A Dangerous Man

Plot synopsis:
In Arizona, ex-Special Forces soldier Shane Daniels (Steven Seagal) saves his wife, Holly (Aidan Dee), from a car jacking and chases the mugger (Clay Virtue) away. The mugger later ends up dead, and Shane is the sole suspect. After being locked up for six years, Shane is released from jail due to new DNA evidence, which clears his name. Shane is released with an apology from the State of Arizona and a $300,000 settlement, but feels that it does not make up for his wasted life and the loss of his wife, who has left him, which leaves him bitter.
Off the coast of Seattle, Washington, a ship full of smuggled Chinese people is arriving. After it arrives, an old Chinese man is taken to a safehouse. Back in Arizona, within hours of being released to the streets, Shane stops at a liquor store and buys a bottle of bourbon. Back outside, two men attempt to rob Shane, but he beats up his two attackers and steals their car. Leaving the city, Shane takes to the road and stops at a rest stop along a lonely stretch of highway. There, he witnesses a state trooper pulling over a car containing two Chinese nationals. The Chinese nationals kill the state trooper and try to kill a couple of witnesses, a young man named Sergey (Jesse Hutch) and his friend Markov (Robin Nielsen). Shane is forced to intervene, kills one of the attackers and sends the other one, Mao (Byron Lawson), running off into the desert, but Markov is killed by one of the Chinese men. When Shane checks on the dead cop, he hears noise coming from the trunk of the Chinese national’s car. Inside, he finds an unconscious woman and a duffel bag full of cash. Fearing that the cops will implicate him in the death of the trooper and knowing that the Chinese national will return with back-up, Shane takes the girl, the cash, and Sergey into the nearest small town, which is called Bellingham. Sergey admits that his father, Vlad (Vitaly Kravchenko), sells stolen cars.
When the woman, Tia (Marlaina Mah), regains consciousness, she begs Shane and Sergey not to turn her over to the cops or the Chinese. Tia tells Shane and Sergey that the cops in Bellingham killed her friends when she was kidnapped. The next morning, Shane has Sergey drop him and Tia off at a motel. Shane moves to a different hotel, for safety. In the second motel room, Tia explains to Shane that she was trying to get her uncle Kuan (Vincent Cheng) into the USA. She was contacted by someone who said they could help. She was told to show up alone at an abandoned mill in a remote place about 50 miles away from Bellingham, but she insisted on bringing some of her friends since it was the first time she and her contact were meeting. The man she met is a Chinese drug smuggler named Chen (Terry Chen) who told her he would help smuggle Kuan into the USA. However, Chen had her friends shot by Bellingham cops, and she was then forced into a room where another man was waiting. The man, known as the Colonel (Byron Mann), said he was waiting for Kuan's arrival, and that Tia was going to be held for ransom until the man got the information he needed from Kuan.
Sgt. Ritchie (Jerry Wasserman) and his henchman Clark (Mike Dopud), the two Bellingham cops who are working for Chen, go to Little Russia, Vlad's restaurant, and ask Vlad if he knows where Shane is, but Vlad turns them away, even threatening to cut Ritchie's testicles off. Meanwhile, two Chinese men break into the motel room where Shane and Tia are staying, but Shane kills them, and he and Tia escape. Outside Little Russia, Tia tells Shane that Kuan will be arriving before the day is out, and she's worried about what will happen to him. Inside, the bartender is not willing to tell Shane where Vlad and Sergey are, so Shane is forced to beat him up, and demand that he take him to Vlad. They arrive at Vlad's house, he is grateful that Shane saved Sergey's life and agrees to help Shane and Tia. Ritchie, Clark, and some Chinese men arrive at Vlad's house and a firefight takes place. After finishing off the last of Chen's men, Shane, Tia, Sergey, and Vlad leave to try to rescue Kuan from the Colonel.
