Gutshot Straight

GUTSHOT STRAIGHT is a basic, slightly weird noir-thriller that was seemingly cast at random. The eclectic team of stars populating this one is its most unique asset, while everything else is predictable and firmly in the B-grade of cinematic standing. It's good for a lazy evening's repast, but it's got no hope of becoming anyone's new favorite.

The story: A hapless gambler (George Eads) is drawn into a vicious setup that places his life at risk.

In addition to Eads, the ensemble includes AnnaLynne McCord as the femme fatale, Stephen Lang and Ted Irvine as creepy weirdos, Steven Seagal as a mob boss and Vinnie Jones as his enforcer, and Tia Carrere in a three-minute role as a club lady. Despite most of the cast's affiliation with the action genre, there is very little action here, but at the best of times, there's a decent amount of intrigue. Essentially, the plot boils down to a slain millionaire and a case of blackmail, and when the film kicks into gear, the angst experienced by the Eads character is palpable and compelling. Disappointingly, suspense collapses in the form of Seagal's character, who's essentially written as a panacea to the lead character's problems and wrests an unconvincing happy end for the star.

Even before then, the film has trouble maintaining its level of suspense. Giving every impression of trying to stretch their screenplay to meet a required runtime, the filmmakers resort to several time-killing scenes – sometimes it's a forced interaction between characters, and other times it's simply Eads walking around aimlessly. Speaking of which, it doesn't help the movie that the Eads character is a thoroughly unlikable and uninteresting jerk. Most of the other major characters are at least mildly interesting, but whatever time Eads doesn't spend directly imperiled is spent being a cad and a loser. The times that the film does get interesting are due to the hard work of the story, not of the protagonist.

Among all of the performers whose name got drawn out of a hat to be in here, Seagal is the most curious. It's almost as though his scenes were filmed for another movie, given the abrupt change of tone the film undergoes as soon as he shows up, playing the mafioso persona he's cultivated for the last several years. I almost wish that Seagal were the main character, because even if this didn't actually improve the quality of the film, it at least would have made it shorter. As is, it feels overlong at 85 minutes, and I cannot recommend it to anyone but George Eads die-hards.

"If you want to live, if you want those you care about to live, you will do this." Jack (Eads) is a poker player who is on a losing streak, and not just with the cards. When a chance meeting with a high roller gives Jack the opportunity to make some serious money he decides to take him up on his offer. When he is offered $20,000 to do something he doesn't want to do an argument happens and things go horribly wrong. Now that his life is in danger he is offered a way out. Jack must now decide what is more important to him. After watching so many of these cheesy action movies I was expecting yet another drawn out movie that could have been done in 20 min but drug out for 90. I have to say much like the recent movie Throwdown I was really surprised at how much I liked this. The movie is really nothing new but for some reason it drew me and I kept me interested the entire time. Overall, nothing amazing but this was very entertaining and I liked it much more than I expected. I surprisingly give this a B-.

Gutshot Straight is a drama. There is no action whatsoever except two brief fist fights.

The problem is when you put Steven Seagal in your movie people expect a bad action film, not a character drama.

George Eads (CSI) makes an untriumphant return to Las Vegas as a low life unlucky gambler who gets in over his head with the wrong people and has to try and get his way out in a story we've seen played out hundreds of times before.

The supporting cast is full of familiar faces including Ted Levine, Stephen Lang, Vinny Jones, and Fiona Douriff which elevate Gutshot Straight a bit higher but ultimately can't save it.

As I said, the story has been done to death and you know where it's going at the halfway mark, the rest of the time is spent just waiting for Eads to get where we already are.

Seagal fans (do any still exist?!) will be disappointed by the big boys cameo role, and others will avoid seeing his name. Honestly I'm not sure who to recommend this to?

Review: After looking at the poster for this film, I thought that it would be half decent but none of the big actors are actually in the film that much. The film is about a professional gambler called Jack Daniel, played by George Eads, whose approached by a man in a casino with a proposition that is hard to pass up. With all of his debts piling up, Jack calls the guy and ends up spending the whole night with him, in a strip bar and then he goes back to his house and finds out that all is not what it seems. After a bad accident, he ends up in deep trouble so he turns to Seagal for help, who he owes money to. This is one of those cheap movies which has a terrible storyline. The director had loads of chances to make it interesting but the whole concept was just too unrealistic. The acting wasn't that great and it seemed to go round and round in circles. On the plus side, it's quite short so it gets right on with it from the beginning but it goes nowhere fast and I got fed up with it after a while. Disappointing!

Round-Up: After watching a couple of Seagal movies lately, I thought that I would give his films a chance but they all seem cheap and badly put together. It seems like Seagal, Vinnie Jones, Danny Trejo, Ving Rhymes Christian Slater, Cuba Gooding Jr etc, all use the same agent because they all make the same type of, straight to DVD, low budget movies that are quite bad. There must be an audience that actually enjoy these films because they do produce a lot of them but I personally only watch them for a laugh because they are so awful. Anyway, I thought that this was going to be about gambling, with loads of violence but it was just about a man who has to get himself out of a tricky situation. Seagals scenes weren't bad but I won't be watching it again in a hurry.

I recommend this movie to people who are into their thrillers about a gambler who ends up in a impossible situation after sleeping with a sketchy man's wife. 3/10

I am the kind of guy who can apreciate a Seagal movie, and yes i am talking his straight to video movies. I don't need much to be entertained. Cast him as an ex CIA agent or whatever, and suddenly criminals are after him, and give me 2-3 aikido stunt double fights, 3-4 gun fights and ill roll with it.

Lately Seagal has been playing a backrole in movies to younger guys and honestly it was not that bad for the most part. I think its even a good thing. Killing Salazaar was fine. Luke Goss did a fine job in the action role, and Seagal was in it just enough to justify his name on the cover, and it had GSP.

But this movie... this movie does not deserve anything. Its a bad cash grab, a deception. You got Seagal as the biggest face on the cover and he has barely a cameo, not even landing a single punch. Vinnie Jones is also just a cameo.

Even the DVD box is deceptive, it make it looks like Seagal will have a nice secondary role, but nop.

Looking at the box i was hoping for something close to that Jason Statham movie, you know "Wild Card", not a masterpiece but entertaining enough. This is nowhere even close to that.

NOTHING HAPPEN, no action what so ever. Its clearly a movie where Seagal put his face in to score a few $ while the company making it tough it could lure a few Seagal fans like me and it worked i guess. I paid this movie 5$ out of a video store bargain bin and its still too much. Im returning it even if i just get 1$. I collect Seagal movies, even the "lesser ones" but that one is too bad to even take a space on my shelve.

I don't think i ever gave 1/10 to a movie on IMDB, if i did it must had been very bad, but here i just feel i was deceived !!

And before you say, yes reviews could had tell me but usually peoples are harsh on Seagal movies, and like i said i usually enjoy them, even when he plays a second role. I had tons of fun with Force of Execution for instance. I enjoyed Code of Honor despite being a rather mediocre film, hell even End of a Gun, wich is one of the Seagal movies where not much action happened and i find it rather boring, at least he was IN THE MOVIE.

Gutshot Straight is terrible and should be forgot. I never want to watch it again !