Fire Down Below

Steven Seagal is one of those actors with a totally winning personality… He is simply an authority figure, a killing machine with a heart of purest gold… I can't help it; I like the guy.

In 'Fire Down Below,' he is an outsider posing as a church sponsored carpenter while he works for the Environmental Protection Agency to stop a greedy coal baron from dumping extremely large quantities of toxic wastes in abandoned coal mines… Those dangerous chemicals could destroy the drinking water for thousands of miles and kill a bunch of people around the hills… Seagal gallantly promised not to leave the small town until the poison from the air, the streams and the earth is taken out…

Many thugs (with snakes, sticks, guns, and big trucks) are hired by the uncaring mining magnate to get rid of our action hero but Seagal remains virtually untouched…

'Fire Down Below' highlights new environmental message but fails to come up with the expectations… First, Seagal's amorous interest with the sad country woman seems artificial, used in the film to grant the 'new visitor' easy access to statements he might need… Second, the motion picture lacks the best villain whose prowess could equals Seagal's... Steven's character never really faces much of a challenge… In fact, the fight scenes are too short and extremely fast and easy…

If you are a fan of country music and you want to see Seagal playing guitar and singing, and you like to explore sweeping vistas with glorious sunsets, don't miss this movie!

I don't know if it's the amount of Seagal I was given or the mood I was in but this movie delivered me an entertaining time and a glimpse at one of his last better films. Steven portrays an EPA agent that comes into a small town to investigate chemical spills and the bad guys who are in on it. Fire Down Below basically ends up being Steven Seagal chit chatting with all the locals (and a shy girl he is falling for) along with beating the snot out of the evil polluters. It's fun to watch Steven do his thing and the movie lets him do just that. There have been past Seagal films that felt like he was only featured in half the flick, in this it plays almost solely to him. It ended up being enjoyable enough to recommend to an action junkie or someone who wants to watch Steven Seagal's watchable movies.

All of the fun from a Steven Seagal film comes from watching the man. You know that when the bad guys are circling him, taunting him, telling him what they're about to do, you know that within less than a minute, everyone around him is going to be lying on the ground, moaning in pain, while he stands there smirking. Literally everything in his reach becomes a weapon and he NEVER kicks. Also, he ALWAYS comes out scratch free. His character will almost always be clad in leather, even when everyone else is walking around in Summer wear. Yep, he's a regular "Jack of all trades" in this one as he's an Enviornmental Protection Agent, a pilot, a carpenter, a martial artist, and a guitar player as well. It's so absurd, but yet SO satisfying, it's just the way action movies should be. No one else could pull it off and do it so well. Lotsa fun.

Steven Seagal plays basically the same character in every movie, and while they're always panned by the critics, his movies always please the audience that they were intended for. Fire Down Below is, in my opinion, the last of his really good movies. Everything else kinda went downhill from there. With Fire Down Below, he took his preachiness from On Deadly Ground, and toned it down a little. Also, he wasn't directing this time. But one thing I have to say is that I could've done without the sped up action sequences. There were a few times, throughout the movie, where I thought that I may have accidentally hit the fast forward button on my remote. But other than that, this movie does what action movies are supposed to do and doesn't pull any punches. I also enjoyed the Kentucky backdrop and it was kinda cool to see so many country musicians make cameos. Marty Stuart, Travis Tritt, Mark Collie, Kris Kristofferson, Levon Helm...they're all here, not too mention several others. My favorite character was "Cotton" played to perfection by one of my all time favorite character actors Harry Dean Stanton. His mountain-boy simplicity put a big ole smile on my face everytime he showed up and I love the guy in everything he's in.

Everyone in the movie seems to be having a great time and it's so hard to take anything seriously. All you can really do is sit back and have a good time. I hope that for his next film, that he ditches all the glossiness of "Exit Wounds" and goes back to the movies that made his audiences love him in the first place.

unlike most of seagal's earlier films with almost too much action,fire down below takes its time to weave another true to life tale of the abuse done to our earth by corporate americia. folks,this kind of stuff goes on everyday and it's films like these sneak a message into you without beating you over the head with it.those who are expecting plenty of guns and bodies flying all over the place every 5 seconds will be disappointed,but those who have a better view of the movie genre can enjoy this film better.

It is interesting how a previous comment on this movie was unflattering. In my opinion, this was one of his best. True, it's not as good as Out For Justice or either Under Siege flicks, but I still liked the action and the storyline. The fight scenes were great too (let's be careful to compare any Seagal fight scene to the great pool room scene from Out For Justice). I didn't think the country music was that bad (good grief, it was set in Kentucky). What else do you expect??? I'm a country music lover, so I am biased. Also, I think the country music singers (Mark Collin, Randy Travis, etc.) who had parts in the movie did an excellent job. Overall, it's worth the purchase price, and a fine addition to your collection.