At the abandoned mill, the Colonel has taken over the place, having his men plant bombs all over the site and kill all of Chen's men except for Chen. He's keeping Chen alive until Chen's men arrive with Kuan. When he finally arrives, the Colonel's men kill Kuan's two escorts. Gunfire erupts between the Colonel's men and Shane's group. In the midst of the gunfire, Tia gets shot. Shane covers the wound, and tells Sergey to watch over her. Shane returns to fighting the Colonel's men, and Sergey lifts Tia up and starts carrying her to safety. Shane battles his way to the Colonel, who has Kuan as a hostage.
Shane and the Colonel open fire on each other, and they both run out of bullets. Shane brutally beats the Colonel up, and then gets Kuan out of there. The Colonel grabs a submachine gun, and leaves the room. Just as the Colonel is about to shoot Shane, Shane flips the switch and the bombs start detonating, and the Colonel is blown off of the catwalk he was on.
Vlad later makes sure Kuan can stay in the USA, and though Shane has never shown anything but paternal concern for Tia, and up to this point, she has shown nothing but platonic respect for Shane (who is grossly overweight and old enough to be her grandfather), the two are now lovers and have a new home together in an isolated glacier-side mansion somewhere outside the USA.

Tags: revenge, neo noir, violence

Review:
-Ufortunately even though its a relatively good film,it failed to impress after the highs of DTK and TK.The film does start strongly,and in the positives i have to count Steven's performance as it shows a character and not Seagal himself..He is angry,disappointed,sad and violent and he doesn't hide it..The action was pretty good,some explosions and a lot of shootouts,but the latter were almost unwatchable, due to the frantic editing.The editing also affects the fight scenes,most are shot really close to Steven's face(a 'trend' started by the ever popular Burne movies) making it really hard to understand whats going on and to actually SEE the fight..Thus even though the film does have a satisfying amount of fights,only a few are completely watchable..I think the best and most extensive fight was in the beginning with the Chinese man at the rest stop..The supporting cast is pretty good,and while Byron Mann makes a really convincing villain he is terribly underused, appearing in only a handful of scenes and failing to showcase his martial art skills..The film goes for a much darker tone than The Keeper, which surprisingly does not feel out of place since the story is much darker and brutal than Seagal's previous effort.Negatives-Dubbing in 30% of the film -Bad editing that ruins most of the fights,the worse since KS -Villain underused -Seagal only in 60-70% of the film -Boring storyPositives-Plenty of action scenes -Seagal gives a surprisingly good performance -Lots of bloody action -Polished,and on a darker tone and style than TK -Good supporting cast -Effective villain -More fight scenes than TK -Stunt doubles remain "hidden"(no outrageous/blatant use of them like BOTB or Out Of Reach)Overall my feelings are kind of mixed about this one..On the one hand it's a straightforward action film,and it doesn't take long for the action to start,also Steven is pretty good in it.But it just didn't really click with me,the editing was awful and i think we could have gotten a much better film with a bit more care..Personally I would rate it at 70%.
Basically Steven Seagal is the baddest person on the planet taking on 3 separate groups aligned to kill him and the woman he is protecting.This is like a Mack Bolan book turned into a film.
High body count, gore, Asian and Russian gangsters, a corrupt police force, with judo and 'street' fighting skills used heavily as in all Steven Seagal movies.
The action sequences (and there are quite a few of them) are pretty brutal and bloody at times, and you do get to see less of Seagal's double in the fight scenes than in other recent films of his.
Steven Seagal stars as a wrongfully imprisoned akidio expert who defends a girl from Chinese mobsters (led by Byron Mann) and who joins forces with Russian mobsters to defend the girl in question.
In fact I don't think i've enjoyed a Seagal movie in a long time, mainly because the movies are terrible in the worst kind of way, mainly stunt doubles, the same plot about Seagal being some type of secret agent who goes rogue when his employers double-cross him (ad nauseam) Still this movie worked in such a way that I actually bought the film for 5 bucks and didn't feel too bad about such.
A Dangerous Man works because it is so fast paced, certainly Seagal seems to care more than usual and it would appear he wasn't dubbed and his fight sequences have less stunt doubles.
