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A Sony release. Written by James Townsend; directed by Siu-Tung Ching; starring Steven Seagal. Released to DVD on December 30, 2003.  I am an unabashed fan of Steven Seagal. I like his movies, his ponytail, his off-screen misadventures, his style of action and his ability to look good in kimonos and robes and not be able to pull off plain old blue jeans. Sadly, the guilty pleasure I have derived from Seagal's film has waned considerably of late, reaching a new low (and hopefully bottom) with the film Belly of the Beast. Unlike Wesley Snipes' films or even Jackie Chan's films, the success of Seagal's projects has nothing to do with plot or humor, but is instead based completely upon the choreography and edgy nature of action scenes contained within. And it is at this level that Belly of the Beast reached, and set, that aforementioned new low in Seagal's career. What little plot there is here focuses on the life of Jake Hopper (Seagal). A top-notch CIA operative, Hopper learns that his daughter has been kidnapped in Thailand and goes and deals with it in his own devil-may-care, rule breaking style. Seagal is no longer in the same good shape that he was in earlier in his life. This isn't necessarily a problem for Tom Hanks or Val Kilmer or any other dramatic actors, but is for the action-minded Seagal. Seagal impressed me in the early '90's because he did the majority of his own stunts and fight sequences. He is still the only American to ever open a Aikido school in Japan and had moves that made most black-belts jealous. This is no longer the case. The result of Seagal's weight gain is that he now needs a stunt double for every sequence involving jumping or jump kicking. And while there are ways to get around this, a really wide shot for example, director Siu-Tung Ching chose to only film the body of Seagal's much thinner stunt double. Combined with a preponderance of slow-motion shots of Seagal during the fight sequences (which also served to camoflage the speed at which he now moves) and a below average plot--even for this kind of fare--Belly of the Beast is easily the worst movie Seagal has made. Like watching your favorite athlete stick around for one or two seasons too long, Belly of the Beast is a miserable and sad experience.
chris neumer yes, it's true: Steven Seagal has acted in movies named Out for Justice, Out for a Kill and Out of Reach. |
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