Half Past Dead

Plot synopsis:
In San Francisco, Sasha Petrosevitch (Steven Seagal) is a Russian car thief who's brought in by criminal Nick Frazier (Ja Rule) to work for crime boss Sonny Eckvall (Richard Bremmer), who apparently shot and killed Sasha's wife. After some time, FBI Special Agent Ellen "E. Z." Williams (Claudia Christian) and her team show up to nail Nick, but things go bad, and Sasha gets shot.
After eight months of recovery following his brief bout of being clinically dead from the shooting, Sasha is incarcerated along with Nick in the newly reopened Alcatraz prison. Run by the charismatic warden, Juan Ruiz "El Fuego" Escarzaga (Tony Plana), the place is known for its new state of the art death chamber where the condemned can choose from five different ways to die: lethal injection, gas chamber, hanging, firing squad, or electric chair.
Lester McKenna (Bruce Weitz), is the first death row prisoner brought to the new Alcatraz and also the first prisoner scheduled to be executed. An older man, he stole $200,000,000 worth of gold bricks in a heist that resulted in five deaths, and hid the loot at an unknown location. Federal Bureau of Prisons head Frank Hubbard (Stephen J. Cannell) and Supreme Court Justice June McPherson (Linda Thorson) have arrived to witness the execution, which is a result of June sentencing Lester.
But she's not the only one interested in Lester. A small but well equipped team of terrorists who call themselves the "49ers" have parachuted onto the Alcatraz island, and gained control of it. Led by 49er One, a.k.a. Hubbard's assistant Donny Johnson (Morris Chestnut), and 49er Six (Nia Peeples), the team finds Lester, and they want him to give up the location of his hidden stash of gold. When Lester will not tell them, Donny shoots a nearby priest (Eva-Maria Schönecker), and threatens to kill others if the information is not delivered.
Donny's plan is disrupted, however, when Sascha decides to step in and fight back. It turns out that Sasha is actually an undercover FBI agent who has been trying to use Nick to get to Sonny Eckvall. When Sasha rescues Lester, the 49ers strap June to the electric chair and threaten to kill her, all while Ellen and her team prepare a rescue plan from the mainland.
With the help of Nick and some of the other inmates such as Twitch (Kurupt) and Little Joe (Michael "Bear" Taliferro), Sasha sets out to rescue June and bring Donny down, before Alcatraz becomes everyone's final resting place.

Tags: violence, comedy, murder, flashback

Review:
Back before she got to the high court, Thorson was the judge who tried and sentenced Weitz and she's there as a witness to the execution that gets delayed.Fortunately for all concerned Steven Segall is in the joint with his criminal buddy Ja Rule and he organizes the cons to resist.People who go to see Steven Segall movies go for the action and violence and not a coherent and realistic plot.
He shouldn't be surprised that it's his career that's half past dead.The director, Don Michael Paul, seems to have no ability to direct an action scene, martial art OR weapon-oriented.
The scene is so stupid they might as well have been playing hopscotch.So some guy is being sentenced to be the first person ever to be executed in Alcatraz's state of the art execution chamber, evidently not for stealing $200 million dollars in gold, but for not telling where it was hidden once he was caught.Hey, good thinking, people.
I just thought that was funny.The only good scene in the movie is the one in the prison where Ja Rule is getting slapped around the prison like a sack of cotton balls by this little Asian woman.
That was the funniest thing I've seen in a movie in a long, long time.You know, I work for the company that produced this film (which I why I watched it), and I still don't have a single positive thing to say about it, except, of course, for that one scene with Ja Rule getting spanked by that Asian woman.So read my review of Malena and you will see how strongly I sometimes disagree with professional film critics like Roger Ebert, but in his review of this movie Ebert wrote something that I agreed with as much as anything else he's ever written:"I imagine the flywheels at the MPAA congratulating each other on a good day's work as they rated 'Half Past Dead' PG-13, after giving the anti-gun movie 'Bowling for Columbine' an R."Way to go, guys..
Anyway, the female who played the Supreme Court Justice member was actually enjoyable to watch.All in all, Half Past Dead is just mindless fun, pretty good.7/10.
So, take his old-school 1980s fighting techniques and combine it with a modern day rap artist like Ja-Rule (especially after his popularity with DMX in Exit Wounds), and you have the film Half Past Dead.
