The Glimmer Man
Tags: comedy, suspenseful, neo noir, murder, violence, humor, revenge

Plot synopsis:
Jack Cole (Steven Seagal) was once a government intelligence operative known as "The Glimmer Man," because he could move so quickly and quietly through the jungle that his victims would only see a glimmer before they died. Having left the Glimmer Man job behind him, Cole—steeped in buddhism and not used to working with others has become a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Cole is partnered with Jim Campbell (Keenen Ivory Wayans), a tough, no-nonsense cop who has little patience for Cole's New Age philosophies and outsider attitude. Cole and Campbell have to set aside their differences when they're assigned to track down a serial killer called "The Family Man," for his habit of killing entire households.
The Family Man's latest victims turn out to be Cole's former wife Ellen and her current husband Andrew Dunleavy—and Cole's fingerprints are found on Ellen's body. Cole and Campbell think that Cole's former bosses in the government may somehow be involved in the killings. Cole contacts his friend Smith (Brian Cox), unaware that he has been working with local crime boss Frank Deverell (Bob Gunton).
Cole and Campbell receive a tip that leads them to Christopher Maynard (Stephen Tobolowsky), who admits that he committed the Family Man murders that happened before Cole arrived in Los Angeles. Someone else has been committing the more recent murders and making it look like Maynard's work. Cole fatally shoots Maynard in self defense.
Cole, hoping to get a lead on the new killer, goes to the home of Deverell's Russian translator Celia Roslov (Susan Reno), who was a victim of the killer. Cole finds out that the Roslovs had tickets to Russia paid by Deverell's company. The killer attacks Cole, and later sets Campbell's home on fire after a discussion between Smith and Deverell to kill Campbell, Cole and Johnny(Johnny Strong), Deverell's stepson.
Cole and Campbell discover that Deverell's stepson Johnny (Johnny Strong) knows some important information. Johnny tells Cole and Campbell that Deverell's right-hand man, Donald Cunningham (John M. Jackson), is the new killer who has been making his killings look like Maynard's work.
Johnny also tells them that Smith has been working with Deverell. Cole and Campbell confront Smith, and torture him into revealing that Deverell is smuggling chemical weapons into the USA from Russia, with plans to sell the weapons to the Serbian mafia. Smith made the contacts, with the deal being cut by a group of Russian terrorists known as the Russian Liberation Fighters. The meeting for the deal is scheduled to take place at a downtown welfare hotel. Cole and Campbell storm the hotel, where Cunningham fatally shoots Deverell, and Cole kills Cunningham by throwing him through a window and onto a wrought iron fence below. Campbell, having been shot, tells Cole that, ever since he met him, he's been nothing but trouble. Cole says he'll keep that in mind, as Campbell is taken away in an ambulance.

Review: Segal plays yet another former government operative, now a local police officer/detective, trying to live out his life out of the "business".Shrouded in mystery and controversy, Segal, once again, become a one man wrecking crew taking out everyone and everything, while maintaining his clam, Buddhist/Art of War philosophies in the process.Why on earth they dragged, Keenan Ivory Wayans into a Segal formula movie is beyond me.
in my opinion this is one of Steven Seagal's better films,due in large part to having Keenan Ivory Wayans as a co star.they have good chemistry together.it's also one of his darkest films,at least of those i have seen to date.but there some funny moments to balance things out,comic relief,if you will.the fighting scenes are pretty are good,and as brutal as usual for a Seagal flick.you won't really find much new here,but if you're a Seagal fan,or a fan of the genre,this should keep you satisfied for the most part.by now,with Steven Seagal,you know what you're getting,or at least you should know.i was entertained for around 90 minutes or so.for me,The Glimmer Man is a 7/10.
Neatly crafted action thriller, with Seagal on top wrist-snapping form as a Buddhist cop from New York, with a shadowy past, teamed with Wayans' wisecracking LA cop to investigate the gruesome murders of a serial killer, known as the `Family Man'.
The support cast should have been better but people like Gunton, Cox and Tobolowsky just sink into the mess rather than helping to raise it.Overall this is a watchable "Friday night" style thriller that you will quite enjoy if all you want is watchable action surrounded by messy and clichéd plotting and delivery with "par for the course" acting.
While "The Glimmer Man" isn't any outstanding action movie, I will say that it is still worth watching if you enjoy Steven Seagal movies.
You can enjoy this one, only if you get in with limited expectations.Two cops, played by Seagal and Wayans, are forced to work together to solve a chain of mysterious killings by a killer nicknamed "The Family Man".'The Glimmer Man' isn't pretentious.