Years later, he's out on the streets and soon stumbles into an all-out drugs war between two rival mafia gangs: one Russian, one Chinese.The ensuing mayhem will come as no surprise to anybody who's seen a Seagal film, as he kicks, beats, breaks and shoots his way through various bad guys without ever getting a scratch himself.
The portly fighter has a real sadistic streak in this one: not just content to beat up his enemies, he mutilates them as well as breaking various bones.Quickly dispensing with an embarrassing sex scene early on, this hits its stride in good time and proves to be never less than entertaining: the plot is derivative but the story movies at speed and the action sequences are plentiful and well handled.
Steven Siegal fans will definitely like this one with all the action, car chasing, fist fights with mobsters of Chinese and Russian extraction and kung fu kicking an dancing galore.
The storyline is a poor one and somewhat secondary to the action of showing the character Shane Daniels who always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong (or is it right) time to solve the problem.he said early on this film (or did he really say it?) - I know what to do seems he did because the film entertained but mr Siegal is an ageing pro and on a par with Sylvester Stallone, alas not with the polish of Mickey Rourke as in The Wrestler.
At times the action was too quick and intense and I would agree with an earlier comment - who is fighting who - but it entertained and kept me awake in the wee early hours, but I do think Siegal (like De Niro and Caine) should contemplate alternative quieter (even silent) roles in future movies..
But Seagal has learned and his last five films (including Pistol Whipped, Urban Justice, The Keeper and the surprisingly good Driven To Kill) are certainly of much better quality, with good production values, an entertaining story and a solid cast.
The big budget days of Under Siege and Exit Wounds are long gone, but it is nice to see that the years of really bad Seagal movies are also gone..
Same old stuff, but very enjoyable if you like the "bad" cop wrongly convicted, tries to redeem himself by going after the real "bad" Chinese, with the help of the Bellingham Russian "bad" guys.
That said for every 1000 movie goers in the world, I'm sure there are one or two who are looking into this, and to those people I say, spend your money elsewhere.It not like any of the Seagal movies gave us anything in the way of a character, but in A Dangerous Man, he plays the ultimate nobody; an ex-soldier who has just gotten out of the joint only to find himself mixed up in some Chinese mob mischief operating out of a Pacific coastal town.
After being wrongfully imprisoned for 6 years for a crime he didn't commit, Shane Daniels(played by Seagal) has been released from prison and he has to witness a cop killing by a very malicious Chinese mafia who have kidnapped a girl and a bag of drug money.
Shane has to get help from the Russian Mafia whose boss does owns him a favour for saving his son from the Chinese cop Killing action that previously happened.
This film was a lot better than his films such as Above The Law, Marked For Death and The Glimmer Man those films were really good but this film like Hard To Kill and Out For Justice was absolutely brilliant.
The fight scenes were very intense and brutal and I have this film on DVD and i definitely will watch this film again whenever I want to because this Seagal film is just absolutely brilliant..
Framed for murder and condemned to six years in prison, ex-Special Forces operative Shane Daniels (Steven Seagal) gets caught up in a war between Chinese drug dealers and corrupt cops.
I'd say one would have to be a bit of fan of Seagal's fighting style to enjoy this movie.
I remember seeing the first two Steven Seagal films and being impressed with them-a fresh face with a fresh spin on martial arts movies-and it was being done by someone who was not an Asian person.
Steven Seagal appears to be a smart guy and his movies show the right choices in bad situations-so I respect his films.
But I saw it because an old high school buddy had a prominent role (Jerry Wasserman playing a crooked cop; for the short amount of time he was on screen, he was fine).The direct-to-DVD movie was a great vehicle for the special effects man (if you like those kind of effects) and he should have been well-paid.
6/10fights: a good selection of fight scenes with plenty of bone breakingDubbing: There is some dubbing, but its not as bad as in some of the others (attack force)Acting: Fair enough, typical Seagal fair.
His last movie with writer/director Waxman (The Keeper) was enjoyable enough, with some fun character stuff (for a Seagal flick, that is!) and competent film- making, although there were issues with pace and a lack of action.
