Black Dawn

Seagal returns in a sequel to possibly his worst movie!! Seriously!! Who thought this was a good idea??

I'm a bit confused, this movie has Jonathan Cold (Seagal) going undercover to stop a group of terrorists before they bomb Los Angeles. Was it ever disclosed in the first movie, he is ex CIA?? I do not think it was,but they all sort of blend together after Glimmer Man.

This was Seagal's 4th movie of 2005. Considering in his prime he pretty much released one movie a year (you can stretch it to 11 movies in 10 years if you go from 1988 to 1998) This was his 9th movie in 2 years.

And they are getting worse. This was a real slog to get through, I didn't enjoy the first one, but this is worse!! Ludicrous beyond words, badly acted (Tamara Davies is an exception) awful effects and just a waste of everyone's time, I can't even be bothered to write this review.

The blame can not fall at the directors feet, as the film is apparently infamous for Seagal not being involved in any of the fight scenes due to his leaving the film 18 days into a 30-day shoot. The director shot fights with stunt doubles and scenes that were to involve Seagal were replaced by his co-star in the film. That explains why Tamara Davies appeared to be the lead in this movie.

I do not think that is 100% accurate as some of it is clearly Seagal. It least there was no voice dubbing this time.

Who the Hell are you? I'm Steven Seagal playing Jonathan Cold, hired assassin, out to stop a group of terrorists from destroying Los Angeles with a compact nuclear device.

We get the usual mumbled laboured dialogue from Seagal, the slow motion movement. A stunt double was used for many scenes and the usual rule is, if it moves, it's the double.

I didn't find the supporting cast as irritating compared to other Seagal flicks. John Pyper Ferguson and Julian Stone make reasonable bad guys while Tamara Davies is easy on the eye and puts in a competent performance as Seagal's sidekick.

The filming is good, the plot is sensible, well sort of, and there is lots of shooting if you like that sort of thing.

Overall this isn't the worst Seagal film. The first and last 20 minutes are pretty good even though the middle section drags quite a bit.

The film focuses to Jonathan Cold an ex-Cia agent,now he helps to break out from prison at a dangerous mobster(John Pyper Ferguson).He gather together with his brother(Julian Stone),another vicious murderer.They contact with a group of the habitual Eastern Europen terrorist with the aim of obtaining a nuclear weapon into a case for the blowing up of Los Angeles.Meanwhile Cia agents(an attractive Tamara Davis and Don Franklin)are surveying them but another traitors agents(Eddie Velez)uncover them.

The movie turns out to be the following from ¨The foreigner¨ where Seagal returns with same personage and seems too similar to his previous films.In fact his last movies are of little budget as ¨Submerged,Belly of beast,Into the sun or Ticker¨, time has passed from average and high budget films as ¨ Under siege I and II,Executive decision,Glimmer man,or Fire down below¨. The picture packs lots of action,shoot out,violence and is quite entertained.The film contains the usual explosions,cars and trucks with impressive velocities pursuits and gets a nice look at those action sequences.Agreeable chemistry between Seagal and an enjoyable Tamara Davis is one of the worthwhile items in this sometimes stodgy rehash from anterior Seagal films.The motion picture is regularly directed by Alexander Gruszynsky(an usual and prestigious cameraman). Pointlessly energetic and occasionally entertained but only for the Steven Seagal devotee.

Here I was buying this DVD online figuring Seagal couldn't bomb again.I saw his last 3 movies and they stunk,this one was a total waste of industry money.Seagal needs to hang it up,yo Steve just go away,your wasting your time and my money.In this one it is so obvious he's not doing his own stunts,let alone he's not even doing any of his own moves,it's so bad you can even catch a glimpse of the stunt doubles face.Seagal looks like he's gain 20 extra pounds,he waddles.The way this guy is churning out these movies is a shame!If you want a true action star who is older get anything Jackie Chan i promise you will not be disappointed.I never write these comments ,it's just I feel the need to warn people about spending there money on this junk.

Despite some awful editing, missteps in plot, obvious fluff scenes, this is actually not a "bad" movie. What makes it uncomfortable to watch is the now aging and overweight Seagal unable to do *any* of his own stunts! The terrorists are hopeless zealots but not unbelievably so. The CIA stuff is trite but not untenably unrealistic. The cast does what they can to keep the plot moving along...and it's usually enough. Seagal's dialog (in breathy monotone) is what too often slows down the action. Timothy Carhart is perfectly cast as the female agent's supervisor: he's the *real* question-mark re good guy vs bad guy. But then most of the actors turn in credible performances. Unlike some "B" movies I didn't feel the need to turn this one off halfway thru.