Pistol Whipped

(2.5 STARS) Improvement, But Not Much

"Pistol Whipped" is one of the better films of Steven Seagal in recent years. It is far better than "Flight of Fury" and "Attack Force," two dismally terrible flicks that can kill anyone's career instantly. Somehow Seagal has survived them and come back with "Urban Justice," which is certainly an improvement over the previous ones. And now "Pistol Whipped" arrives, which is not a bad film, thanks largely to the capable supports and nice stunts, but still is not as good as his earlier films made back in the 90s.

The biggest problem is Steven Seagal himself, or the character he plays. "Pistol Whipped" is about Matt, a compulsory gambler who, despite his down-and-out life, still loves his daughter. Seagal plays this anti-heroic protagonist, who is also a disgraced elite cop and now perpetually drunk, but he simply does not look like the man he is supposed to play.

But when action scenes start, things get better. There is a nice car chase and a shoot-out in the cemetery. However, you have to wait for these actions very long. As to Seagal himself, martial arts action scenes are only slightly better than choppily-edited ones seen in his previous flicks, but are still disappointingly brief and few in number.

Probably the film's greatest merit is its supporting actors: Lance Henriksen and Paul Calderon. Lance Henriksen appears as a mysterious man who hires Seagal's character as assassin. His charismatic presence is intact, but he spends most of his screen time (which is too short) doing nothing particularly impressive. Paul Calderon, who almost became Jules in "Pulp Fiction" (but the role eventually went to Samuel L. Jackson), fares better as an enigmatic henchman "Blue." You can see this underrated actor is in fact as talented as Samuel L. Jackson. Perhaps the film could have been better with them as the leads with Seagal as support.
September 28, 2008

For the love of God someone stop Stephen Segal

Alright, first of all He always wears a jacket. Is it because he is 50 lbs overweight? Seriously the whole movie, people wearing shorts and tee shirts and mister Wayne Newton, with fake, slicked back hair and crazy fake spray on dark A tan, is walking around wearing a jacket the whole damn movie.

OK, enough of the petty stuff (but seriously more will come later), this movie has absolutely no plot. He can shoot the tip off of a match, but when it comes to a target the size of what should be an out of work actor he misses constantly, and in a very boring, but consistently boring way. You know the scene in the Matrix 2 where Keanu beats a bunch of agents with a parking meter for 45 min.? The way it made you want to go to the Warner Brother Studio with a parking meter of your own an 45 min to spare? THE WHOLE MOVIE WAS LIKE THAT. It just kept going, and going.

Every time an expensive car is shown in the movie get ready for the director's attempt to get his foot in the door of the car commercial industry. It was to the point that it COMPLETELY detracted from what should, but probably couldn't ever be an actual movie. The director knew that at best he could shoot a car commercial, which is probably how he ended up with Segal, at a Hyundai dealership, hatching up this whole movie as a genius scheme to get a sweet Santa Fe for free. So, so very insane, and transparent. Tisk, tisk Segal.

Last and least was the conversation between the girl at the bar and Segal. I don't know how else to put it, but the manner of speech changed drastically when he was around this African-American woman. If my mind was not entirely consumed with other obvious and constant flaws in the movie, it might have the capacity to be offended by this. On a completely different note, what the hell is the deal with his contact with Blue? Is he supposed to be Jamaican? He sounds undeniably Jamaican in exactly two scenes, but in all the rest of the scenes, just sounds like a regular bad actor that is not unsuccessfully attempting a Jamaican accent.

For the love of God, don't watch this movie. If someone recommends it, punch them in the face or at the least the face of their groin, then just empty a large bag of skittles over the victim on the floor (the guy that just got groined), trust me it really, REALLY confuses people. September 6, 2008

Decent Seagal Movie: Add Good Cast, Mortality, and Stir

Once in a rare while, there comes along a Steven Seagal film about which I'll be really torn. Whereas most of his DTV releases can be classified as either good ("Urban Justice") or bad ("Attack Force"), a few really make me scratch my head as to whether the film's plusses outweigh its faults. "Pistol Whipped" clearly falls into this category because it is a movie that resembles neither Seagal's worst work nor his best.

