A Dangerous Man

A DANGEROUS MAN (2009)

Written & Directed by: Keoni Waxman
Starring: Steven Seagal, Byron Mann, Terry Chen

Woah, a good direct-to-DVD Steven Seagal movie? Well, a decent one at least. It would seem so, as A Dangerous Man is an entertaining and, for the most part, well made action film. And that isn't often said about Seagal's output these days. A Dangerous Man is nothing new in terms of story or motivation as Seagal still plays some ex-special forces type, out of prison for a crime he didn't commit. No sooner is he out he gets mixed up in a war between Russian and Chinese gangs and thus decides to help out a damsel in distress who is also caught in the crossfire. Simple action movie set up that is enlivened by solid direction, some decent characters and a boat load of hard hitting action. Despite looking bigger than he ever has, Seagal actually shows up for this movie (though there is still doubling and the inevitable dubbing to be seen and heard) and is front and centre for most of his action scenes. He gets to say a bit more this time around and doesn't hide in the shadows like he has done in a lot of his post cinema released days. The film has a glossy sheen to it, nicely shot and produced in Canada and Keoni Waxman is an assured hand behind the camera. He gets the best out of his bad guys (including Byron Mann and Terry Chen) who add bite to proceedings and everything rattles along at an enjoyably pulpy pace, bad guys getting dispatched here and there and with explosions at regular intervals.




Waxman crams his film with action including everything from sustained shootouts to hard hitting hand-to-hand combat. Despite some doubling, Seagal participates in his fights taking on various opponents in some rough and ready one-on-ones. The fights are fast and hit hard the bone breaking nature of them ever present with stuntmen thrown into and through various objects and free standing structures with satisfying crunch. The last 40 minutes or so is basically just two long gun battles as the action is ramped up. Well put together and featuring a surfeit of firepower, Waxman delivers what an action movie needs most: lots of hard hitting action. In fact, the film has a very violent edge to it people dispatched in various bloody ways including one poor sucker having his head impaled on a large saw blade. Not for the squeamish but this Seagal picture does what many have failed to do since his days as a direct-to-DVD pioneer commenced: delivers hard edged action and large quantities of it.

No classic but very entertaining, A Dangerous Man should please Seagal fans, is a well made action thriller and uncomplicated, action soaked entertainment.