Steven Seagal, Lance Henriksen, Paul Calderon, Blanchard Ryan

Is Steven Seagal just a weight-loss programme away from a comeback?

I reckon so.

Though the one-time action giant of the 80s and 90s had has a pretty dire run the last decade or so, headlining the types of direct-to-video actioners that Wings Hauser or Thomas Ian Griffith would’ve occupied back in the day, his latest effort, ''Pistol Whipped'', is a reminder that Seagal does have ‘’something’’ (even if you’re more of a Van Damme fan, you can’t argue that Seagal’s not a charismatic SOB), but more so, that with a good-enough script, some nicely choreographed fight scenes, and an interesting villain (or two), there’s the chance he may see the big screen again.

A lot of folks have made a big deal out of the last five minutes of the new Rambo movie – in which we see John J (Sly Stallone) re-enter the United States, somewhere he hasn’t been for quite some time. Forget that! The fact that Seagal is back on home soil in ''Pistol Whipped'' is an even bigger story – the man hasn’t made a movie on U.S soil since, well, near as long as Polanski’s been banned from stepping on it.

No Romania masked as New York this time folks, nope, ''Pistol Whipped'' is filmed (and I assume) set in the streets of Connecticut. And right off the bat, it helps the film significantly. The other recent Seagal films have fallen flat on their face within the first few minutes because they’ve tried to pass off some distant Eastern European Country off as America – and it’s most obvious. Granted, maybe if those films had had an as interesting script as the one here, and Seagal had performed just as well as he does here, ''Attack Force'', ''Shadow Ma''n and the rest-of-the-two-word-titled-films might’ve stood half a chance regardless of whether they were filmed.

Though it’s far from an ''Under Siege'' or even an ''Executive Decision'' (yes, the one that Steven Seagal was sucked out of the top of a plane within the film’s first half-hour), ''Pistol Whipped'' is quite an entertaining action movie. Seagal plays Matt, an elite ex-cop with a gambling problem and a mountain of debt. The only man Matt can trust is married to his ex-wife (Blanchard Ryan of ''Open Water'' fame) and has legal custody of his daughter. Even worse, Matt’s heavy drinking and excessive gambling continually ruin his attempts to be a decent father. Matt gets a chance at a fresh start when a mysterious man (Lance Henriksen, in a role that probably only took a day to film) pays his outstanding gambling debts. However, in return he becomes hired muscle for a crime racket to kill the city’s most notorious criminals. As Matt sinks deeper into the politics of the underworld, he soon realizes that there is more going on that meets the eye.

The man seems to be trying a little harder here to impress. He’s still about four times as heavy as he was when he played Casey Ryback, but the fact that he’s trying to act (there’s some nice ad-libbish scenes with his on-screen daughter that really impress) and is once again fighting for real – in his last couple of flicks, you’d be lucky to see him turn a door knob without the help of stunt-man – should see him win a few ex-fans back.

The direction, managed by Roel Reine (''The Delivery'', ''Adrenaline''), is a little over-ambitious at times (a little too much ‘slow-mo’ and ‘MTV-style quick cuts’, but generally works for the picture too – giving it more of a professional, polished look than some of Seagal’s previous cheapies.

One of the better Seagal vehicles in quite some time, ''Pistol Whipped'' should easily please those boys looking for a good beer-and-pizza flick to watch after a sweaty Saturday afternoon of moving furniture.

Extras – something there usually isn’t any of when it comes to these recent Seagal DVDs – include deleted scenes and trailers.

Rating :
Reviewer : Clint Morris