User reviews

A thought came up to me as I was watching Hard to Kill (1990). After I watched the film, I was reminded of the Kill Bill movies, and I wondered if Hard to Kill's plot inspired Quentin Tarantino to make the series. It looks so. Both Hard to Kill, and the two Kill Bill movies are all revenge pictures, but with two very different characters. Both characters are shot dead and put into a coma, and both wake up several years later to exact revenge on their enemies. And while I prefer the bloody entertaining Kill Bill movies more, I will say that Hard to Kill is a mildly entertaining action flick.

The film stars Steven Seagal, who plays L.A. cop Mason Storm, who videotapes a mobster being contracted by thugs to kill someone. Storm can't get a clear image of the man who has hired the mobster, but recognizes the voice. But then Storm is caught, and a hit is put on him. More thugs are sent to his home, where they kill him and his wife and kid.

But there's a catch. Storm isn't quite dead, but in a coma, and after seven years, he wakes up in a hospital, where the thugs arrive to finish him off. How they manage to find out that he's alive and well is unknown to me. Storm manages to save himself and a cute nurse, Andy Stewart (Kelly LeBrock), and they decide to take shelter in Andy's cottage, where Storm heals himself by inserting fine needles into his skin, and practices his Aikido.

He soon realizes that a corrupt senator (William Sadler) put the hit on him, and he decides to take him down, along with a crooked cop (Andrew Bloch) who's involved in the scheme.

Seagal is effective here as the cop-turned-crusader, but his character is less convincing, than his Nico Toscani in his earlier feature film, Above the Law (1988). Perhaps, the best fight sequence happens at a liquor store robbery where Seagal takes on four thugs.

There are some strong performances, from the supporting actors. But Kelly LeBrock, who gets second billing, needed more in her role as the nurse, but it is quite obvious that she was placed into the film, because she was Seagal's wife at the time. We don't get to know much about her character, and we almost feel like she has a thankless role here.

William Sadler is hateful in his role as the corrupt senator and Frederick Coffin is convincing as Seagal's ex-partner who holds something dear to Seagal. Something I feel I should not reveal.

Hard to Kill is not up to par with the earlier Above the Law, or Under Siege (1992). Seagal's first two films were good efforts, but then he shifted down to less enjoyable roles in movies, that considered placing large amounts of graphic violence and martial arts combat into his movies, in order for them to become a big hits, like his later film, Marked for Death (1990).

Hard to Kill works as an entertainment (the martial arts sequences are convincing), in spite of its preposterous plotting (hero wakes up in a coma and defeats the bad guys). It's mildly entertaining, but compared to some of his worst efforts, it's one of Seagal's best.

This movie is absolutely HILARIOUS.

If people even know who Steven Segal is, they should already know what they are getting into before they start playing this movie (meaning that it is FULL of plot holes, jumps in logic, continuity errors, outrageous stunts, etc).

That having been said, this movie is so much fun to watch it more than makes up for its shortcomings. Watch this movie with a group of friends that enjoy laughing at unintentionally ridiculous action and I guarantee it will deliver in spades - I found it to be a lot funnier than most comedies.

Wow. The Seagal movies just keep on coming. Right after I commented on 'Out For Justice', I caught the horrible 'Out for a Kill' on pay TV, and then 'Hard to Kill' came on after that on free-to-air. With any luck, the most awesome of all Seagal's movies - 'Under Siege' - will be on sometime soon, but for now, 'Hard to Kill' was rather awesome.

Seagal plays Mason Storm, a cop investigating links between some mobsters, crooked cops, and crooked politician, and suddenly everything turns into a 'Kill Bill' prototype: The bad guys kill Storm's family, and leave him for dead. After waking up from a seven-year coma, Storm sets out for vengeance.

'Hard to Kill' is an entertaining action movie. The amount of limb-snapping may be lower than usual for a Seagal movie, but the fight scenes are good. An added bonus is the fact that 'Hard to Kill' features some of Seagal's best lines and moments ("I'm gonna take you to the bank, Senator Trent. To the blood bank!"). The hide and seek scene has got to be the best scene Seagal has ever filmed.

'Hard to Kill' rates as one of my favourite Seagal movies, and certainly much better than anything he's done lately. Seagal fans should get a kick out of this - 7/10

Steven Seagal, whether you love him or loathe him, he's the martial arts action hero that just won't go away. That's partially the premise of "Hard to Kill," the 1990 vehicle obviously meant to throw the pony-tailed, then-sixth-degree Aikido black belt into the action foray with Schwarzenegger, Stallone and Norris, but missed a few steps along the way and it would be another two years after when Seagal would find success in 1992's "Under Siege."

It's true that Seagal has yet to make a perfect film in his thoroughly uneven and distinguished career, but "Hard to Kill" certainly ranks as one of his best and one of my personal favorite pictures of the actor. Two years after breaking and busting the heads of corrupt CIA agents as Nico Toscani in his electrifying 1988 debut "Above the Law," Seagal returns not as the pony-tailed Toscani but as Mason Storm, the most unstoppable cop SOB that ever lived.

After getting home movie footage of an aspiring political candidate (Bill Sadler) conspiring with shadowy underworld types on tape, Storm is tracked down by corrupt cops and nameless and faceless goons and they shotgun the unstoppable SOB into a seven-year coma while also wiping out his wife and young son. O'Malley (Frederick Coffin), Storm's dedicated Internal Affairs friend, whisks him away into a coma-care unit under the assumed name of "John Doe."

