Attrition

I don't rate it as a bad movie. It has great cinematography moments but the overall bland story line and slow pace really make you want to switch it off at time. Someone said in his/her review that this movie should be watched at 2X and I fully agree with him/her. To me it carries hints on Seagal being inspired from movies like Ip Man and Equilibrium. The action shots are good but not great though some are very good. On the positive note, brief encounters are what Seagal was loved for and they are still there in his (plus his double's) fights. What i this guitar for in the end, by the way?

An American action thriller. Next stop Southeast Asia for Steven Seagal. This is a martial arts action film with a moral message, and a heart, about people trafficking. The main theme: one who aims to live a spiritual life will eventually be tested by a quandry, that by not facing and acting against an evil deed by another, one's spiritual integrity is undermined. "Attrition" is slickly produced with higher production values and better direction than any of Seagal's films since "Exit Wounds". I especially enjoyed the set design and the atmosphere it succeeded in creating. With a good supporting cast of impressive martial arts practitioners the film moves along smoothly though some of the dialogue is facile if not overly philosophical. All in all, it's a film that falls short because of its ending - a very short third act of predictable slaughter with very little resistance from the foes. Nevertheless, it is moderately enjoyable up to and including the finale.

Nothing new or interesting here. Steven Seagal's character is basically "Mr. Perfect", he's totally untouchable. All his fights are completely one sided as he does a poor job imitating a Wing Chung master. And he's obviously the most spiritually enlightened and wisest man in the film as he preaches words of wisdom in his usual monotone voice. The only real entertainment to be found is Steven Seagal is so ridiculous, that he is unintentionally funny. I recommend the film as a action comedy, but if your looking for serious action with a well written script, then skip this movie.

I'll always remember Steven seagal in his best acting days when he was slimmer and was actually doing the fighting scenes. Nowadays I just watch his movies because I really hope that he's slimmed down and doing the fighting scenes without the stunt double that is so visibly seen fighting for him. It's so bad. At this point I think he just needs to stop acting and maybe just watch himself in his movies from back in the day and maybe teach the theory of martial arts.

Weird movie, but this is actually one of the least crappy Steven Seagal movies for years.

The fighting is much better than usual. And no - it's not Aikido this time. It's primarily Wing Chun and some traditional kung fu. And Steven Seagal does a decent job in his fight scenes.

The story is not really easy to understand, and the dialogue is sometimes pure nonsense.

But - it's a nice movie for those of us who used to be fans of Steven Seagal just because of the choreography.