This was actually a good film. Seagal is still his old self: never talks above slightly-below normal, now and then some corny lines, and (finally) showing off his real skill. Personally, I would have put a little more money into the special effects and sent this to the theaters.
For starters, this has Seagal back in the Japanese element: in Japan, fighting Aikido and kenjitsu style, NO WIRES PRAISE GOD! Everything is the same stuff we saw in his earlier films; no trying to pass him off as a kung fu artist, no wire-crap. Instant improvement just on that.
Next, the plot leaves out two things he's had that made a number of his films dumb: one, the mysterious past that is classified by the CIA--we know he's ex-government, raised in Japan, hence his fighting prowess; two, the mystical kung fu (which he doesn't know)/Buddhist crap. He's just an ex-government guy in a place he calls home, kicking butt as only he can.
All in all, this could have been a theatrical release work if they'd put more cash into the special effects. Recommended pretty highly.
For starters, this has Seagal back in the Japanese element: in Japan, fighting Aikido and kenjitsu style, NO WIRES PRAISE GOD! Everything is the same stuff we saw in his earlier films; no trying to pass him off as a kung fu artist, no wire-crap. Instant improvement just on that.
Next, the plot leaves out two things he's had that made a number of his films dumb: one, the mysterious past that is classified by the CIA--we know he's ex-government, raised in Japan, hence his fighting prowess; two, the mystical kung fu (which he doesn't know)/Buddhist crap. He's just an ex-government guy in a place he calls home, kicking butt as only he can.
All in all, this could have been a theatrical release work if they'd put more cash into the special effects. Recommended pretty highly.