This film is the perfect example of a movie made just to get rap artists some screen time and attempt to bring an overweight action start from the 80s into the new generation.
Hey, Half Past Dead isn't Oscar material, but if you're looking for a fun action movie it's pretty darn good.
Steven Seagal and Ja Rule star as prisoners who must save hostages taken at the new Alcatraz.
Steven Seagal, who has a proud history of creating some of the most realistic and exciting fight scenes in his past work is completely wasted in this movie.
Leave your expectations for great story telling, and insightfulness at the door, and just enjoy a fairly entertaining film.What it's got: Good actors and casting, action, noise, snappy lines, simple morality, and escapism to an unusual setting.
The only bad part of this film is Steven Seagal,who now is old and fat so 1star off.Otherwise pure fantasy rush like the older more fit Seagal flicks.Who cares about plot in a good Seagal flick?
Here he plays a DEEP FBI undercover agent,Sasha Petrosevitch, who becomes tight with Ja Rule as Nicolas 'Nick' Frazier as a way to get to the guy that killed his wife.Along the way they wind up in Alcatraz now run by Tony Plana as Warden El Fuego who is about to execute Bruce Weitz as Lester McKenna who is to die for a gold robbery of 200 million that left 5 federal agents dead.From there the plot really goes wild as you'd expect in a pure action flick.Add Morris Chestnut as bad guy 49er One / Donald Robert Johnson and Nia Peeples as sexy badass 49er Six and Seagals boss Claudia Christian as Special Agent Ellen Williams and a once really sexy from my youth Linda Thorson (tv series the avengers) but now a older woman as Judge Jane McPherson and good supporting actors, what more do you want??Oh even a closing credits for laughs scene with Kurupt and Mo'Nique.
I saw Half Past Dead back in 2003 and I forgot about it.I've been getting into Seagal again recently and I watched this film a few weeks ago.Most of Seagal's films were Rated R.This is his only PG-13-rated film to date(though "Fire Down Below" was a very tame R, could have easily been PG-13).I was surprised at the low score.Sure this film is no "Above The Law", "Under Siege" or any of Seagal's earlier works, but it is a fairly entertaining action film.It was better than "Fire Down Below", "On Deadly Ground" and the majority of his straight to video fare.The film is about an FBI agent who goes undercover in a new Alcatraz-like prison.A man who buried a large amount of money years ago is to be executed.However some terrorists break into the prison and force the man to tell them where the money is.Part of the film involves the terrorists(led by Morris Chestnut who previously was in Under Siege 2 and plays a fairly good role) playing mind games with the police officers and the hostages, one of whom is a supreme court judge.The other part involves Seagal, Ja Rule and the other prisoners trying to save everybody.Half Past Dead is a fairly underrated and decent enough Seagal film.Too bad that after this, he was reduced to crappy straight to video fare..
In close-up shots he looks very seriously and that is everything we get from him.Normally I try to avoid movies like this and 'Half Past Dead' helped me remember why that is.
His film Fire Down Below, while not an Oscar contender, remains a favorite of mine for excellent hand-to-hand battles throughout the movie.That said, I walked into the sneak preview of Half Past Dead hoping to see some serious Seagal-type fights, but alas there was but one decent one, with too much moving camerawork.As a standalone film, it's fairly entertaining, with some funny dialogue provided by rapper Kurupt.
but what makes half past dead such a terrible film are the acting, the action sequences, which in contrast to under siege were rather poor(which was a good film) and that some of the dialogue was almost painfully laughable to hear.
Even the main villain has one of the most ridiculous deaths that is nothing like a big cop out for a finale.What does heroes escaping in a car from nothing, people shooting at nothing and the hero and villain of an action film not even having one fight all add up to?
I consciously watched Half Past Dead full well knowing I've hated other films for less, but still got a kick out of what I observed on the screen.
With that out the way, HALF PAST DEAD is one of STEVEN SEAGAL's most stylish movies to date.
JA RULE (who is certainly a notch up from DMX) has just as many fight scenes, and doesn't mind getting his ass kicked by the lovely miss PEEPLES (in a very MATRIX-like sequence) MORRIS CHESTNUT puts in a good performance, proving that he has more to offer than 'spare wheel' to SEAGAL (a'la UNDER SIEGE 2) Good to see LINDA THORSON (where has she been all these years?) in a great role as a sympathetic (and all-too human) supreme court judge.
