Menace toxique

It's been a few years coming, but not since 'Under Siege' has Steven Seagal easily fitted into his role. 'Fire Down Below' marks the beginning of a successful change of focus for Mr Seagal. Gone are the bone breaking fatal blows that really are not what Aikido is about anyway. The martial art scenes are done with speed and precision as always but are not over the top. After all, Mr. Seagal is a 7th Dan Black Belt Aikidoist. [Martial Art freaks who want blood and guts can go and watch 'Mortal Combat'.] The Mine Scene was a bit disappointing, a little unbelievable, but I did say this was the beginning of a change of focus. Gone is the basic Seagal signature type 'here comes the hero' music. Sound track is great - and yes he writes his own music and yes he can play the guitar. The scenery was great and cast, well it's as if they radiated Kentucky - I could feel it and I'm from Australia. I would have liked a little more passion at the end. Mr. Seagal seems a little ill at ease, but it may be a reflection of his own uneasiness with commitment, who wouldn't be after three marriages. All in all I liked it very much. I look forward to 'The Patriot' and 'Blood on the Moon'.

I have watched this several times and always find it enjoyable. There is a gallery of good actors in support like Harry Dean Stanton and Kris Kristofferson. Special mention should be made of Stephen Lang who although playing a murderous character does make one feel sorry for him. Also Marg Helgenberger gives a touching portrayal of Sarah Kellogg, ready to bloom after years of repression.

The photography of the landscape is beautiful and contrasts with the story about its despoliation by illegal dumping of chemicals. This film is more about character and story. The fight scenes themselves are quite brief.

Which brings us to Steven Seagal. His bland acting style works strangely enough in complement with the other stronger actors.He does the combat OK. He does preach (like in his more recent films) but hey, what's wrong with looking after the environment? This film is under rated and deserves another look.

This film is different compared to Segals other films,it hardly has any action and they seem to be focused on the plot more, rather than the action.The plot of the movie is Steven segal plays a E.P.A. agent undercover as a maintenance man to investigate a corrupt company that has been dumping toxic waste in Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky. Most of the villains in this movie are country singers,Randy Travis has a cameo appearance.Segal falls in love with a woman everyone in the town dislikes named Sarah Kellog (Marge Hellenberger)because she was falsely accused of murdering her father when she was a child, it was actually her creepy brother Earl(Stephen Lang). This movie has a lot of humor and nice scenery of Kentucky.I would love to live in the south.

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.

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.