Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Fatma Suarez The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Predrag I always thought that the early Seagal films are the best and this film is one of them with a fantastic performance from Micheal Caine as the Baddie oil Baron trying to stop his land reverting back to the eskimos... I also think that Steven Seagal did an amazing job directing this picture as well with shots of eagles and polar bears plus beautiful views of the snow capped mountains throughout the film. It's a good movie, but not for everyone. Set in Alaska, Native religious ideas are explored well. It may seem oddball to some people, but I found it touching and enlightening, as it is handled well. There is some good humor, including Billy Bob Thornton as oil rig security with no brain.The movie is filled with wall-to-wall action scenes that don't add up to much, other than that outrageous explosion near the end (which actually feels out of place in this movie!). Michael Caine's performance is very silly, but I am not one of those critics who wishes to attack Seagal for his politics or his motives in directing a particular film, but let's not kid ourselves by denying that he had gotten a little ahead of himself in this case. Nonetheless, there may be something more to this movie than some of us are seeing right now, and there are some good moments scattered about, so I am not going to lower my rating too much. A bit too much swearing, a few too many explosions, and a really brutal fight scene in a bar (which feels unnecessarily exploitative in this context) tip it towards the lower end of the scale for me (at first), but I do think it's interesting what Seagal is trying to do as a director.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

videorama-759-859391 I'll be frank. This isn't a favorite SS film with me. We can see this is a very passionate effort, and we long for the moment, Seagal breaks a few chops, and crack some skulls. Having to compete again in the acting stakes with heavy weights including Caine as a evil, greedy, and ruthless developer, and some great character actors as his henchmen, he plays EPA agent Forest Taft, with of course, a mysterious background and deadly and handy martial arts skills who takes on this group. Caine who really shines believably in bad guy roles, wants to blow half of Alaska: the environment, so he can do his thing. We all know that attempts on Seagal's life always fail, with most of his killers ending up on the morgue. He's one tough guy you can't kill, and we know what happens when someone draws first blood, before Seagal asks them ever so nicely nicely. Joan Chen, wasted, also an environmentalist, teams up with him, where the scene is set for explosive action, and a body count. What I got off the movie, was the simple message, had bogged it down, or too it may of got lost in what all of it inferred. It was the bogged part I definitely got off of it. Check out even the end credits. Fire Down Below, ran similar paths, but the points were more clearly explained here. I don't hate the movie. I might of just been expecting more action or a more brutal display of violence. This one, I just didn't favor as much as his early or after cinematic ones. It's great though to see Caine and Seagal square off, but in respect for Seagal, it's good to see him express his voice in his directional debut, for which he feels very passionately about, as I said earlier. I hope he's proud of this project and I mean that genuinely. Fun too, with this movie was watching John Mcginley's character and Thornton's as some of Caine's bad asses.

FlashCallahan Forrest Taft works for Aegis Oil. Corrupt CEO, Michael Jennings, doesn't care whether or not oil spills into the ocean or onto the land, just as long as it's making money for him. Jennings is almost finished building his new oil rig, but the problem is that if he doesn't finish building the rig in thirteen days, the land rights will be returned to the Eskimos and the Alaskan government. Jennings finds out that Taft's best friend has a disk that contains information about defective equipment on The rig, so he sends out his goons to murder him. When Taft tries to interfere, Jennings tries to kill Taft. But an Eskimo woman named Masu, who introduces Taft to her father Silook, the chief of her tribe, rescues Taft, and hi shiny coat.....Seagals directorial debut marks the moment when he became self aware, and started to preach more on screen, rather than kick butt. His golden era came to an end with Under Siege, and his silver era began with this, and ended with Fire Down Below (which also sounds like an STD).But it's still a load of fun, Seagal started hi strange dress sense with this, and if you can swallow all the hocus pocus, and mythology stuff, its a pretty decent action movie.Caine is on best bad guy duties here, shouting all the time and generally being vexed about every little thing, and is the best thing here, the film is always fun when he is on screen.The fight screens are as good as always, even though we have to endure 'people changing' speeches every now and again, and also, Seagal has a tendency to go 'bang!' When he hits someone every now and again.But instead of ending the film straight after the Die Hard on an oil rig type finale, Seagal treats us to a little lecture about oxygen and electric cars.All in all, its a fun little movie, just a tiny bit preachy every now and again...