Taken for what it is, the movie comes across as DIE HARD meets THE A TEAM So, if you like your movies fast paced, laced with hip-hop music (and attitude) but zero gore, then HALF PAST DEAD is the movie, you've always needed, to introduce your girlfriend to the (many) pleasures of a STEVEN SEAGAL movie.
But imagine her shock, when you show her (the extremely violent and profane) OUT FOR JUSTICE!Great film, stylishly shot, modestly budgeted, great performances, minimum violence and profanity and a killer soundtrack (comprising mostly of hip-hop/nu metal) and you have a perfect nights entertainment, courtesy of STEVEN SEAGAL (still the 'baddest' man on the planet known as 'action movie')9 out of 10 (could have been a 10, with more violence!
you know,i actually enjoyed this movie.really had a blast.it may be full of plot holes and illogical moments,but i never really thought about it.it was fast paced and fun.lots of action,a few fight scenes that were adequate,not great but not horrible.lots of gun battles.there were some funny moment,some of which might have been unintentional,but some were intentional.i don't think this was trying too hard to be a serious movie.sometimes you just need to shut off your brain for awhile and allow yourself to be entertained.but you have to been in the mood.if you're not,you won't enjoy it.luckily i was.for 95 minutes or so,i forgot about everything else and enjoyed the ride.for me,Half Past Dead is a 7/10.
i think that this is the second worst film i ever seen just listen to the way it begins: Steven Seagal and some black guy drive in a car (by the way Seagal doesn't look at the road he is looking at the black man sitting next to him all the drive long) than after about a minute of driving Seagal stop the car suddenly for no particular reason the black guy is pushed out of the car and crashed in the car that parking in front of them (god knows what she did there) than they both goes to jail and Steven Seagal only with legs kick all the cops in the jail and take control over it.guys tell me it isn't sounds like piece of crap but you better see it so when they ask you what is the 3 worst things you ever saw at least one of them (that one) will be really bad.i really don't understand why this crap isn't in the bottom 100 it should be there.i still compare who's badder this one or "to the sun" which is another Seagal film (which by the way containing a scene which Steven Seagal actually SINGS!!!(guys trust me you don't want to see Steven Seagal sings it isn't a pleasant thing it comes with a lot of pain for the ears and a lot of suffer to the mind).i've seen "half past dead" on T.V. usually i would stop few minuets after the beginning (i described the beginning you know what i mean when i say it sucks) but on this one i wanted to stay and watch (for the reason i mentioned above with the 3 worst films you ever saw) and i wasn't disappointed.
Half Past Dead was unlike any Steven Segal film I've ever seen.
After starring in admittedly enjoyable crowd-pleasing films like UNDER SIEGE and EXECUTIVE DECISION, Seagal hits the low grounds of the bad movie abyss.
All of which are sometimes tedious and predictable.Although predictability seemed to be a welcome asset in summer action films, predictability has never tasted more sour in ones that aren't fun, and HALF PAST DEAD is never really fun, a lot of times it's just a pain in the head (hearing the bad rap music repeat over and over again throughout this film makes me yearn for an aspirin every second I hear them).
Seagal's character is also provided with a sidekick (played by rap star Ja Rule) and a bunch of amigo inmates, and there's no chemistry going on here.If starring in a series of other forgotten action vehicles (what were those films again?) killed of Seagal's career for good, HALF PAST DEAD is overkill.
Half Past Dead, must also refer to Seagal's martial arts skills that are on vacation in this pitiful movie.
Steven Seagal,, who cares if there wasn't no showdown fight scene he was funny,, talked bad azz , did his thing,, what more can you ask,, i mean folks you have a decent story,, a cop ..
We want bone-crunching in-your face-action sprinkled with a dose of humour, and this is what we get with Half Past Dead.I saw this film on HBO last week and enjoyed it from beginning to end.
For me it had all the typical ingredients of a Seagal film, aided by a director who knows how to make action films, unlike Michael Oblowitz who made the truly awful Out for a Kill.Half Past Dead is 98 mins of pure mindless entertainment, nothing more, nothing less..
