On this special episode of THE BIG 4-0, Ron and Peter look back at the first SEVEN films from one of our childhood action heroes, Steven Seagal. ABOVE THE LAW (1988), HARD TO KILL (1990), MARKED FOR DEATH (1990), OUT FOR JUSTICE (1991), UNDER SIEGE (1992), his directorial debut ON DEADLY GROUND (1994), and his only theatrical sequel and arguably the end of his run as a major box office draw, UNDER SIEGE 2: DARK TERRITORY (1995).
That's a lot of films and a lot of ground to cover, so apologies if we didn't do each film or his entire career justice. There are a lot of interesting discussion points left on the table, many touched on, but not fully explored - such as a deeper dive into his past and wild background claims (CIA and/or mob ties?), excellent/interesting supporting cast members we mention but don't trace the arc of their careers as we normally would (Sharron Stone, Pam Grier, Kelly LeBrock, William Forsythe, Jerry Orbach, Tommy lee Jones, Gary Busy, Erika Eleniak, Michael Cain, John C. McGinley, Joan Chen, Billy Bob Thornton, Eric Bogosian, Evert McGill, Morris Chestnut, and Kathrine Heigel, among others), how he always uses a .45 pistol the way Riggs and McClane always use a Baretta, his badass Bronco in MARKED FOR DEATH, the fact that he looks great - damn near hunky - at 40, no less, in UNDER SIEGE, Bassil Poledouris' awesome ON DEADLY GROUND score, and Seagal's music career (two actually-not-bad blues albums!), post-theatrical-direct-to-DVD period, TV career (A&E's LAWMAN), his fashion, political beliefs, and his legal troubles, both as an accused sexual predator and a falling-out with his producing partner Julius Nasso, which led to a real-life Seagal/mob altercation - but as a focus on just these seven films, how they've aged, and where we each rank them in his filmography, it's an in-depth, fun, and revelatory episode.
Please remember to Rate, Like, and Subscribe, and we'll be back in 1984 next time to burn down the house celebrating STOP MAKING SENSE and PARIS, TEXAS's BIG 4-0s!
