Fire Down Below
Tags: violence, flashback

Plot synopsis:
After the Korean War, Americans Tony (Lemmon) and Felix (Mitchum) own a tramp boat, the Ruby, which they use for small-scale smuggling around the Caribbean, along with a third crewman, Jimmy Jean (Edric Connor). One day, their bartender contact, Miguel (Anthony Newley), introduces them to an American businessman who has been enjoying the company of beautiful but passport-less European goddess Irena (Hayworth). He has to return to Detroit, but wants to arrange for her to get to another island. They are reluctant, but $1,200 proves very tempting.
On the voyage, Tony starts falling in love with her. Knowing the kind of woman she is, Felix does his best to protect his partner by warning Irena to stay away from Tony. However, Felix starts falling for her himself. When she disembarks, Tony goes with her, ending his partnership with Felix.
Tony and Jimmy Jean take on a shady job, but are intercepted by the authorities. They have to abandon ship and swim to a nearby island to avoid arrest. Tony takes a job on a cargo ship to get back to Irena. He also plans to kill Felix, correctly suspecting that his former partner tipped off the customs agents to get rid of the competition for Irena. However, while Tony is away, she goes to Felix and confesses she loves him.
After a collision, Tony is trapped below deck under a girder with time running out; the ship is aflame and carrying a highly explosive cargo. Doctor Sam Blake (Bernard Lee) offers the only way out, by amputating Tony's trapped legs, but he would rather die. Felix goes aboard and stays with him. An explosion frees Tony from the wreckage, and Felix carries him to safety.
After Tony has recovered, he confronts Felix and Irena in a bar. It is there he realises that Irena loves Felix and not him, leaving him to walk away and cut his losses by saying, "some days you win some days you lose".

Review: Steven Seagal is one of those actors with a totally winning personality He is simply an authority figure, a killing machine with a heart of purest gold I can't help it; I like the guy.In 'Fire Down Below,' he is an outsider posing as a church sponsored carpenter while he works for the Environmental Protection Agency to stop a greedy coal baron from dumping extremely large quantities of toxic wastes in abandoned coal mines Those dangerous chemicals could destroy the drinking water for thousands of miles and kill a bunch of people around the hills Seagal gallantly promised not to leave the small town until the poison from the air, the streams and the earth is taken outMany thugs (with snakes, sticks, guns, and big trucks) are hired by the uncaring mining magnate to get rid of our action hero but Seagal remains virtually untouched 'Fire Down Below' highlights new environmental message but fails to come up with the expectations First, Seagal's amorous interest with the sad country woman seems artificial, used in the film to grant the 'new visitor' easy access to statements he might need Second, the motion picture lacks the best villain whose prowess could equals Seagal's...
Steven's character never really faces much of a challenge In fact, the fight scenes are too short and extremely fast and easyIf you are a fan of country music and you want to see Seagal playing guitar and singing, and you like to explore sweeping vistas with glorious sunsets, don't miss this movie!.
folks,this kind of stuff goes on everyday and it's films like these sneak a message into you without beating you over the head with it.those who are expecting plenty of guns and bodies flying all over the place every 5 seconds will be disappointed,but those who have a better view of the movie genre can enjoy this film better..
However, now she's a very familiar face thanks to the hit CSI television show.Anyway, the movie was a typical Steven Seagal film in that he's the likable hero, you had despicable villains that were easy to hate, and every action scene is Rambo-like in which Seagal never misses injuring his foes.
Of course, the nice scenery was probably due to the fact Seagal played an Environmental Protection Agent ("Jack Taggart").Also different was the fact that Helgenberger ("Sarah Kellogg") was not the typical gorgeous young sexpot normally paraded out in these martial arts films, but was rather plain with no makeup.
More examples: good-guy Seagal bows his head in prayer at church but also tells Helgenberger that "I don't hand out bibles." He also mentions UFOs and Zen to a sick little boy but also mentions "God's work" other times.
It is a lot better than Steven Seagal's more recent films, like Exit Wounds and Half Past Dead.
