The latest Steven Seagal crime movie "The Glimmer Man" takes its title from the hero's dexterity and cunning at eliminating his foes before they can retaliate. Devoted fans of the real-life Aikido master will cheer their pony-tail hero as he demolishes his usual quota of thuggish villains who richly deserve every slap, smack, punch, and crackle they receive from Seagal as a way of atonement. What might upset them are the many variations that embellish this saga. No, "The Glimmer Man" isn't a message-laden, ecological nightmare that Seagal's earlier epic "On Deadly Ground" was. This Seagal vehicle grafts a creepy, whodunit, serial killer plot reminiscent of the 1995 Brad Pitt chiller "Se7en" onto a standard-issue police procedural. This time out we're allowed to laugh a little at the antics of Seagal and his newest sidekick, LAPD Detective Jim Campbell (Keenen Ivory Wayans of "A Lone Down Dirty Shame"), who gets to be the butt of our protagonist's pranks. The script allows Wayans to behave in a fashion that would appear inappropriate for the screen persona of Seagal's indestructible character. For instance, we get to see Wayans cry like a baby as he watches "Casablanca" in a downtown movie palace. Seagal's recent pictures have been overshadowed by his 1992 box office smash "Under Siege." "The Glimmer Man" represents an appeal to a more broadly defined audience, but nevertheless, it is more a watchable than most of his far-fetched fare.
Steven Seagal's "Glimmer Man" character Jack Cole replicates the cop that he played in his cinematic debut "Hard to Kill" 9(1988) who had a hazy background as a CIA agent. Here, Seagal plays an ex-CIA assassin who plied his trade during the Vietnam War. As usual, Cole suffered from the lone wolf, "Dirty Harry," syndrome. Mystery cloaks Cole so thoroughly that Campbell (Wayans) cannot decide whether to trust him or arrest him. Gradually, our detective heroes discover that their suspicions about the serial murders are correct. They uncover an elaborate CIA/Russian Mafia plot to smuggle chemical weapons into the U.S. in a most interesting and original manner. Complicating matters is the actual serial slayer, Christopher Maynard (Stephen Tobolowsky of "Momento"), who lives up to his weirdness. Frank Deverell (Bob Gunton of "The Shawshank Redemption") is Seagal's chief adversary who masterminds the chemical weapons smuggling operation. As a CIA honcho, Mr. Smith (Brian Cox of "The Long Kiss Goodnight") brings urbanity and a touch of Dixie to his duplicitous dastard. Cox makes such a impassive but slimy villain that he deserves the abuse that Seagal delivers with glee.
The real fun in any Seagal epic is the incredible way that he crushes his adversaries without suffering any payback. Nothing in "The Glimmer Man" matches the far-fetched scene where he escapes the hoodlums right after he emerged from a coma and pushes his own gurney out of the hospital. Another change here is the joke-swapping rapport between Seabal and the impeccably tailored Wayans. Seagal characters aren't known for either their levity or their pranks. They are typically a humorless, moribund breed of hero. Keenen Ivory Wayans' presence helps to lighten things up in this bizarre thriller. He gets shot at, his apartment blown up, and he falls out of a high-rise motel window. Wayans looks and dresses ultra-cool but he gets no more respects and twice the number of bruises than Seagal.
Underlying the complicated plot is the budding relationship between Cole and Campbell as they pursue their investigation in its bl00dsplattered, pyrotechnical explosive finale. The humor and antics that develop between these two make "The Glimmer Man" more interesting than the usual Seagal opus. "The Glimmer Man" is a vast improvement over "On Deadly Ground" and "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory," but it is just another potboiler, albeit a polished one. The powdered deer penis scene is hilarious.
Steven Seagal's "Glimmer Man" character Jack Cole replicates the cop that he played in his cinematic debut "Hard to Kill" 9(1988) who had a hazy background as a CIA agent. Here, Seagal plays an ex-CIA assassin who plied his trade during the Vietnam War. As usual, Cole suffered from the lone wolf, "Dirty Harry," syndrome. Mystery cloaks Cole so thoroughly that Campbell (Wayans) cannot decide whether to trust him or arrest him. Gradually, our detective heroes discover that their suspicions about the serial murders are correct. They uncover an elaborate CIA/Russian Mafia plot to smuggle chemical weapons into the U.S. in a most interesting and original manner. Complicating matters is the actual serial slayer, Christopher Maynard (Stephen Tobolowsky of "Momento"), who lives up to his weirdness. Frank Deverell (Bob Gunton of "The Shawshank Redemption") is Seagal's chief adversary who masterminds the chemical weapons smuggling operation. As a CIA honcho, Mr. Smith (Brian Cox of "The Long Kiss Goodnight") brings urbanity and a touch of Dixie to his duplicitous dastard. Cox makes such a impassive but slimy villain that he deserves the abuse that Seagal delivers with glee.
The real fun in any Seagal epic is the incredible way that he crushes his adversaries without suffering any payback. Nothing in "The Glimmer Man" matches the far-fetched scene where he escapes the hoodlums right after he emerged from a coma and pushes his own gurney out of the hospital. Another change here is the joke-swapping rapport between Seabal and the impeccably tailored Wayans. Seagal characters aren't known for either their levity or their pranks. They are typically a humorless, moribund breed of hero. Keenen Ivory Wayans' presence helps to lighten things up in this bizarre thriller. He gets shot at, his apartment blown up, and he falls out of a high-rise motel window. Wayans looks and dresses ultra-cool but he gets no more respects and twice the number of bruises than Seagal.
Underlying the complicated plot is the budding relationship between Cole and Campbell as they pursue their investigation in its bl00dsplattered, pyrotechnical explosive finale. The humor and antics that develop between these two make "The Glimmer Man" more interesting than the usual Seagal opus. "The Glimmer Man" is a vast improvement over "On Deadly Ground" and "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory," but it is just another potboiler, albeit a polished one. The powdered deer penis scene is hilarious.