Force of Execution

First, I've liked Seagal's early movies (Above the Law, etc.) and have seen all that hit theaters and half the "straight to video" movies he's made. I'm a martial arts aficionado & can overlook a fair amount of bad acting & thin plot as long as choreography & fighter abilities are at least somewhat accomplished and plausible. I respect that Seagal is Aikido Sensei 7th Dan and was first white man to run a martial arts dojo in Japan in his early years. Furthermore I cut him some slack that he's older and not light on his feet any more (but really, he couldn't loose at least a FEW pounds?!!). That said, THIS IS WITHOUT A DOUBT ONE OF THE WORST MOVIES EVER MADE! Plot is kinder-garden level at best & almost non-existent. Acting is awful, script is worse than awful, concept is awful and worst of all this movie has some of the worst fighting ability and choreography I've ever seen. Seagal does virtually none of his own fighting and you only see him start to throw a punch & camera cuts to guy falling down, every time! A boring, worthless, un-engaging piece of crap movie. Most insulting is this is obviously just a low-budget excuse for a pay day for Seagal & he literally does not care how it reflects on him. He has truly dishonored & embarrassed himself & the Aikido arts & soiled his spirit & integrity by releasing such a ruinously awful piece of junk, it exhibits that he has no integrity left and is now only a worldly uncharismatic uncaring shadow of his former self. I don't wish to disrespect him or be unkind but he has completely disrespected himself for many years & this is the final bad straw. Won't watch anything further he ever is involved in and would never vote for him if he gets into politics; His lack of objectivity & caring is appalling & disturbing. I hope someone forwards this review to him. STEVEN: You need to wake up & regain your lost values and abilities to at least some degree (Sorry, tough love). At least start doing some moving meditation & energy exercises; Qi-Gong, Tai-chi, something... If movement is restricted from injuries then at least throw your own short-range wing-chun type punches & let the camera show it... Even the greatest masters eventually lose combat ability over time, but the greatest masters never sell out integrity - C'mon Steven... READERS: Don't waste your time watching this, seriously, don't bother.

Seagal's best days are now far behind him, but he's made a niche for himself in the DTV market. FORCE OF EXECUTION, while not one of the better movies he's made, is at least watchable and has some good action to boot. This time around, Seagal is Alexander, a crime boss with a past in government special ops. He runs a southwestern town with an iron fist, to be sure, but backed up with a code of honor. Martial artist Bren Foster plays Hurst, Alexander's chief hit-man and a protégé of sorts. They are joined in the cast by Ving Rhames, an up-and-coming gangster and Danny Trejo as a bar owner with a few tricks up his sleeve. The event that sets the plot in motion is a hit that goes bad, resulting in Hurst's "retirement," and the severe injury of his hands. Meanwhile, Iceman (Rhames) maneuvers around Alexander in order to take control of his territory, climaxing in a showdown between the two gangs. First, the good parts. Seagal is playing a type of character that he doesn't usually play, an antihero of sorts in a movie populated solely with lowlifes. There is also some decent martial arts on display, but mostly from Bren Foster. Seagal is relegated to doing his usual chops and take-downs when he isn't just using firearms. Finally, Ving Rhames gives the best performance in the movie as Iceman, lending credibility to his role as a gangster and delivering some great improvised dialogue. The rest is mediocre at best. The basic plot is paper thin, and not enough time is spent developing the three main characters. Most of the dialogue scenes are corny discussions about honor and respect, tough talking without any purpose other than to make the characters seem tougher. As far as the technical aspects go, director Keoni Waxman opts for the currently in-vogue shaky-cam, and some of the editing choices obscure the action. While this was most likely to conceal stunt doubles in some shots, it makes the action hard to follow in places, especially with Seagal. Fortunately for Bren Foster, they pulled back the camera a little bit so you can see him work. Overall this should be enough to placate Seagal fans, but everyone else should just stay away.

Review: This movie was exactly what I expected. Bad storyline, with some great action but bad acting. Steven Seagal was cool throughout the movie, like Ving Rhames who acts the same in all of his movies and the Colin Farrell lookalike who was playing the lead was a good fighter, but a dead actor. It's your usual fight for territory type movie with everyone fighting for power. Danny Trejo gets stuck in the middle of the war but he doesn't get involved in all of the violence. Personally, everyone looks a bit old in this movie, but Seagal can still kick butt which looks good on camera. I've always been a fan of his effortless way of fighting. Anyway, it's not bad for action and it's good to see the veterans on screen together, but don't expect anything out of the ordinary. Watchable!

Round-Up: No matter how big, in weight, or how old Seagal gets, the guy can fight. He has a way of making his opponent looking completely useless which I've always enjoying watching. As for the Colin Farrell lookalike, he just seems to be jumping off of walls, kicking like a mad man but it does look impressive. I'm sure that Ving Rhames is getting fed up with playing the same roles all of the time. You just know what to expect once you see his name in the cast, which is blamed on his role in Pulp Fiction. Anyway, the movie isn't as bad as I thought it would be, but it's not brilliant.

Budget: $10million Worldwide Gross: N/A

I recommend this movie to people who are into there gang war type of movies with loads of violence. 3/10

I am not a huge fan of Steven Seagal nor a detractor. As I pointed out in the reviews for the other movies I saw with him, there are times when he makes enjoyable films and times where his movies are quite awful (such as PISTOL WHIPPED). And this sadly falls in the second category despite I wanted to like it.

Crime lord John Alexander (Seagal) has a good life until his best man Roman Hurst fails in a heist that should have been easier for him. Alexander saves him but paralyses his hands; he'll need him again tho when he discovers that assassin Iceman (Ving Rhames) wants to kill him.

This film has all the ingredients for a bad Steven Seagal movie; zero coherent plot, bad action scenes as Seagal has become fat in recent years and it's very noticeable and performances and timing duller than dust! Towards the end I was tempted to turn it off, and when this happens to me it's a bad sign. And it's hard to believe that Ving Rhames did such a movie considering the fact that he still does some great movies like the MISSION IMPOSSIBLE ones.

I won't recommend it to anyone, perhaps only to the die-hard fans of Steven Seagal who try to watch all his movies.

Continuing my plan to watch every Steven Seagal movie in order, i come to Force of Execution (2013)

When I seen the cast I hoped for so much more. Ving Rhames is much too fine of an actor to be trapped in such rubbish, Danny Trejo also has a role as a cook. It had the potential to at least work out as an enjoyable, fun, simple, straightforward action flick, as the plot is surprisingly ok, but it is handled so badly, that it's hard to be interested, let alone care. In fact, it is really hard to care for any of the characters in this, since none of them are sympathetic enough (I think it is Bren Foster's Hurst we are meant to root for) and they are not really given a decent enough background. Apathy is the worst thing you want your audience to feel.

For his part, Seagal (now sporting the jet black goatee) is the head of a New Mexico criminal empire, but because he is Seagal, he has to be an ex something, so he is an ex government agent with high level military training!! He plays the kind of underworld boss that spouts zen wisdom, but will still have his protegé beaten to within an inch of his life. Once again, Seagal had to be the omnipotent leader, and he had to be a good guy despite being a crime boss, and he couldn't let anyone, especially not Bren Foster, get over on him, even if he was playing a bad guy.

There isn't really much more to say heare.