-fooey school of students. Just can't say enough for this bad movie.

I think he has a double standing in some scenes showing him in the shadows or of his back (as in Belly Of The Beast) because he's really put on some oink-oink pounds. And he has terrible pancake make-up applied to his aging mug. Plus, his over-dyed black hair with out-of-style ponytail makes him look like a clown.