Marked for Death * (1990, Steven Seagal, Joanna Pacula, Basil Wallace) – Classic Movie Review 10,192

Director Dwight H Little’s plodding 1990 violence-by-numbers crime ‘thriller’ Marked for Death [Screwface] stars the era’s hot action man Steven Seagal as Chicago DEA agent John Hatcher, a retired drug-busting operative marked for death by a fearsome Jamaican drug dealer called Screwface (Basil Wallace).

Beefy, pony-tailed Seagal performs the stunts with cold efficiency. His acting could be called utterly expressionless, except that he does boast one expression – looking cross. How can virtually non-stop action be quite so boring?

It was heavily cut by the British censor for an 18 rating, with edits to an eye gouging, a back breaking, a neck break and arm breaking scenes, though the violent scenes are still objectionable. However, the uncut version was passed with a 15 rating in 2013.

Marked for Death is marked for oblivion.

Also in the cast are Joanna Pacula, Basil Wallace, Keith David, Tom Wright, Elizabeth Gracen, Bette Ford, Danielle Harris, Al Israel, Arlen Dean Snyder and Jimmy Cliff.

Seagal sought Dwight H Little as director after seeing his Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers (1988).

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,192

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