Half Past Dead (2002)

Despite critical roasting and a blink-and-you-missed it theatrical release, Half Past Dead is surprisingly not half bad. Once you recognize this bastard child's recent action-flick heritage (The Rock being the most obvious of a dozen pilfered plot lines), you can kick back and enjoy the unexpected perks that arise when a deep-cover FBI sleuth (Steven Seagal) accompanies a convicted crook (rapper Ja Rule) into "New Alcatraz" prison. A death-row killer (Bruce Weitz) sits on a $200 million goldmine, keeping his secret as a bargaining chip when criminal commandos (led by the ever-cool Morris Chestnut) drop in for a lethally greedy raid. After cutting his teeth on trashy, short-lived TV series, director Don Michael Paul can't do much to help the puffy, career-tanking Seagal, but he's got lively allies in Ja Rule and alleged "has-been" Nia Peeples (forget Lara Croft, this babe rocks), and even legendary action-TV producer Stephen J. Cannell drops in for a cameo. Derivative from the get-go, but fun just the same. --Jeff Shannon Amazon.com

Seagal's Most Recent Theatrical Release...And From The Look Of It His Last One

Even after "Ticker" I was hoping that Segal would redeem himself and make a better effort like he did in Exit Wounds. But Seagal couldn't resist in making another crappy film, so he gave us this "Half Past Dead"...More like Half Past 300 Pounds ; Seagal also couldn't resist from eating more quarter pounders, I bet he created his own cheeseburger during the hiatus he had from Exit wounds to Half Past Dead.It must have been called "Seagal's gain weight in 10 days cheeseburger". Seriously, I don't understand how someone can gain weight from one movie to another. If you were to put Exit Wounds & Half Past Dead together side by side you will notice a huge difference in weight.

As for the movie itself its ludicrous at most; the plot is so laughable that I have no idea how anyone could have green light this project, First of all this is a rip-off "The Rock". the whole movie is about some dudes that decide to brake in to a newly reopened Alcatraz, inside they will find an inmate that has the location of a lot of money in gold brick. The inmates decide to fight back against the criminals that are breaking in..Ironic isn't? Funny thing is if you watch the trailer for the movie it seems somewhat interesting, the idea of breaking into a jailhouse is a bit original and neat, but the way it was executed here was very weak. Even though this movie is billed as a "Seagal" movie, it really isn't. Ja-Rule, Morris Chestnut and even Kurupt have more screen time than Seagal. And the most annoying thing is the doubles; Seagal has doubles for all of his fights, and when he does fight is just the camera closing in on his overweight face doing patty cake with his hands.

Conclusion, seeing Seagal trying to be Gansta, wearing Durags and wearing big clothes to look thinner wont make a movie better, as a matter of fact it will make it worse. And why make a PG-13 Seagal movie, all of them have been rated R; its like making Die Hard or Alien Pg-13 (Which they did) The only good thing about this movie is the intro music from Ja-Rule. Do-not buy, maybe rent, but not buy. Surprisingly a vastly superior sequel Staring Bill Goldberg was made in 2007.


MY PERSONAL RATING: 1 ½ OUT OF 5

August 7, 2008

Not vintage Seagal -but damn better than most everything else out there

Just went on to find a review for a Seagal film - since the last 2 films I saw were abominable - I won't rent a Seagal movie now without a recommendation. But what a bunch of ill minded reviewers picking apart one of the few great REAL martial artists on the screen. I did see this movie and it genuinely fun! It has genuinely good action. Seagal doesn't look too fat. The story is engaging and their is emotional content. Try getting a fraction of this with all these whimpy superheros who would wet their pants if someone yelled at them. They just can't convey tough guyness - never will. (Russell Crowe can for instance. The new Bond CAN.) Gee Whiz - most of the films I rent hoping to enjoy - lack what this movie has. So why are you guys panning it so? I will watch it again (unlike the last 2). I studied martial arts most of my life and aikido the most. Seagal comes across like a real fighter = BECAUSE he IS a real fighter. I worked in all types of security all over the world including the former CIS - including bounty hunting - there is no one in hollowwood who would make me nervous - except Steven Seagal! Now where are you going to find that? Seagal was truly one of the great action heroes of our time - of all time. If he can't keep the quality up - he should bloody well quit so we can remember him for the great martial artist and screen hero he is! Meantime - rent this - its still damn good! July 31, 2008

Way Past Cool

I'll let it be known right away: I like "Half Past Dead" mainly because it has Steven Seagal in it. This tends to make casual viewers like a film even less than they might otherwise, but as someone raised on the man's DTV debacles, I found "Dead" a surprisingly exhilarating departure from the repetitive wrist-snapping, stale shootouts, and predictable storylines of the majority of the aikido master's films. Less passionate or non-fans of Seagal will almost certainly catch onto the film's faults, but devotees shouldn't be disillusioned: our hero's last theatrical outing is worth watching.

