On M List of Movie Reviews
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Marked for Death (1990)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
12/04, 4/09, 1/20, 10/25
4/09:
Marked for Death is the worst of the first four Steven Seagal films.
This one lacks energy, and the direction is bland, causing me to fall asleep several times. The tone is very
different. Let's face it: no matter what, it's all about Steven Seagal expressing his manhood to everybody.
What happened to Tracey after all? When a house is riddled with tons of bullets, you don't attempt
to go back there and resume living. But that's what John Hatcher's sister did. After John was preparing the guns,
how was he able to get them through the airport en route to Jamaica? Ditto for going back to the States with
Screwface's severed head.
All in all, Marked for Death is off compared to other Seagal classics:
Above the Law, Hard to Kill,
and Out for Justice.
1/20:
I still consider Marked for Death to be the worst of the first four Steven Seagal films.
What makes this one different is it was produced by 20th Century Fox. The feel isn't the same. Notice in the
beginning how John Hatcher (Seagal) uses his hands on people as they're constantly pushed around. Oddly, he
sports an earring on the left side, and his ponytail is much longer.
Screwface is the most formidable adversary Steven Seagal has ever faced. Yet he dispatched him and his twin
brother so easily. It's the buildup that made things tough. Really, John should've died
when Screwface's henchman had him pinned in his nice-looking '73 Ford Mustang between the two heavy machinery.
All they needed to do was toss the Molotov cocktail into the car, shoot him to death, and fucking stick around
to make sure he didn't escape.
Steven Seagal isn't bad, but I notice he recycled the same Aikido stuff from
Above the Law and Hard to Kill.
Yet it's hard to complain when he did the bone-breaking moves for good measure. On the other hand, Keith David
is a throwaway. Equipped with super piercing evil blue eyes, Basil Wallace is memorable as Screwface. Kevin
Dunn shows up for a minute and then disappears along with the FBI, making me question the legality of what John
was doing.
Going back to the beginning when John was home, he listened to his friend's problems: how he lost his best
football player and his 13-year-old nephew to drug overdose. Then, John was telling him crap like how there
were many little holes in the dam while the water kept gushing through and there was nothing anyone could
do about it. As soon as his niece was shot and sent to the hospital, John decided to wipe out the entire
Jamaican posse. Mucho hypocrisy, huh?
All in all, different or not, Marked for Death shouldn't be overlooked.
10/25:
After seeing many Steven Seagal's films, I have to say that Screwface came the closest to killing his character.
All in all, my opinion of Marked for Death is better this time: lots of action despite some superfluous
scenes.