While the latest effort from Steven Seagal is not as bad as "Ticker" or "The Patriot," it is still another stop on Seagal's road to cinema oblivion. I'm no Seagal basher, I even found some enjoyment from "Half Past Dead." But where "Half Past Dead" had a slight sense of humor about itself, "The Foreigner's" major flaw is that it takes itself way too seriously.
Since most of the film takes place in daylight this is a great chance to study Seagal's physical appearance. His second chin is coming along nicely. During some of his close-ups I was amazed at his uncanny likeness to Joe Viterelli, the husky gentleman who often plays mobsters in movies like "Eraser" and "Analyze This." The other laughable side to Seagal's performance comes from my belief that close to %10 of his dialogue is dubbed with another actor's voice. On the plus side, Seagal does perform his patented "flip around a bad guy's shotgun and use it on him" trick. But it is not as cool as when he did it to an oil soaked R. Lee Ermy in "On Deadly Ground."
Another problem with the film is its reliance on silencers. Silencers can be cool when used with some style, like in "Boondock Saints," but here there is no viable reason for them being used. I noticed that this movie was produced bt Franchsie Pictures (they sure know how to make some magic) who was also responsible for the silencerpalooza known as "The Art of War." My guess is that they had the props lying around and decided to get there money's worth by using them in "The Foreigner."
Unless you're a died in the wool Seagal fan like myself, I'd say to take a pass on this opus.
Since most of the film takes place in daylight this is a great chance to study Seagal's physical appearance. His second chin is coming along nicely. During some of his close-ups I was amazed at his uncanny likeness to Joe Viterelli, the husky gentleman who often plays mobsters in movies like "Eraser" and "Analyze This." The other laughable side to Seagal's performance comes from my belief that close to %10 of his dialogue is dubbed with another actor's voice. On the plus side, Seagal does perform his patented "flip around a bad guy's shotgun and use it on him" trick. But it is not as cool as when he did it to an oil soaked R. Lee Ermy in "On Deadly Ground."
Another problem with the film is its reliance on silencers. Silencers can be cool when used with some style, like in "Boondock Saints," but here there is no viable reason for them being used. I noticed that this movie was produced bt Franchsie Pictures (they sure know how to make some magic) who was also responsible for the silencerpalooza known as "The Art of War." My guess is that they had the props lying around and decided to get there money's worth by using them in "The Foreigner."
Unless you're a died in the wool Seagal fan like myself, I'd say to take a pass on this opus.
