Ferite mortali

Pretty straightforward action flick that is absolutely ridiculous and yet I can forgive it. You see there was nothing I loved more as a child than watching the movie heros fight the bad guys and ultimately take them out to restore peace to the free world. However, somewhere in the mid-90's, these kind of films (which I have appropriately labelled "The Big Dumb Action Movies") became a lost art and gave way to newer more complex action thrillers. In some instances this was for the better and in other instances, let's just say you were left longing for the days of old when Johnny Rambo dashed acrossed a battlefield in the jungle with his extra powerful M-60 machine gun and mowed down some Commie scum. One of the men at the frontline of the old action genre movies was Steven Seagal. His older movies were an action fan's wet dream. They had lots of shooting, lots of brutal fight scenes, and the occasional trademark Seagal staredown. Nevermind the fact that the man couldn't act well even if his children were kidnapped and one of the ransom demands from the kidnappers was for not only $5 million dollars but also for Seagal to play at least one scene in a new movie with a different tone of voice and a different facial expression.

But the entertainment was there and when I saw "Exit Wounds," I was automatically thrown back into the mind of a young boy all over again. Here's a movie that gives an old fan of action exactly what they could ever hope for. Lots of martial arts, lots of great shootouts, and over the top stunts (maybe with a little bit of help from those damn cables and CGI but let us ignore this for the time being). This movie is a lot of fun and I was glad to see Seagal make a return to the kind of movie that people actually will pay to see him in, even if this is just a one time deal for the pony tail sporting Aikdo artist. If it is simple minded action you crave, then you can't go wrong with "Exit Wounds," which is really more of a throwback than anything. When you see the legendary action film veteran Bill Duke on the screen with those crazy eyes, you know you're officially watching a "Big Dumb Action Movie."

In the movie there is action , tongue-in-cheek , struggles of Kung Fu style , pursuits , comedy and packs a lot of bemusement . This is a buddy movie action film with nice protagonists as Steven Seagal , DMX and Isaiah Washington Jr .Elaborately produced action film with two-fisted Seagal is just another action film full of struggles , thrills, noisy action , car crashes and lots of violence . Ever-wooden Seagal as almost always , playing a stalwart and loner fighter cop eliminating enemies of incredible manners , as he delivers the goods in his own style full of usual violence and fights with snapping wrists and worth it just to see Steve in action . He's Orin Boyd (Steven Seagal) , a Detroit cop who after saving the Vice President by violating every order he received he is transferred to one of the worst precincts in the city commanded by a stubborn boss , Annette Mulcahy (Jill Hennessy ) . Shortly after , he encounters a cobweb of corruption and dirty policemen . What Can Two Men Do Against A Gang Of Crooked Cops? Whatever It Takes. This Is Gonna Hurt .

Well-paced action film with two-fisted Seagal is just another action film full of struggles , thrills , noise and lots of violence with overwhelming and breathtaking set pieces . Violent and not particularly literary but worthy entry in action genre and realized in ¨Seagal¨ style . Wooden Seagal plays the violent Orin Boyd , he cleans up the city by means of punches , kicks and leaps by using abundant martial arts with fights certainly slick . Ever-wooden Seagal as almost always , playing a stalwart and loner fighter cop , he delivers the goods in his own style full of usual violence and fights with snapping wrists and worth it just to see Steve in action . Performances are middling but it's an action film where important are the quarrels and the pursuits . He picture was made in the Seagal's best period when he played high budget movies such as ¨Hard to kill¨(1990 by Bruce Malmuth) , ¨Under siege¨ ( Seagal's best film to date, 92) , and the sequel titled : ¨Dark territory¨ (1995, Geoff Murphy), ¨Executive decision¨ (96 by Stuart Baird), ¨Glimmer man¨ (96, John Gray) , ¨Exit wounds¨(2001, Andre Bartkowiak) , among others . Nowadays ,he does fairly low standards, lesser budget and direct to video , such as ¨Half past dead¨, ¨The foreigner¨ and its sequel, ¨Shadow man ¨, ¨Flight of fury¨, ¨Urban justice¨ and many others . Co-stars the recently deceased DMX who performed three nice action films : Romeo must die , Exit Wounds and Cradle 2 The Grave along with Seagal , Jet Li and Anthony Anderson. Cradle 2 the grave is not only the 2nd film to star DMX, Jet Li, and Anthony Anderson together , it is the first film where all three of them share screen time with each other . All three of them starred in Romeo Must Die . Support cast is pretty good , such as : Isaiah Washington , Anthony Anderson , Michael Jai White , Jill Hennessy , Bill Duke , Tom Arnold , Bruce McGill , David Vadim and Eva Mendes . Here stands out Tom Arnold and Anthony Anderson who interpret a humorous and first-rate couple .