This movie has three things going for it: one is Steven Seagal as a mystical character with a shadowy past who does magical things; two Keenan Ivory Wayans as his partner, a man who cries while watching Casablanca; and three John M.
This movie has three things going for it: one is Steven Seagal as a mystical character with a shadowy past who does magical things; two Keenan Ivory Wayans as his partner, a man who cries while watching Casablanca; and three John M.
well i was over at a friend's house with some other folks and he gave us the choice to see a ninja movie, some sappy love story and glimmer man.a good steven seagal comedy would do us all well.and that's all it is.
so if you're looking for some hilarious over the top action comedy (and it's even better cause a lot of the time you're pretty sure that seagal is trying to be serious) then really consider watching glimmer man..
My Age: 13James Cole, played by Steven Seagal, is sent to help Detective Jim Campbell, played by Keenen Ivory Wayans, solve a series of killings in which the victims are crucified.
The Glimmer Man is probably Seagal's darkest film.His other films were action packed and very entertaining.The Glimmer Man is more of a mystery/thriller.There is still quite a bit of action, as well as more comedy than the average Seagal film.Also Seagal and Keenan Ivory Wayans had fairly good chemistry.The plot has Seagal and Wayans trying to catch a serial killer.After the killer murders Seagal's ex-wife they think he did it.So now he has to prove his innocence while trying to catch the real killer, with the help of his partney played by Keenan Ivory Wayans.Now, Glimmer Man is not very original, it's sort of like the movie Seven mixed with your average action/cop/buddy film.But I enjoyed it.It was a bit different from Seagal's other films.
The plot relies on a series of incredibly improbable coincidences; there's a hefty dose of conspiracy theory which would be much more palatable if we didn't know that Seagal takes it all literally; and once again, bad-movie multi-millionaire Seagal tells us all about the evils of The Rich.Seagal's survival relies, as usual, on the fact that Bad Guys never fire their guns from out of arm's reach, and always like to give a little "I'm gonna kill you" speech before blowing a man's head off.Watch this one right after the even-worse *Fire Down Below* and note how the carpet in Keenen Ivory Wayans's apartment is more flammable than a big puddle of gasoline.Oh, and watch in the final fight scene for the Incredible Disappearing Forehead Wound, which is probably the most entertaining thing in the film..
In this se7en-styled knock-off, Steven Seagal and Keenen Ivory Wayans are teamed up together to track down a typically vicious serial killer.Along the way they encounter Russian Mafia who, we learn from this movie, all have tattoos on their forearms, but Seagal, can beat them quite easily.
The heroes don't even try to go to the docks to try and find the container shipment, or use SWAT to storm warehouses that belong to the Russian Mafia.This movie is filled with sub-plots that are, to all ends and purposes, totally irrelevant to the movie.The acting and chemistry between Seagal and Wayans feels forced - but I didn't mind because the action and story kept this movie moving.One of the things I liked about this movie is that half way through Seagal himself is considered a suspect.
It was Not to Be.The Fight Scenes and Gun Battles in this Serial Killer/Corrupt Agents Story are Excellent and Buddy Cop Teamed with Keenan Ivory Wayans, Seagal's Only Embarrassment here is the Wardrobe and Prayer Bead Accessories.Much of the Movie is Gritty, Dark, and Entertaining.
Released in 1996, "The Glimmer Man" is a cop thriller starring Steven Seagal and Keenen Ivory Wayans as a detective team in Los Angeles, the former recently transferring from New York City.
"The Glimmer Man," directed in 1996 by John Gray, is yet another typical Steven Seagal martial arts-action/crime-thriller, but it is undoubtedly one of his better movies from his heyday.
"Under Siege" was not perfect by any means upon its blockbuster release in 1992, but it is unquestionably Seagal's best movie to date (which unfortunately doesn't say much about his wildly hit-and-miss career as a whole).By '96, when "The Glimmer Man" was released, Seagal had become something of a walking parody of himself and a rather formulaic action star; the stoic Aikido martial arts master with a shady government-agent background was quickly wearing itself out.
Cole has since become a homicide detective with strong spiritual leanings (he wears Buddhist prayer beads throughout the film and is quite keen on Eastern religion and philosophy), first in New York and now in Los Angeles, where he's first partnered up with Det. Jim Campbell (Wayans).From the beginning, this movie takes a few pages from the "Se7en" (1995) play-book with trippy editing/cinematography and a serial killer called "The Family Man" (so-called because he murders entire households) with religious motivations behind his serial killings; "Se7en" was still quite popular around this time, hence the reference.
