Marked for Death
by Dwight H. Little
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Basil Wallace, Joanna Pacula, Keith David, Steven Seagal, Tom WrightDirector: Dwight H. Little
Brand: Twentieth Century Fox
Producer: John Todgya
Producer: Julius R. Nasso
Producer: Mark Victor
Writer: Mark Victor
Producer: Michael Grais
Writer: Michael Grais
Producer: Peter Macgregor-Scott
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Letterbox, 2.35:1
Running Time: 94 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-05-21
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of Marked for Death
Movie Review: Marked For Greatness
Summary: 4 Stars
"Marked For Death" is a lot of fun. This is what drives the movie: fun. Many of Steven Seagal's other films are fun, but are driven by a different agenda: "Above the Law" was politically conscious, "On Deadly Ground" focused on environmental issues, and even "Under Siege" was a morality play, to some extent. The largely unremembered "Marked For Death", however, has no pretenses, simply the simple equation of "Seagal + Jamaican posses ? guns, cars, and swords = fun fun fun". I mean, what else do you call a film with psychotic, sword-wielding cultists, enough ammo to carpet a gymnasium, cool martial arts, and Seagal in tip-top shape? - besides a personal favorite, that is
John Hatcher (Seagal) is a DEA agent who's become jaded of his work. After witnessing the death of his partner in Colombia, he resigns from the force and vows to return to family life in a quiet neighborhood of Chicago. However, he arrives to find his hometown teeming with Jamaican drug dealers, headed by the psychotic voodoo cultist Screwface (Basil Wallace). Though he does his best to ignore the impending danger, Hatcher finds both himself and his family in the dealers' sights after interfering in an assassination attempt, prompting him to team up with an old military comrade (Keith David, "Pitch Black") and take the fight to the criminals.
Being an earlier theatrical release of Steven's, we needn't worry about the production quality like we would with a DTV outing of his, and can focus on the film's strengths. For starters, this film is probably as close to pure action as one can get: the movie begins with an on-foot chase through the streets of darktown Colombia, and goes on to feature no less than five shootouts, about four hand-to-hand encounters, a car chase,a couple big explosions, and a swordfight...and those are only the big scenes. The action is some of the best work that Seagal has done: and the swordfight wouldn't be topped by our hero for a long time, and the four-on-one fight in Screwface's layer is second to none in showing aikido at work.
Speaking of which, it needs to be said: Screwface is the most original villain that Seagal has ever fought. I'd go as far to say that he's the best ever featured in a Seagal picture: aside from being more explosive, animated, and bombastic than Henry Silva, William Forsythe, Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey, or Michael Caine ever were, the highly-underutilized Basil Wallace is the first nemesis who truly seems to get under our hero's thick skin, and makes it more personal than Steven's feuds tend to be. His ability to personally take the fight to Seagal is unparalleled...as is the "twist" about him that tops off the story.
Alas, this film is not perfect, but thankfully, it's not an overall incompetence that perpetuates through the picture. Regarding Seagal, he performs with the same non-flair that we're used to (thank goodness for the rest of the cast), but in addition, his character's initial reluctance to not get involved in the drug problem spreading through his hometown is both uncharacteristic and unfounded, seeing as he retains his tough-guy air even while saying "no". Then there's the silly scene in which Seagal's gladness to be home is expressed by having him clean a concealable pistol while sentimental music plays in the background. There are a few more instances like that, but thankfully not enough to damage the film.
It's a shame that this movie isn't recalled as readily as some of our hero's more well-known work, since it supplies the adrenaline just as well. It's a slice of quality 80s/90s action cinema at the very least, and should be on the wishlist of every Seagal fan and action-lover around. This is one you really shouldn't hesitate to introduce your buddies to Seagal with.
Summary of Marked for Death
Furiously paced and visually striking, Marked for Death puts action star Steven Seagal up against a deadly Jamaican drug posse. Just retired from the Drug Enforcement Agency, John Hatcher (Seagal) returns to his hometown and quickly discovers that drugs have infiltrated his old neighborhood. Determined to drive the dealers out, Hatcher crosses paths with a ferocious Jamaican druglord who vows that hatcher and his family are now marked for death.The glowering brutality that is aikido headbanger Steven Seagal's substitute for a star persona at least gives us a rancid taste of authenticity in this cookie-cutter action picture. This glum lug seems to really enjoy hurting people; he snaps limbs and shatters noses with visible relish. Pitted against a crew of Jamaican gangsters who invade his (white ethnic) Chicago neighborhood and threaten his family, retired DEA agent John Hatcher sets out to solve the case with robotic efficiency, kicking butt in just about every scene. Not quite as pudgy in this 1990 outing as he became a few films later, Seagal looks like the genuine, lethal article in the fight sequences, but like a hopeless amateur when he tries to act his way out of the waterlogged-paper-bag of a script. So what else is new? The one bright spot here is Basil Wallace, a mostly unsung actor who throws himself into the showy role of the Rasta gang-boss Screwface, a garishly scarred psycho with piercing ice-blue eyes. --David Chute
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