Thursday, January 28, 2010

1.28.2010




51. The Keeper

Going back to work today put a damper on the festivities as I was only able to sneak in one movie before heading out the door. Anyway, onwards and upwards...


Today's movie was The Keeper starring Steven Seagal. This 2009 flick is his latest direct-to-video effort. Yes, I still watch Seagal's movies. Not for nothing but I was 11 years old when Above the Law came out. Nico Toscani was practically a deity to me back then. At any rate, since 2002's Half Past Dead, everything he has done has bypassed theaters and headed straight to video. Some have been pretty horrible. Some have been decent. This was the rarest breed of all...this one was actually pretty good.

Seagal stars as Rolland Sallinger, a member of the LAPD. At a drug bust, his partner turns on him and shoots him, leaving him for dead. After quite some time of recovery and rehabilitation, he is forced off the LAPD. Coincidentally, an old friend of his from Texas happens to need some help as his daughter has nearly been kidnapped. Basically, this is a cross between Taken and Man On Fire.

There's not much to say about the acting and story here, honestly. Seagal is the only name you'll recognize in the cast. The rest of the cast is hit or miss. Leizl Carstens as Nikita is easy on the eyes but not much of an actress. The story really has no originality. It's really a mindless action flick and it does that pretty well. You've got some car chases, lots of gunplay, even some knife throwing.

Of all Seagal's recent efforts, this probably comes closest in tone to the flicks of his heyday. If you're not a fan, you can skip it. But if you've ever liked his stuff, it's worth a rental.

2 comments:

EileenWanita said...

His movies have always been fun, entertaining crap for me. I have fond memories of watching his movies as a kid (but then I can't distinguish between VanDamme and Steven Segall in my memories). :-p

Ed The Ripper said...

I still love his older stuff. The first 5 or 6 were great.