Seagal plays EPA agent Jack Taggart, who moves to a small southern town to investigate allegations that a major business figure (Kristofferson) is dumping tons of toxic waste into a supposedly safe area.
This movie had expert action scenes and great filming of a southern/midwestern town.
This is probably Steven Seagal's best movie and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys action films.
This film is different compared to Segals other films,it hardly has any action and they seem to be focused on the plot more, rather than the action.The plot of the movie is Steven segal plays a E.P.A. agent undercover as a maintenance man to investigate a corrupt company that has been dumping toxic waste in Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky.
Most of the villains in this movie are country singers,Randy Travis has a cameo appearance.Segal falls in love with a woman everyone in the town dislikes named Sarah Kellog (Marge Hellenberger)because she was falsely accused of murdering her father when she was a child, it was actually her creepy brother Earl(Stephen Lang).
The movie was in deed a good idea,People only care about money and there gain being finacial or political for the damages they are doing to our home (earth).I think Mr.Segal was an excellent actor in this movie,I enjoy his sincerity in all of his movies.People need to see past him as a sex symbol.He is much more sofisticated in many ways and has alot of true knowledge.Mr.Segals movies should hit home with viewers who see/allow themselves to see past it just being a movie.Lets face facts,this is also a realitiy which people do not see happening.Mr.Segal I hope with inspiration will continue to do movies like Fire down below,I am not an activist only 1 person who tries to see past the movie and can honestly see the big picture.Keep it up Steven you have my vote, Sincerly Melissa.
I don't know if it's the amount of Seagal I was given or the mood I was in but this movie delivered me an entertaining time and a glimpse at one of his last better films.
It ended up being enjoyable enough to recommend to an action junkie or someone who wants to watch Steven Seagal's watchable movies..
From what I saw of it I liked it and though I maybe in the minority here I thought it was interesting and plan on watching it from start to finish.I must say I am not a real big Steven Seagel fan, I've seen little of his work and his movies do have a reputation for being extremly action oriented and violent.
Since I'm not a fan of these types of movies, I have not gone out of my way to see his work.What I liked about this film was there was a solid plot, even though I came in late I was able to grasp(something) of what was going on, I thought the acting was good, the violence was less then I imagined it would be(of coarse who knows what occured that I MISSED!!), I like Marg Helgenburger, and lastly being a big fan of atmosphere and good photography in movies, the vivid country scenes really caught my eye, they were very picturesque and I liked the country feel and mood to those scenes.
This is a unique Steven Seagal movie.It is different than his earlier films.It has good acting and the fighting scenes while not as graphic as in other Seagal films are very good.I like the story and the country side of the movie.It also stars Marg Helgenberger,Kris Kristofferson, Stephen Lang,Harry Dean Stanton, and Randy Travis!If you like Steven Seagal watch this entertaining fighting film!.
Not only was this movie terrible, as most all Steven Segal movies have been but Warner Brothers came to Eastern Kentucky to film this movie and they left town without paying several people who worked as carpenters and forgot to pay their bills and local hardware and electrical stores.
FIRE DOWN BELOW (1997) Zero StarsStarring: Steven Seagal, Marg Helgenberger, Kris Kristofferson, Brad Hunt, and Stephen Lang Director: Félix Enríquez Alcalá   Running time: 105 minutes   Rated R (for strong violence and some language)By Blake French:	"Fire Down Below" is a dead zone of an action film.
It's a real nice movie with beautiful Kentucky scenery with a theme, a plot, a storyline that just relaxes the viewer into a real nice, comfortable evening of watching our favorite hero fighting evil, and with the persona that ONLY Seagal can do it with.
Average action movie that has a super hero formula to it.Simple but good action sequences although nothing spectacular and also there was one very bad action sequence that should have been cut out.....the scene at the Diner/Gas Station where Seagal shoots a flare from a villians hand and then shoots it again while in mid-air to snuff it off.That paricular scene was too exagerated and out of place.Still worth a look for fans of the action/martial arts/superhero genre and for big fans of the lead actors.........
