Review of On Deadly Ground (1994) by Per Gunnar J — 09 Mar 2013

When I saw that this movie was given on Cine+ Frisson last evening and there was nothing else on I thought, why not? It is Steven Seagal and Michael Cane after all. Okay, Steven Seagal is not always a good thing but Michael Cane usually do not disappoint. I had seen it before but it was long time ago. Now I kind of wonder why on earth I did watch this movie again.

This is a typical example of the fact that an actor, even though he might have done a set of successful movies, should generally stay with what he does well and not be allowed to get into the directors chair. Especially not if he has some bullshit political agenda and plans to fill the movie with this.

There are some good moments in the movie where Steven Seagal is allowed to do what he does best which is fighting. Michael Cane is also good as always although his role is really so exaggerated that it borders on the ridiculous. His henchman is simply stupid. He is supposed to be an experienced tough guy and yet he panics at the first movement and shoots an Eskimo in front of the whole tribe. Yeah, right, very professional...not! The team of mercenaries that they bring in is slightly better but even they are fairly amateurish with the possible exception of the team leader.

The pseudo-magic bla bla with the Eskimos in the middle of the movie could have worked in a different kind of movie but in this one it is just a boring filler.

The entire movie is basically done to promote Steven Seagal's political agenda protesting against big companies, the oil industry and his ideas about the future. I really do not like political propaganda in movies and this one is simply filled with tacky green left-wing nonsense. The propaganda speech at the end is so far off and ridiculously detached from reality that it is embarrassing. It is rumoured that this speech originally lasted 30 minutes but that Warner stepped in and cut it down (thank god).

The only reason this movie did not get an even lower rating by me is because Michael Cain is doing a good job of the lousy role that he has and that there are some decent fighting scenes.