L'ombre blanche

A not so good action thriller because it unsuccessfully trends the same water as early Steven Seagal films because there is not a very good set piece. Steven Seagal plays the same kind of character that he has played since Above the Law. In my opinion the performance of Keenen Ivory Wayans is wasted in such an average film and belongs in a much better film. Bob Gunton is okay as the main heavy. The best acting in the entire film belongs to Brian Cox who is very frightening in the role of the murderer. My favorite scenes are the fight scenes with the Russian mafia. One of the film reasons to see The Glimmer Man(1996) is for the brief appearence of the beautiful and voluptupus Nikki Cox. Its too bad that there were not more scenes with her in them.

This movie is actually the proof that all you need to make a movie in Hollywood is a lot of unnecessary stupid action and a good ending story about 2 cops lynching bad guys. All 2 women in this movie that have a line other than 'aaaah', are dumb and over-sensitive. A few scenes that illustrate the originality of the script writers: bad guys in a car chase end up underneath a fuel truck, which explodes in a sea of fire... good guy falls out of a window, but can hold on to a ridge... cop:'do you know the doctor?' - girl: 'I don't need a shrink' - cop:'I never said he was a psychiater'...

Another aspect is the morality in this flick. On the one hand smokers are being prevented from lighting a cigarette, but on the other hand a cop can shoot someone in foot and hand during an interrogation. Of course this reflects the all-american point of view on the world: if you think someone is bad, you can beat the hell out of that person, without thinking twice.

Anyway, I know this movie might be fun for 80% of the American population, but I'm pretty sure this movie went 'straight to video' in Europe!

It was here the trend of Seagal starring in more economically budgeted movies with drab scripts that seriously lacked action. (And that were never screened for the critics!) Though the fight sequences here aren't has badly done as in his subsequent movies (the editing is less frenzic), they are few and far between. As a result, action fans will really be bored, especially since the story is so drab, despite it involving a serial killer who's especially sadistic. New twists to the story only occasionally come, and they are usually so murky that eventually the viewers will be confused as to who is doing what (and why.)

Seagal and Wayans never quite generate the necessary chemistry, despite the fact that their characters are opposed in their views and practices. Although they occasionally have some mildly amusing dialogue, the level of dialogue is generally bad, sometimes mind-bogglingly so.

It's easy to see why this didn't do much at the box office, and why Seagal increasingly became frustrated with Warner Brothers, eventually leaving them. (Though he returned for EXIT WOUNDS for some reason.) Seagal needs to not only stop playing the same basic character in each of his movies, but stop choosing scripts that recycle the same basic elements we see in almost every one of his movies. If he does that, there is a possibility he could remove the stigma of being a glorified "B" movie actor.

While "The Glimmer Man" isn't any outstanding action movie, I will say that it is still worth watching if you enjoy Steven Seagal movies. That being said, then it should also be said that it is a fairly average Seagal movie in every sense of the phrase. It is one of those mass produced action movies that most action stars tend to settle into doing, you know finding a formula that works and milking it beyond dry.

Story-wise then "The Glimmer Man" is your stereotypical Seagal movie. Yep, he is an ex-something-something now turned law man and taking on the seedy underworld singlehandedly.

You know what you get here; the usual Seagal martial arts, wits and punchlines. Yes, it is all here, and the obligatory broken arm as well. And true to most other Seagal movies he is untouchable, except for a single blow that gets through and strikes him. Indeed, business as usual.

Having Seagal act opposite Keenen Ivory Wayans, well I had some initial reservation to this, as I thought it would be comedy in the trademark Wayans fashion. But luckily Keenen proved to surprise and did actual acting and no do comedy.

"The Glimmer Man" is enjoyable enough for what it is, and bear in mind that it is a Seagal movie after all.

A cop with an attitude is partnered up with a new-age cop with a shady past and amazing martial arts skills, to investigate a serial killer who crucifies his victims. Campbell sees it as a fairly straightforward case of a religious nut obeying orders from God; but Cole sees something else in some of the murders– a sense of purpose and order that hints at a bigger plot. Going back to his handler at the CIA gets him nowhere but brings him to the attention of Frank Deverell and the Russian mafia. With so many people gunning for them, can Campbell and Cole stay alive long enough to get to the bottom of it? Although any film that contains both Seagal and a Wayans brother will hardly be an easy sell to me, I still decided to give this film a stab because I do like a solid action movie every now and again. Plot wise this film is about as weak as I had expected with a messy narrative that never really convinces and just seems like a couple of half-baked ideas crammed into one story with little concern with logical linkage or development. The hope seems to have been that enough action and energy would stop us seeing the holes – sadly this doesn't work. The film has enough action to be worth watching but it isn't really anything special, although fans of Seagal will be used to this consistent standard.

The cast are just as average as you would expect. Seagal delivers everything with a total lack of emotion that is explained away by him being a totally calm Buddhist, as opposed to him just not being a very good actor. Physically he is pretty good here and his fight scenes do actually show a man with skill (as opposed to the out of shape man we have been shown almost waddling recently). Wayans tries to be a tough comic relief but his performances just reinforces the feeling of this being a formulaic mismatched cop movie; even if he is impressive in some of his action scenes as well. Neither of them are that good but they are certainly no worse than a lot of the reluctant buddy cops movies out there. The support cast should have been better but people like Gunton, Cox and Tobolowsky just sink into the mess rather than helping to raise it.

Overall this is a watchable "Friday night" style thriller that you will quite enjoy if all you want is watchable action surrounded by messy and clichéd plotting and delivery with "par for the course" acting. If you are after anything more than this then you'll be sorely disappointed as this is a weak film with an unimaginative plot, poor performances and only just enough action to be watchable if you're in an undemanding mood.