The martial arts scenes were great, (showing that Seagal is the greatest martial artist to hit the movie screen), and I liked the idea of him being in the Environmental Protection Agency beating up a bunch of Hillbillies who dump toxic waste.
making the movie dreadfulSeagal stars as an agent who is investigating a cover up where toxic waste is being put in the mountains.The movie would have been at least mildly entertaining had the fights been nicely done but the fights are far to cartoony and there's nothing to like only for Seagal die hards......Not as bad as On Deadly Ground but pretty close.* (Out of four).
"Whoa." I thought about that before mentioned movie and the only thing that I can come away with is how good it was that Burt Reynolds shot those country -inbreds and thanking God that you were not the one with the sore back-end!!!"Fire Down Below", was a little of a 'departure' for Seagal I think.
Because Seagal can take out any number of bad guys regardless of the time and place, there is really no conflict in a movie like Fire Down Below and ergo, no sense of even a moments tension.
This is why the movie is neither thrilling nor riveting or any synonym, it is just amusing, at least it is enough so to make it worth watching if there is nothing else on.Seagal is Jack Taggart a fed (and a carpenter) who is sent out into the Kentucky hills to investigate the possible dumping of toxic waste by a crooked mining corporation.
Could action movies be more dull and tedious.Seagal plays Jack Taggert, an EPA agent, sent to a small (and literally sleepy) town to investigate some illegal dumping of toxic waste.
Other than fighting against thugs at the countryside, Taggert also has a relationship with a country woman, played by Marg Helgenberger and hangs out with city folk like like Harry Dean Stanton.There is one major action scene with a truck chase, but that isn't much to satisfy the film's overall running time.
Rather, let me just put it in the context of other Seagal films: it's better than "On Deadly Ground" but not as good as "Hard to Kill" and not even in the same league as "Under Siege".
But this show is pretty good since for most of the movie seagal does not act like a tough guy, just an EPA investigator trying to convict some businesses of polluting the area with toxic wastes.
Several good fight scenes in the movie that i liked but you have to ask why don't these bad guys ever carry a gun and just shoot seagal??
Steven Seagal continues his awful streak as Jack Taggart an environmental agent of some sort (The movie is unclear in this regard) who goes to a small town to fight thugs sent by a toxic waste dumper (Kris Kristofferson) in this preachy and laughable "message movie" If Steven Seagal really cares about the environment  he'll stop making movies like this, which is a form of pollution in any regard..
love him or hate him,you have to admit,Steven Seagal's movies pretty much follow the same tried and true formula,which basically involves Seagal ending up on someone's bad side,and then proceeding to show off his martial arts prowess by beating up everybody in sight.well not everybody.just the bad people.this movie is no different.but hey,it works.it's nothing new or original.but if you're a Seagal fan,this should quench your thirst.like his previous movie,On Deadly Ground there's an environmental theme here too.Marg Helgenbberger(CSI Las Vegas)plays the love interest and does a good job with her character.Harry dean Stanton is also very good.There are also a lot of country stars in the movie,including Kris Kristofferson,who is very impressive.there are nice fight sequences in this one.for me,Fire Down Below is a 7/10.
Don't let the low IMDb score fool you, it's a fairly decent film.Why people may be disappointed with it is because there is more plot than action, as opposed to other Seagal films.I counted about 4 or 5 action scenes in the entire film.This may also explain the G-rating in Quebec.The fight scenes are not all that great either, but I still enjoyed the film.Seagal is his usual "not afraid of anything" kind of guy, He plays an FBI agent who is sent to a small southern town to investigate oil spills in the water.Like in "On Deadly Ground", the oil companies are again the bad guys.While Seagal is there, he befriends this woman who was accused of murdering her father back when she was a teen.We find out more about this as the story unfolds.The people who work for the oil company try to stop him, but of course Seagal can kick all of their butts.When watching this movie, do not expect wall to wall action.
this is the last seagal film that looks like it was made for the theaters - almost everything since has been intended for the video market and cable t.v.the film is actually very good, all the way up to the final ten or so minutes; unfortunately, those final scenes are so glaringly bad, they overshadow everything that's come before.there is beautiful camera-work, beautiful on-location filming, lively supporting acting, strong action scenes, a timely plot and good dialog that is sympathetic to the characters without patronizing them.