THE PLOT Seagal stars as Shane Daniels, who we first see defending his wife from a car-jacker (within the first minute or so of the movie) and after beating him up a little, Shane gives chase after the crook.
The opening titles kick in, and they're pretty stylish (showing scenes from the movie, to introduce the actors, and giving them a kind of pastel coloured background around them)Fast forward 6 years, and it seems that Shane's wife can't wait any longer for him, whilst he's still in prison, and writes him one of those 'Dear John' letters.
Daniels agrees to help her, if her powerful uncle can secure him a visa out of the U.S. The grateful Russian man, also thanks Daniels, and points out that his father is a powerful Russian mob boss, who will gladly help him out (should he need it?) Daniels and the girl, part way with the Russian, but soon realise that there's a 'tracking device' in the bag of money, and Shane finds himself killing more Chinese hoods, intent on retrieving it.
With the net closing in, Daniels visits the Russian mob boss (who thanks him for saving his son, and swears undying loyalty) but soon the Chinese hoods are blasting the mob bosses mansion, so Daniels, The Girl, the mob boss and his son, take the war to the Chinese, and attack their HQ to rescue the girls uncle.....THE MOVIE A Dangerous Man is a fast-paced action movie, that even in the non-Seagal scenes moves along at a brisk pace, with rarely a dull moment.
As previously mentioned, the opening titles are really good (and get the viewer pumped up for the next 90 minutes) The film has numerous fight scenes, explosions, profanity....everything a good 'Seagal-movie' should haveSEAGAL Steven gives an OK performance (better than THE KEEPER, on par with DRIVEN TO KILL) He performs most of his fights and dialogue (read more about that later) and still has amazing hand-speed, and his usual 'baddass persona' is present and correct.FIGHTS As mentioned there's a well spread out series of fight scenes (again, probably on par with DRIVEN TO KILL) and more (basic) 'bang-for-your-buck' action than THE KEEPERDUBBING Probably the worst aspect of the movie.
But it seems to be SEAGAL doing most of the good stuff.OVERALL A dangerous Man is another good movie for Steven Seagal (had the dubbing/double issues not arisen....i'd rate it higher) As it is, the casual viewer would probably not notice these gripes, and enjoy it for what it is....a simple-minded fast-paced action thriller.
I was a fan of his early stuff - 'Above the law', 'Hard to Kill', 'Out for Justice' and even 'Under Siege' were worthy action flicks in a time when all we had was an aging Stallone, a mono-syllable speaking Schwarzenegger and an almost getting there Van Damme, to appease our need for loud, rocking, violent movies.Seagal came out as a slick & stylish type of action man, a martial arts Bond, who had a smooth voice and even smoother moves to impress the current crop of action fans.
Eating Humble Pie, the Seagal Way. Paunchy martial arts action star Steven Seagal finds himself trapped in a hornet's nest of murder and mayhem in the above-average contemporary crime thriller "A Dangerous Man." "Sweepers" director Keoni Waxman keeps the action lively in this fast-paced, profane, bullet opera with a high body count as rival Chinese drug smugglers, trigger-happy Russian mobsters, and corrupt cops lock horns with automatic weapons in the great Northwest.
Meanwhile, the girl escapes with a bag of Chinese drug money that contains a transponder, like the one in the Cohen brothers' classic "No Country for Old Men." Seagal plays Shane Daniels, a 14-year veteran Special Forces soldier who knows how to terminate people with extreme prejudice.
A kidnapped girl and drug money now in his possession after interfering with Chinese thugs who kill a policeman and Russian car thief, ex-Special forces soldier Shane Daniels(Steven Seagal), just released from prison after 6 years for a murder he didn't commit(DNA evidence proving his innocence, but the time costing him his marriage), is right in the middle of quite a mess.
It's good that he has the fighting skills and capabilities to deal with constant threats while looking to help a girl, Tia(Marlaina Mah) free her uncle used as bait to trade drug money between Chinese.