Sasha Petrosevich (Seagal) is a reported car thief digging deep into the underworld with the help of his friend and partner Nick (Ja Rule) when the two of them are busted by the FBI and sent to a newly-opened Alcatraz prison. Before they can get comfortable, the in-prison execution of an infamous gold thief (Bruce Weitz, "Hill Street Blues") is interrupted by terrorists eager to find his hidden treasure (headed by Morris Chestnut, "The Best Man"; and Nia Peebles, "The Young & the Restless"). Sasha must now both rally the prisoners to the side of justice and use his uncanny abilities to foil the situation.

Essentially, "Half Past Dead" is a combination of Seagal's earlier flick "Exit Wounds" and Sean Connery's "The Rock". However, most longtime fans will know there's really no comparing "Dead" to "The Rock" when it comes to which is the better piece of drama: Seagal is probably the first man to play a Russian without an accent of any kind, and generally nobody in the film acts with any kind of memorable finesse - Ja Rule's and Claudia Christian's ("Babylon 5") performances, in particular, are best left forgotten. In addition, whoever was in charge of the editing and camera deserves a swat on the nose: endless slow-motion is only topped by hit-and-miss cinematography that develops a trend of showing someone shooting at someone else...but not showing what becomes of that person; implication is not the best course to take in an action movie, fellas. Add a few silly scenes - like Seagal "accidentally" hurling Ja Rule out of his car as a joke, and his little-explored backstory concerning his deceased wife - and it's easy to see why this film didn't make back its budget.

However, once we consider that this is a Steven Seagal film, we begin to appreciate it for its good points, which all tend to come back the fact that it's a return to action for our hero, after the tired likes of "Ticker" and "The Patriot". The gunfights are numerous and diverse, with the shootout in the cell block being particularly well done. In addition, the hand-to-hand fights are similarly nice, with nifty choreography giving the impression that Seagal still had the moves at the time of his downfall: though they have a knack for ending foolishly (c'mon - a roundhouse kick killing an otherwise able soldier?), the encounters are very fast-paced, and range from an unexpected Peebles/Ja Rule encounter to an acrobatic Seagal/Chestnut tussle on 15-foot hanging chains.
If that's not enough, then judge on the fact that "Half Past Dead" is built entirely upon fun: whereas to-come flicks like "The Foreigner" focused excruciatingly on stories that no one understood, "Dead" is straightforward action, a'la classic Seagal, that makes no secret of not having Oscar-worthy acting or a storyline for the ages, but boasts some definite adrenaline-pumpers. Essentially, it's the kind of movie that makes hotdogs and popcorn taste even better.

Trust me: Seagal fans will not want to be without this one. Others will be a bit harder to sell on this premise, but even in their case, you could definitely find worse if you're looking for a way to spend the evening in front of the television. Check it out. June 27, 2008

Not great, but not bad

This movie is a 3 star review, but I am rating it 4 stars for Seagal fans. Seagal is sent to prison to build up his credibility so he can later join a criminal group after he serves his time. The prison Seagal is sent to is maximum security on an island. While locked up, a group of armed paramilitary people take control of the prison. Seagal teams up with inmates to fight the paramilitary group. This movie did not have enough action. There are some fight scenes and some gun fights, but not nearly enough. It was not realistic that a maximum security prison could be easily broken into with almost no fight from the security guards. I expected better gun fights between the prison security guards and the paramilitary group. This movie could have been much better than what it turned out to be. September 28, 2007

[2.5] i feel like it's title now

If I were paying complete attention while watching this movie, I probably would have enjoyed it less. Its a great film to have on for some background noise. Between tons of guns and explosions and the hip-hop soundtrack, its an audio-filled time. Fortunately, there is so little to this film, I was able to know exactly what was going on when I wasn't even completely watching. All I can say is, here's another Seagal film, where Seagal is just put to waste.

Mr. Seagal had his time, and that was long before this movie was released. Looking tired and worn out, he surely doesn't provide the convincing Akido hero we all love, but he's earned his name, and no matter how badly he performs on screen, movies will continue to be pumped out of production and watched by many, just as in the case of Half Past Dead. The plot is simple and uninteresting, I won't even explain. This movie is all about tons and tons of action, nothing more. Character development is unintersting too, and while there was some possibilities for some great things to unfold between people, I guess the creators just didn't feel like doing anything special.

It all comes down to the guns and fights. There are several fight scenes, but it seems that guns are the weapons of choice in this film, not fists. Of the couple of fight scenes there were, they looking tiring and uninspiring. Some either end too quickly, and some you just want to end before they look any more ridiculous. Its obvious the creators were trying, but it just didn't work in the end.

Like I said, great movie for some background noise...yes its fun to listen to, but I guess that's really what cds are for. A forgettable movie...stick with Seagal's earlier films. September 8, 2007

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