If anybody (and I mean anybody) were playing the lead role except Steven Seagal people would think this is an OK movie.
She plays opposite Steven Seagal; who is Jack Taggart an agent sent undercover(for about five whole seconds of the movie) to a tiny hick town, to try to find a witness that will testify to the suspected dumping of toxic waste in the coal mines near the town.
I've seen enough Hong Kong martial art movies with the likes of Jet Li, Jackie Chan etc, to know what looks good on film.
As for Steven Seagal, the real-life aikido master, police officer (I'm serious), blues musician & actor (I was going to include CIA agent in that list of achievements but I'm not exactly sure if Seagal ever worked for the agency for real), he tried to reinvent himself as an environmental activist, making a trilogy of films in the mid-to-late 1990s that were eco-thrillers (ON DEADLY GROUND, Fire Down Below & The Patriot) at least in basic plot thematics, that is.Excepting On Deadly Ground, these pro-environment films almost killed Seagal's career stone dead, mainly due to being ridiculously heavy-handed – the villains are all very shrill one-dimensional cardboard cutouts & clichés; the scripts are poorly written; & the most serious flaw of all – the action scenes are poorly staged.Fire Down Below starts out in a way that seems to indicate that Seagal is planning to forsake his customary martial arts sequences for some good old fashioned investigative skills.
Of course this scripting idea first manifested itself during Seagal's debut film ABOVE THE LAW & continues in this one, with Kris Kristofferson's businessman being an evil coward who spends his working hours in the company of female escorts.The other actors are quite competent in their performances, especially Marg Helgenberger as the love interest (I kind of liked the idea to give her a shady past, but the film indifferently throws this away by making her brother turn out to have committed the deed) & Harry Dean Stanton (Brain from John Carpenter's ultra cool sci-fi classic ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK), who gives a good impression as the hick local who proves to be Seagal's greatest asset..
Marg Helgenberger was great, her part was very interesting as the forsaken woman of the town; Stephen Lang plays his usual sinister figure in a twisted character; Kristofferson was quite good and funny; and Levon Helm was the best on scene.
Classic Steven Seagal Action Movie ...
Released in 1997, "Fire Down Below" stars Steven Seagal as an EPA agent who goes undercover in SE Kentucky to investigate the evil deeds of a corporate mogul played by Kris Kristofferson & his minions, which includes dumping toxic waste in abandoned mines and murder.
Seagal has real chemistry with the lovely Marg Helgenberger and the environmental plot was solid.Seagal play an EPA agent who smells corruption in a small town, he befriends lonely widow Helgenberger and tires to clean up the town, he's thwarted by bad guy Kris Kristofferson ( in a surprisingly good performance), How he gets through is amazing, the fight scenes are excellent.The ending is the best, Seagal just walks into the casino, all cool and clam, and set Kirstofferson on his ass.
Taggart ends up blowing up almost the entire state of Kentucky leaving it contaminated and unlivable for the next hundred years; so much for Jack Taggert, or in real life Steven Seagal, being concerned for the environment.Taggert really gets into action when he has it out with Orin Jr and his gang "Working Good O'l Boys".
Few movies can.Jack Taggart (Seagal) is an EPA Agent / Professional Ninja / Carpenter extraordinaire assigned to investigate a company illegally dumping chemical waste near a small town in Kentucky.
I of course expected some martial arts work by seagal, but that's something that should be expected in any of his films (much like one would expect lots of killing in a Friday the 13th horror film).The action scenes were well done, but i found myself enjoying everything else the movie had even more.
this may sound odd, as seagal movies typically don't offer anything more than some fight scenes and a paper thin plot.The characters and the setting were what really made me want to watch.
A latter-day beat-em-up starring action man Steven Seagal in the midst of his environmentally friendly persona, this is actually better than one might expect and it turns out to be one of Seagal's best movies.
Although a shoot-out in a toxic mine is mishandled, each and every other moment of action in the film is cool and worth waiting for.Aside from Seagal, delivering once again a quietly-spoken, impassive, and eco-friendly hardman like in all of his other movies, we have some good actors turning up in the supporting cast.