While an aging Seagal is no longer in his ABOVE THE LAW/HARD TO KILL prime, thanks to proper editing, it looks like his Daniels is a dangerous killing machine without an equal, even though we can figure that his stand-in stuntman carries a lot of the load with less appreciation.
following in line with his last few movies, a dangerous man has seagal doing what he does best, killing people with such ease and brutalness, that it is literally a joy to watch, the story line is simple, the action fast, brutal and 100 percent seagal, now sure if you don't like seagal, of course you ain't gonna like this movie, but seagal fans should love it, because it has more fighting, than all his movies since 'fire down below and seagal has bought back his bad ass attitude from the early 90's, no the movie isn't a masterpiece, but it is a solid action movie that delivers everything you'd expect of the genre and the star, i recommend.
When you hear a pock - marked dog - ugly corrupt cop describe a movie's hero thusly you can be sure he isn't going to be crooning "Somewhwere over the rainbow" into the mirror as he puts on his blusher.And so it proves as our Steve,meaner and nastier than for some time,comes off the blocks like Usein Bolt(well,probably not a lot like Usein Bolt,actually) and starts as he means to carry on,killing bad guys regardless of race,creed or colour.
Thing's also go from bad to a lot better, when Steven absolutely obliterates a Chinese guy, and run's of with the girl, the money, and this Sergei fellow, who apparently has no emotions, because his friend just got raped with bullets and he never seemed to notice or care.
Seagal fans re-watched "Exit Wounds" to remind themselves what his films used to be like.
After spending 6 long years in prison for a crime he did not commit, "Shane Daniels" (Steven Seagal) is eventually exonerated by DNA evidence.
Even so, I enjoyed the overall plot which pitted Shane and the Russian mafia against the Chinese drug cartel and some crooked American cops.
To do that he gets some help from Russian mafia, who's boss owns him a favour for saving his son from the Chinese cop killing.......A massive step down for Seagal, after the enjoyable 'The Keeper'.
The movie focuses on Seagal (Shane Daniels) is an ex con who is released from Prison after being wrongfully accused of a crime.
All three of them decide to combine their strength to face both the Chinese mob and the corrupt police officers collaborating with the latter ones...Surprisingly, the sheer beginning of "A Dangerous Man" gives hope for a movie somewhat better than the previous disasters with Seagal.
However, the whole movie is simply destroyed by a pile of pathetic C-class-like ideas, employed together with tragic Seagal's performance and extremely bad execution of bare-hands fighting scenes.
It's too rotten, excessively packed up with clichés reminding of straight-to-DVD" films (which, by the way, the reviewed movie is) and simply boring as hell, lacking decent action/shooting/car-chase sequences.
Like many action movie genre the film lacks, a good storyline, story inconsistencies, and a predictable ending.
A Dangerous Man starts as ex Special Forces war hero Shane Daniels (Steven Seagal) chases off a man attacking his wife Holly (Aidan Dee) who is later found brutally murdered.
Shane decides to take both & leaves the scene with Russian car thief Sergey (Jesse Hutch) who also witnessed the killing, Shane agrees to help the Chinese girl Tia who is wanted by Chinese gangsters & the local corrupt police who also want their money back...Written & directed by Keoni Waxman this is the second Steven Seagal film I have seen in the past couple of days after The Keeper (2009) which was also written & directed by Waxman, for some reason quite a few Seagal films are playing on telly over here now & next up for me watch is Driven to Kill (2009) but that's for another time.
Anyway, I quite liked The Keeper, it wasn't brilliant but as far as action thrillers go it wasn't half bad & I suppose I wanted too much to expect two straight to video Seagal films to be of decent quality as A Dangerous Man is definitely a notch below The Keeper but having said that still better than some of Seagal's other straight to video crap he has churned out over the past decade.
The acting is alright, obviously Seagal is poor as usual & just mumbles his way through his role & the lack of any chemistry between himself & Marlaina Mah hurts the film.A Dangerous Man isn't that great, it has a decent story that somehow ends up being rather muddled & even though there's plenty of shoot-outs the action is formulaic & forgettable.