In the film, Matt Conner (Seagal) is a disgraced ex-detective, having all but forsaken his career and family for the vices of gambling and alcohol. After losing a costly poker game, Matt is approached by the agent of a mysterious "Old Man" (Lance Henriksen, "Aliens" ) who promises to wipe out his towering debts in exchange for assassinating the city's most influential gangsters. Matt's second thoughts regarding his employment are realized when he finds out that he is to kill his daughter's stepfather (Mark Elliot Wilson), who has been a force in his life ever since aiding him during his expulsion from the police department...

The plot eventually gets a bit too confusing for your run-of-the-mill action film, but not in such a manner that a vigilant viewer wouldn't be able to follow it. Even if you are lost, all of the murders and double-crosses come to a head at the end, so there won't be too much head-scratching going on by the time the credits roll. While previous Seagalian ventures like "The Foreigner" ended up being confusing in the process of trying to appear smart, there doesn't really exist a moment in "PW" during which it seems the storyline is consciously outshining the action. Alas, one might be quick to think so on account of there being relatively little action in the movie: two gunfights, a couple of hand-to-hand encounters, and a car chase seem rather meager when you consider a 96-minute production. Luckily, most of what you see is pretty decent: Seagal finally gives his stunt doubles a day off to perform his own aikido, and the car chase is thoroughly decent for a DTV attempt (the gunfights, however, are old-hat, with Seagal being able to dodge bullets at will ).

Thankfully, there's a strong supporting cast to back up the theatrically clumsy Seagal (who actually does a marginally better job than usual): Paul Calderon as a two-faced assassin, Renee Goldsberry ("One Life to Live") as Conner's love interest, and Mark Elliot Wilson as the dirty cop are all stellar co-stars, and even the lower performers like Lydia Jordan as Matt's daughter do their jobs well.
Oh, and the music was cool. No, it wasn't extraordinary, but this is officially the first film of Seagal's in which I noticed the score - going to show that even the smallest of details can make a difference.
The film deviates surprisingly from the standard focus of Seagal's other movies: while most of those were focused on our hero's quest for vengeance, "PW" takes considerable time to portray Matt Conner as more than a killer. Throughout the movie, we never forget that Conner is vulnerable through his love for his family. Though this isn't as effectively incorporated as I would've wished, it opens subliminal character opportunities that the likes of Casey "Invincible" Ryback sorely lacked.

In all, "Pistol Whipped" is a bit too different from my favorite Seagal films to give a higher rating, but make no mistake: I'd watch this a dozen times before I tortured myself with "Out for a Kill" again. Only those fans of Steven who are wary of him taking his talents in a slightly different direction should consider this a rental. For other devotees, it's worth owning, and maybe even worth playing for your buddies on a slow night. August 7, 2008

"Let Me Ask You Something..."

Another great movie recommended by Sid the Elf!

Have been a fan of Steven Segal since he's been kicking but in the late 80's as slick Italian cop with attitude. This more recent movie takes a different direction with Segal's trademark attitude, and it surprisingly works.

First thing I noticed about this movie is that Segal looks awful! Looks like he's been in a real bad accident and had tons of reconstructive surgery on his face. But alas, this imitation of Elvis' famous I-Just-Died-On-The-Toilet bloated look is just time catching up with the actor. That and the frizzy hairpiece he's now wearing.

The movie itself is classic Segal: snapping arms, blurring punches, and a scowl that still scares. His most famous--if not most used line--of `Let me ask you something," is used more than 20 times in this movie. Count for yourself and see. We are also blessed with the guy most unlikely to bed a girl, as Segal snatches a girl from a bar. Putting on more than 50 pounds since his slimmer days, this gives us "average Joe's" hope for an unlikely future. And we also see Segal's tender side--a great change from the wife-beater we all know--as he tries to be a good father to his daughter, despite being a degenerate gambler who owes too many people too much money.

I was highly impressed with this movie, learning once again to trust Sid the Elf and their many reviews. Always a skeptic, I like to see for myself. Glad I did. Segal still has it, bloated-with-hairpiece or not! April 27, 2008

Wish I could've given it a better review...

...unfortunately, "Pistol Whipped" is an incomprehensible kettle of kaboom. Unlike Segal's previous film - the tight and fun "Urban Justice" - this one has no discernible story, no explanation for who's doing what, done what, or why and has more plot holes than it would take to fill the Albert Hall.
I watched it with my wife (who, like me, likes Segal) and she had the same reaction: why were all these people doing this and who were they?
No answers were forthcoming...
April 20, 2008

More reviews at Amazon.com ...