It contains a colorful and evocative cinematography by Glen MacPherson . As well as a thrilling and stirring musical score by Damon 'Grease' Blackman and Jeff Rona . The motion picture was regular but professionally directed by Andrzej Bartowiak . This filmmaker as member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) is considered to be one of the best cameramen and occassionaly has directed some movies . Breakthrough film was his work as a cameraman on the gritty urban thriller Prince of City (1981) , his first collaboration with Sidney Lumet. Bartkowiak worked on the director's next 11 films over the next 12 years. Bartkowiak became much in demand after his taut camera work in Speed (1994) and has worked twice for Barbra Streisand in Nuts (1987) and The mirror has two faces (1996) . Rating Exit Wounds(2001) : 5.5/10 , mediocre but entertaining . Acceptable and passable.

I had believed that Steven Seagal's exit wounds would be as good as under siege 2 which was his best film. Exit wounds does start well with a good fight scene but unfortunately the film lacks pace & too often wonders around going nowhere. IT could certainly have done without tom arnold who turns up as unwanted as a weak bowel.

DMX whoever he is seems comfortable in his role but I never really found out what his operation was. The bad cops in the film were good & there was plenty of decent action with them.

Steven Seagal once again proves himself as a top class actor with those scowls & frowns & that calmness he displays everytime he appears in a scene

Not a bad film but a liitle long

I went into this movie with the no expectations, except to see a cheesy action flick. This means I desired high-flying, over-the-top action that includes lots of cool martial arts, mushroom cloud explosions, high speed car chases and catastrophic crashes, and ultra-violent death scenes. Boy does this movie deliver!

I've been reading some of the other user reviews here on imdb and many are saying this is Seagal's best flick. I would probably agree that it is close. His stiff under-acting makes him perfect for this Dirty Harry type part.

The plot is nothing new. Seagal is a strung-out lone ranger cop who plays by his own rules...well you know the type, this character has been used in countless movies. Basically, Seagal's character finally goes too far (by throwing the Vice President off a bridge no less!) Thus, Seagal gets demoted down to the most dangerous precinct in town. Once there, he begins to discover crooked cops and internal conspiracies. With no one to trust and people trying (emphasis on "trying") to kill him left and right, Seagal starts kicking ass and taking names.

Yes I know, this storyline is as old as they come, but I maintain that cheesy action flicks aren't about great or novel plot lines. No, cheesy action flicks are about great action with all the things I listed above, in which, this movie delivers the goods with a bang.

This movie also stars DMX, who is surprisingly competent as one of the main and most interesting characters of the movie. Generally good performances all around. I never noticed any laughably bad acting. Flashy directing and nice production design are also bonuses. This tired plot even still manages a few interesting twists (I won't reveal anything for those who haven't seen the movie, but lets just say everyone is not how they seem, including the bad guys).

FINAL RATING: 7/10 - As good as a cliched action flick can be. Semi-interesting characters, a few plot twists here and there, steady, interesting action, flashy directing, decent performances, plenty of cool explosions, exciting car chases, and numerous excellent violent death scenes. This movie is truly the creme de la creme of cheesy action flicks! Recommended for all action lovers!

Noob Aalox

Dumb, unbelievable action film, but jeeze, it's Seagal. At least he's lost the ponytail and he's not making the world safe for trees. Not quite as full of himself, in other words, but still pretty full. What made his first few films so terrific was his incorporation of real Aikido; eventually, he started doing something with only minimal relation to that art. Not to mention getting fat and pompous.

I've never been terribly bothered by the fact that the man can't act, because he was fun to watch. For years, though, he hasn't been fun and he still can't act. There's more action here, and less Steven Seagal standing around looking full of himself -- that's a big improvement right there.

I notice a lot of "who needs a plot, it's an action film!" comments on this and other movies. Action is great but a little effort on plot makes for a more interesting movie. Throwing in innumerable scenes set in topless joints (what is *that* all about?) doesn't make up for a storyline.