I think it is all the way dead, just like Steven Seagal's career.
If your a Steven Seagal fan you know whats there to be expected, the film obviously due to the budget wasn't very successful but i have that feeling if it had more funding I'm sure it could have been a good decent film by Steve Seagal.Never the less the film is based about "someone" (not giving too many hints) who is at death-row the story plays its plots with a few twists and turns.
'Half Past Dead' delivers enough fights and explosions to please anyone who enjoys a good, well-made movie that has lots of fights and explosions.
perfect weekday evening guy movie...there's not much else to say other than this film is a lot of fun, there's some great action sequences, some comedy, a seriously hot chick and a simple-easy story line to follow and enjoy.
The action seqeunces in the film are okay, I think there could have been more martial arts fights and Ja Rule is good as alwayas.
I enjoy Steven Seagal films, and I even expected some good stuff from Ja Rule, but this was absoltely TERRIBLE.
Ja Rule looked perfect for the comedy sidekick, instead we have the usual comic rapper slang and bad acting.Half Past Dead was average, definatly not Seagals best but certainly much better then Ticker, Foreigner and even xXx.
I am a Steven Seagal fan since his first movies, and I was seeing how they were getting better and better until the 1996 movie The Glimmerman, but after that I don't know why Steven did so bad movies, movies where he played characters that didn't match with him at all.But in 2001 with Exit Wounds Steven made a good movie, so I was expecting a good movie again, but HALF PAST DEAD, is a very, very bad movie.First, the story, that is a complete confusion, where did you see the prisoners fight against the invaders of a prison???
But in the movie, the prisoners love so much the prison that they continue there fighting against the invaders!There are so few scenes of fights on this movie, and Steven is one of the best Aikido fighters on the world, and a movie with Steven Seagal with few fights, can't be a good movie!!!The end, I can't tell how the movie ends, but I can sure you that is terrible.Well, I hope (like every Steven fan) that he in the future could make better movies with more action and credible stories....
I also don't know if Seagal can act much beyond his basic character-thing, but he's always had a very workable tough cop/agent/action kind of guy going for him.
Having enjoyed action movies and Seagal films in the past and in the absence of similar fare I took a chance.
Half Past Dead *** out of ****Starring Steven Seagal ("Exit Wounds," 2001), Morris Chestnut ("Two Can Play at that Game," 2001), and rapper, Ja Rule, "Half Past Dead" was a well-scripted, entertaining action movie that, although not perfect, had the right dose of humor and excitement to hold my interest for most of its ninety-nine minutes.Again we found Steven Seagal under siege, only this time he was in a prison as opposed to on a train or a cruise ship, as in two of his previous films.
The villains, led by Donny, included Sophia, played by Yasmina Filali-Bohnen, whose bright blue eye-shadow helped to set her apart as one high kicking, gun toting female, who perhaps offered the most enjoyable fight scene of the film.Even with a still overweight Steven Seagal, whose limited fight scenes were hardly comparable to those from his earlier films ("Hard to Kill," "Marked for Death"), I enjoyed "Half Past Dead," as it offered a better than expected script, shot well, with a conscious awareness of just how the audience would perceive it..
Half Past Dead is just a fall-flat action film that doesn't deserve to be watched by anyone2/10 - very bland.
This is one of the worst movies from Steven Seagal, personally I like him, his not a great actor, Arnie is better, but he has a calm over him, and an cool fighting technic, but here he don't uses it, the fighting is left for Ja Rule, and he CAN'T fight, and he's even worse in the acting department, and he tries to act as cool as he can, it's patheticThe whole movie is filled with unbelievable bad dialog, just check out when the Feds first make contact with the terrorists, the first the womans says is "Didn't your mother lover you enought", and tries to be so cool, it horrific, and this goes on from almost all of the actors, only one that comes from it ok is, Nia Peebles, she don't act much, but the fighting is actually good.The director has clearly watched a ton of movies, and instead of learning from them he steals the things he thought was cool, and he can't ever decide if the movie is a plain action movie, or one with a lot of camera style, just check out after the terrorist team lands, and Nia Peebles character turns around and her coath flies around, it just idiotic, and there is not any type of that shot again in the movie.2/10.
I've come to expect a lot worse from Steven Seagal's movies, so I was pleasantly surprised by Half Past Dead.