Half Past Dead ** (2002, Steven Seagal, Morris Chestnut, Ja Rule, Linda Thorson, Nia Peeples, Tony Plana, Korupt)– Classic Movie Review 12,982

Steven Seagal kicks more butt in a highly serviceable slice of action, the 2002 American action film Half Past Dead.

Writer/ director Don Michael Paul’s 2002 American action film Half Past Dead stars Steven Seagal, Morris Chestnut, Ja Rule, Linda Thorson, Nia Peeples, Tony Plana, and Korupt.

Steven Seagal kicks more butt in a highly serviceable slice of action, this time playing an undercover FBI agent called Sasha Petrosevitch, who poses as a Russian car thief.

This more than adequate, well-shot, busy and fast-moving action thriller is set around a siege on the new jail at New Alcatraz, where Morris Chestnut’s ’49ers’ mob of bad guys have staged a daring helicopter raid to rescue a Death Row prisoner (Bruce Weitz), who has a hidden $200 million fortune in stolen gold.

When the chopper crashes, they seize a high court judge (Linda Thorson) and put her in the electric chair in place of the real killer. It’s up to Seagal to save the day with a band of convicts and rescue Thorson.

Seagal is back on form in this surprisingly enjoyable action thriller, with well-staged fights and impressive stunts. Morris Chestnut looks too sweet to play the chief bad guy, but no matter, he goes through the motions successfully enough.

Also in the cast are Michael Bear Taliferro, Claudia Christian, Bruce Weitz, Michael McGrady, Hannes Jaenicke, Matt Battaglia, William T Bowers, Ross King, and Stephen J Cannell.

It was shot in Germany.

Half Past Dead is directed by Don Michael Paul, runs 98 minutes, is made by Franchise Pictures and Modern Media, is released by Screen Gems (through Sony Pictures Releasing) and Columbia Pictures, is written by Don Michael Paul, is shot by Michael Slovis, is produced by Christopher Eberts, Andrew Stevens and Elie Samaha, is scored by Tyler Bates, and is designed by Albrecht Konrad.

Release date: November 15, 2002.It was released on DVD in the US on 4 March 2003.

It grossed $19.2 million worldwide against its $25 million production budget but DVD helped it out.

A direct-to-video sequel Half Past Dead 2 starring Kurupt and Tony Plana – but minus Steven Seagal, Morris Chestnut and Ja Rule – was released  on 15 May 2007.

Andrew Stevens is the only child of actress Stella Stevens, starting out as an actor. Later he became president/ CEO of Franchise Pictures, producing films for Warner Bros from 1999 to 2005, including The Whole Nine Yards, The Whole Ten Yards, and The In-Laws. But Franchise and its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 19 August 2004 after losing a multi-million-dollar fraud case in Los Angeles, and is now defunct.

Steven Seagal and Dame Imelda Staunton act together in Shadow Man.

© Derek Winnert 2024 – Class.ic Movie Review 12,982

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