dvc5159 It was 1994. Steven Seagal had just became Hollywood superstar status following the huge critical and commercial success of his "Die Hard" clone "Under Siege". To be fair, the movie's thin plot was overshadowed by over-the-top performances by its villains, Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey. Taut direction by Andrew Davis ("The Fugitive") further kicked the action into solid gear and did no less than to cement it as one of the highlights of 1990's Hollywood action flicks. Warner Bros. then decided to make an obvious sequel to the smash hit, but Seagal agreed only if they let him do his pet project.Which leads us to this.Seagal starred and directed in this actionier about an environmental agent who turns against his boss, a corrupt magnate of an oil company, when he discovers that his boss has been carelessly speeding up construction of an oil rig in Alaska, and is resorting to any means necessary to keep hidden the shady ways he does this, even murder.Ordinarily that would be an awesome conspiracy thriller with action sequences that could've been one of Seagal's more interesting efforts, under the guidance of a more capable director, but Seagal saw this as an opportunity to showcase his virtues and beliefs alongside the conspiracy and explosions. The result is a poorly written, directed and acted mess of a movie which more or less sank Seagal's career as fast as he rose up until "Under Siege".The film's direction is grossly heavy handed on its subject matter and the mysticism/stereotyping of the Native Americans. Seagal couldn't have chosen a more subtler way to direct it. Even in his first appearance in the movie his character (and movie) comes across as a bloated vanity project forcibly shaped to make Steven Seagal the most invincible and noble being ever to grace the planet. The great Michael Caine as the villain, does nothing but mug for the camera and recite ham-fisted dialogue with the rest of the cast.And when I say ham-fisted, does it ever: "Hey Hugh, what's cooking?", "I wouldn't want to dirty my bullets", "'Can you ride a horse?' 'Of course, I'm a Native American'". Good lord.Yes, the action sequences are thrilling, the cinematography is great at showcasing the Alaskan wilderness in all of its splendor, and the great music superbly underlines the action and tone seriously. But the action sequences are arguably violently juvenile. Really, do they have to go to that extremes just to ensure their secret's safe? Do Seagal on the other hand have to resort to the equal level of bloodshed (and worse environmental damage) to protect the wilderness? The sheer contrast of the violence's intentions and causes just makes the movie laughable, if only at those moments.Speaking of laughable, Seagal's attempts to portray the Native Americans as "holier-than-thou" has the right intentions, but his way is just wrong. By showcasing their mystical mumbo-jumbo and perceiving himself as the chosen "Spirit Warrior", not only is it insultingly stereotypical, but the audience is led into a bizarre kaleidoscope of chants and dream-like visuals involving Seagal punching a bear and Seagal choosing between a noble Inuit sage or a nude Eskimo seductress. It's the "Twilight Zone" gone horribly Seagal.A fine supporting cast which includes the likes of Caine, Joan Chen (who looks strongly Chinese for an Inuit woman), John C. McGinley, R. Lee Ermey and a (then-unknown) Billy Bob Thornton is wasted by Seagal as two-dimensional cardboard cut-outs who exist only to serve as fodder, both positive and negative, for Seagal. In fact in the final scene of the movie after all the mayhem and explosions, Seagal goes out of his way to deliver an intended inspiring speech on the veins of Chaplin's "The General", urging the public (and audience) to do what's right for the environment. This five-minute speech is juxtaposed with real-life clips of pollution and the damage done to the wildlife. It completely detracts from the film and makes it even more heavy-handed yet bizarrely compelling. An Inconvenient Neck-break, if Seagal would say so.This is a movie that should have been made with a better writer and director. Instead, we're left with a self-indulgent mess with a star/director in love with his own image and virtues that he has completely alienated the mainstream audience and catered only to himself. Come for the action sequences, stay for the laughs. Bring some beer and pals.