Another wrinkle comes from the fact that Cole's ex-wife is one of the most recent victims of The Family Man, and he is now a suspect.The reason I feel that "The Glimmer Man" is one of Seagal's better vehicles is because 1) there's a believable dynamic between himself and Keenen Ivory Wayans, which makes the movie feel a bit different from his usual stuff because of the added bits of humorous dialogue, and 2) it has some of his best fight/action sequences, despite the fact that it is one of his lesser-regarded films overall.
The fights here are quite brutal (Wayans's Campbell character even gets a few punches in, too, including a battle with an intruder in his apartment) and Seagal finally has an opponent in the end who can actually match him in hand-to-hand combat scenes."The Glimmer Man" is a Steven Seagal movie post-"Under Siege" that is worthy of a "glimmer" of honorable mention amongst his catalog of films.7/10.
Because like it or not, ole' Steve's just good at revenge, man.The latest murder is Cole's ex-wife and her new husband, so he is brought almost miraculously into a personal involvement in the case (that he came from New York to help find a serial killer and then that killer managed to kill his ex-wife is what I call a Movie Miracle), but luckily his partnership with LA Detective Jim Campbell is interesting an amusing enough to carry us past such small snags.Ad by the way, Campbell is played by Keenan Ivory Wayans who, you may have noticed, is one of the Wayans brothers, but don't let that deter you.
But if you save the head for last, like I did, then by the time you bite into the skull you get cold brains squirting into your mouth, and trust me, that's even a little worse than it soundsSo anyway, while tracking the serial killer, it seems that Cole's old boss, played with satisfactory menace by Michael Cox (who you may remember as the movie world's first Hannibal Lecter) is attempting to enter into a shady deal with the Russians to get super-rich off the black market sales of chemical weapons.
Not a good way to make a first impression.There are some good action sequences (if not exactly original) and enough fight scenes to satisfy the Seagal fans (who will admittedly make up most of the audience, except the film critics who warn everyone else away), although it's all made a little goofy by the fact that Lieutenant Cole, at one point, explains that violence is against his religion.
"The Glimmer Man" is mostly just a discount "Lethal Weapon", it relies heavily on Seagal's talent for comedy and the chemistry he has with co-star (well...side-kick) Keenan Ivory Wayans.
This coming from the guy who'd watch Under Siege 2 several days earlier.The Glimmer Man is ACTUALLY an action-thriller film about two cops trying to find a serial killer called the Family Man because he kills and crucifies whole families, what a hoot!
This is Seagal at his best, the movie is kick-ass funny, and for the first time, he does not hog the spotlight and in shares the screen with someone who can kick butt almost as well as he does, and deliver one liners equally well (if not better).LAPD officer Jack Cole, and his new parter detective Campbell, are going after a family killer who crucifies his victims and paints religious art on the walls with there blood.
Cole may have to go rogue to prove his innocence, but not entirely, Campbell trust him even thought, he is getting into lots of trouble around Cole, (and his allergies to Cole Buddist incense, have forced him to purchase lots of herbal medicine made from animal parts).The Glimmer man has a pretty good sense of humour on top of everything else, and there is actually something moderately legitimate in the way of a plot, (this and Under Siege) Nothing feels too gratuitous or unintentionally funny, So if you are gonna pick one Seagal film to see, this might be your best choose.
It served all the new formula's elements (the maverick cop, the marital arts, the buddy comedy, and the hunt of serial killer) but in straight way, without much funniness, and close to the "V" movies yet in big budget._From temperate point of view : Along with being invaluable antique among Seagal's later movies, it looks like a gaudy nosiness that hits its mark; THE ENTERTAINMENT cleverly.
He needs to start making films again like this.Out of Seagal movies this gets a 10 without a doubt.If you think about it Kill Switch could have been the next Glimmer Man if it had half decent camera work and producers..
The Glimmer Man starring Steven Seagal and Keenan Ivory Wayans.
The working team of Steven Seagal and Keenan Ivory Wayans was very good, but still lots of things in this film should have been different.
The film also had some pretty good acting by Steven Seagal, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Bob Gunton, Brian Cox, John M.
Here the veteran action star plays a typical Steven Seagal character, in a formula-bound plot that attempts to travel far on the odd-couple pairing of Seagal and the usually comedic actor / filmmaker Keenen Ivory Wayans.
