Maximum Conviction

In general, this movie is not so good. But I can't say it's bad. I think that Steven Seagal has the same character in all his movies. In this movie he was like a bull in a china store destroying everything around him like a bulldozer.

As usual Seagal's movies are full of bone breaking and blood. But fight scenes are so exaggerated. We can notice that Seagal hasn't been hit all through this movie. And I think that the plot is somehow silly. On the other hand the director was good and some shots are so excellent. In conclusion, I didn't regret watching this movie, but Seagal can be better.

Steven Seagal's final line in this Movie is..."it's not over till we're dead". Possibly a shout-out to his relentless critics that endlessly tell him to retire or at the very least to lose some weight. In this Movie he seems to be trying to end the laziness. He is not dubbed here and manages to find just enough breath to make his lines understandable. He is not doubled here and actually does his own Martial Arts scenes.

So that is the upside. Steve Austin on the other hand makes the other Steve look like a thoroughbred Thespian. Seriously, does this guy have ANY expressions or changes of tone to his voice. He has got be the worst Action Hero Actor ever, bar none. But hey, he is an imposing physical presence and that is the minimum requirement to convince.

This is a darkly lit, endless trek down corridors and around corners. Stiff and long scenes in front of consoles and computer keyboards. It jumps and pulls the frame once in a while to try a bit of styling but no go. Anyway there is quite a bit of gunfire and a goodly amount of hand to hand and enough Characters to allow for a large body count, so if this is for you, have at it, and for the curious to see if maybe Segal is on a self-imposed comeback.

The plot is customary, but tensions and thrills are there and shooting/fighting has some kind of meaning, not just for (viewers) fun. Inclusion of Steve Austin and Michael Pare provides also additional value: Seagal does not dominate on screen and - after reaching 60 years - does not have to kick butt or give factitious remarks all the time. The ending is guessable, of course, and there are trivial scenes containing kitchen utensils and hot steam, for example, but they do not seem ridiculous or dull. And due to the existence of inmates-intruders-defender, confrontation obtains extra dimensions.

In other words, Maximum Conviction is okay entertainment, a must for Seagal's fans and a killing-time for those not hating him and/or fond of military operation movies.

Two ex-black op soldiers, Manning & Cross (Steve Austin and Steven Seagal respectively) are assigned to a decommissioned maximum security military jail for 'people of interest' when all hell brakes loose somehow tied to the newest two prisons that Cross & Manning recently brought in.

Director Waxman knows how to shoot the best sides of Stone Cold and Steven Seagal, as well he should based on the films he's done with each in the past (albiet separately as this marks the first team-up of the two) and the action scenes are pretty good which makes up for a fairly generic, heavily cliché riddled script. Die Hard in a prison with two John McClains, if you will.

I would have given this one also a 7 1/2 rating as well. It is good to see Seagal getting back into action in a decent B-action movie. Especially after all the crap he's been making over the last couple of years. But it is hard not to see that the years of good living, eating and drinking have taken their toll on Seagal, he really looks old and out of shape, and no matter what they try to do with long and wide clothes, it is pretty clear the guy is fat.

None the less this movie is exactly delivering what you're expecting, action, funny one-liners and huge amount of martial arts scenes, and some decent hand to hand combat scenes from Austin, and even a new upcoming guy is allowed to show off his kicks and punches. Bren Foster actually reminded me of the protégé of Van Damme , named Scott Adkins, and I hope we will get some movies off this guy coming out soon.

So if you like this kind of movie, you wanna see some decent action sequences and you don't mind the gaps in the script, then is a must see for you, otherwise, stay away from it.