The two make for a generally agreeable team, even if the movie overall is pretty forgettable.Seagal and Wayans play Jack Cole and Jim Campbell, L.A. homicide detectives working the case of a particularly sick serial killer dubbed The Family Man. Jack is a New Age, spiritual type who frequents a Chinese restaurant and wears beads, Jim is a wise cracking sort who tears up whenever watching "Casablanca".
The Glimmerman has got far more in common with Seagal`s Out For Justice, Hard To Kill, Marked For Death and Above The Law. Steven Seagal plays Jack Cole, a New York cop, who ends up as Jim Campbell`s partner.
The buddy-cop genre gets chop-socky with Steven Seagal as a mystical-heavy cop teaming up with street-smart detective Keenan Ivory Wayans (whose as much as a smart-alec as his younger brother Damon!!) to nab a ruthless serial killer in this cool action flick.
Forget the Psycho killings (no doubt a freudian outcome of the writer's having spent some time in a nun's school), the whole crime plot is just a McGuffin, as the film is a buddy movie comedy disguised -with extraordinary skill- as an action thriller/chiller.Wayans and Seagal engage in funny shenanigans, all the while kicking in sensible body parts to anyone crossing their path.
I enjoyed Seagal's on screen relationship with Keenan Ivory Wayans which gave the movie a Lethal Weapon feel to it.It was back to the days of Hard To Kill and Marked For Death, although the action was spread a little, it is certainly Mr Seagal's best offering since the under seige movies, best fight scene was in the restaurant and with the hope of a decent story and a good script we might see Seagal doing these kind of movies again.As for the comment I read about why it was called The Glimmer Man, well the line in the movie goes "They called him the glimmer man, all you would see was jungle then a glimmer, then you would be dead..
Keenen Ivory Wayans is likably unaggressive as his partner, and the director does his best to emulate the style of "Seven" (minus the intelligence), but (SPOILERS FOLLOW) the whole serial-killer business is actually a big red herring, and the film ultimately turns out to be the typical Seagal actioner.
Steven Seagal, Det. Jack Cole and his partner Det. Jim Campall(Keenen Ivory Wayans), who only seems to be in the movie for comedy relief, are put on the "Family Man" murder case in L.A. The "Family Man" murdered some half dozen families and had them crucified in some weird ritual after they were dead.
After breaking a number of heads and arms and legs of Russian gangsters and Deverell thugs Det. Cole finally gets to the bottom of what is really behind all these killings.The movie is so violent it made me wonder what Seagal, who had a lot of control of the material in the film, was trying to tell his audience, love your fellow man?
The Glimmer Man is set in Los Angeles where ex New York Buddhist homicide detective Jack Cole (producer Steven Seagal) joins a task force lead by detective Jim Campbell (Keenan Ivory Wayans) who are hunting an active serial killer dubbed 'The Family Man' because of his ritualistic slaying's of entire families.
The script by Kevin Brodbin takes itself very seriously & one feels it tries to marry a dark serial killer thriller storyline not too dissimilar to the excellent Se7en (1995) which was a big box-office success the previous year together with the brutal violent action & martial arts of some of Seagal's previous better films like Out for Justice (1992), Under Siege (1992) it's sequel Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995) in particular which is an uneasy combination The Glimmer Man fails at spectacularly.
The serial killer plot is there just for the hell of it & is totally abandoned by the halfway mark in favour of a buddy buddy mismatched partner cop action thriller like Lethal Weapon (1987), in fact The Glimmer Man feels like little bits & pieces, themes & ideas from various similar (much better) films all strung together in a rather lazy, routine & predictable narrative.
He's teamed-up with wisecracking Detective Jim Campbell (Keenan Ivory Wayans, who did not like Seagal) to catch 'The Family Man'; a serial killer who crucifies families (actually just the parents).
With a higher humour content than before (mostly in the form of Wayans), a plot which actually requires you to think, and the expected action and fight scenes, THE GLIMMER MAN is nothing amazing but it's solid entertainment and a bit better than some other action films of today..
great buddy movie starring steven seagal and keenon ivory wayans.
The Glimmer Man (1996): Dir: John Gray / Cast: Steven Seagal, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Michelle Johnson, Brian Cox, Stephen Tobolowsky: Pointless bag of trash that uses creative expressions of violence as entertainment.
Steven Seagal stars as a bead wearing Buddhist cop called the Glimmer Man, and Keenan Ivory Wayans is his partner.
Steven Seagal is a martial artist who came to fame in the late 80s actioner ABOVE THE LAW, starring in films such as HARD TO KILL, MARKED FOR DEATH, OUT FOR JUSTICE & his all-time best work, UNDER SIEGE.