Seven years later, Storm awakens and with the help of gorgeous nurse Andy Stewart (Seagal's then real-life, lovestruck wife Kelly Le Brock, who manages to catch peaks at our hero's anatomy), he trains intensely to regain his strength using the Oriental healing arts, renews his Aikido skills, and sharpens his eyes with that good ol' police-issue. All this culminating in some very nasty, neck-breaking, arm-twisting action.

As somewhat mis-directed by Bruce Malmuth and written by Steven McKay, "Hard to Kill" is undoubtedly one of the actor's most competently skilled performances because he's able to rise above the average material and make it his own. The problem may be with Seagal though. He snaps a few wrists and what's this? - he throws out one-liners - most of which are quite corny and fall flat on their face and simply put aren't Seagal's strong points. His strengths are in the arm-snapping and finger-breaking.

But still, Seagal's fists of fury are at their best (because that's what he does best) because this time around, he's mad and it's wise to not get characters played by Steven Seagal mad. Pretty soon after Storm has regained his skills and strength, the corrupt cops and goons that put him into his coma come back to finish the job. And this time, he's ready.

The action begins to pick up about half-way through and from there on in it's non-stop, which is true Seagal fashion, if you get my drift. But with "Hard to Kill," it's the seven-year Storm, and there's no letting up.

6/10

The picture talks on the police agent called Storm(Seagal)whose family is wiped out by a corrupt politician, he is severely wounded and spends several years in coma.He awakes and executes a terrible vendetta, the happenings go out of control ,causing an incredible body-count against numerous evil-doers(William Sadler,Branscombe Richmond).He is only helped by a gorgeous nurse(his wife Kelly Le Brock,now days is divorced)and a good cop(Frederick Coffin). The film is combined of unstopped action,shoot out,violence,fighting, romance between both protagonists and a minimum characterization.Beside abundant fist fights in which body parts are slice off and limbs are slit or blasted apart.Savage and brutal killings make only recommended for those adults no squeamish and with strong stomach enough to take it.The movie gets a certain similarity with Charles Bronson films from ¨Death wish¨series for the matter,the avenger,thus the main personage ,the Vigilante, makes of judge,jury and executioner.It's a run a mill action movie because from the start until the end the action packed is continued ,in fact ,the final confrontation is breathtaking and extremely violent.The film is from Steven Seagal first period when the movies were of middling or high budget(Above the law,Marked for death,Out of justice,On deadly ground,The patriot),nowdays are of bow budget(Out of kill,Submerged,Foreigner,Black Dawn). The picture has an atmospheric synthesizer music fitting to action by David Michael Frank,nicely cinematography by Matthew F. Leonetti and is well realized by Bruce Malmuth.The motion picture provides fast and furious amusing and action nonstop with no sense developed with fast pace and movement.It's a must for the Seagal fans.

An American action thriller; A story about a police detective who uncovers high-level corruption and is attacked and his family are left for dead. In time he decides to pay them a visit. This is a lively and ambitious revenge flick and does a little more than simply string fight scenes together. It has some similarity to "Commando" (1985) in the way the action flows - villains are disposed of with great efficiency because there are so many to get through and there isn't much depth. Seagal and Le Brock strike up a friendship which is appealing but when this transforms to love interest it feels false because it is rushed and convenient to the plot progression and no more. The film wastes no time in satisfying the audience's bloodlust but uppermost in its appeal is the charisma of Seagal and his aikido movements to disarm his foes.

I have to admit I am not a fan of Steven Seagal and some of his movies. Under Siege will always be his best film to me, but Hard to Kill is one of Seagal's better movies. I admit, the plot is implausible in places, though it is not as predictable or derivative as Seagal's films tended to become later on, the music sounds dated and tacky(my opinion) and the dialogue can be weak. However on the whole I did enjoy Hard to Kill. The action is well choreographed and fun, the pace is not sluggish or dull as I admittedly expected it to be and the film doesn't look slip shod or cheap. Steven Seagal doesn't give an award worthy performance, but it is one that is intelligible and more energetic than he would become in outings like Out for a Kill. Kelly LeBrock is an alluring and convincing partner, and she works fairly well with Seagal, while William Sadler is also enjoyable. Overall, imperfect but one of the better Segal films. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Once again, Steven Seagal plays a cop, and this could have been the sequel to Above The Law(his first film). Steven Seagal is Mason Storm, and is gunned down with his family in 1984, after having taped a famous person discussing murder. However, Mason doesn`t die that easily, and he wakes up from his coma 6 years later. He escapes from the hospital, falls in love with his nurse, and begins hunting down the people who killed his family. The storyline in this movie is pretty basic Seagal-stuff: brotherhood, revenge etc. Overall a very entertaining movie, and the fight scenes are well fought by martial-art master Steven Seagal. 8/10

A police officer staking out drug-lords, videotapes an ambitious senator to be's dirty dealings with the mob and suffice to say gunmen come a gunning for him and his family a few hours later, this puts our cop in a coma and when he awakens seven years later, it's time for revenge. Hard To Kill is one of Seagal's better action flicks, it contains all the akidio and mean spirited breaking of arms but also the story is stronger and Seagal is in excellent form. The one liners are somewhat cheesy but Hard To Kill works on a visceral level and one doesn't go in expecting more.

* *1/2 out of 4-(Pretty good)

"Hard to Kill" is bar-none the best Steven Seagal film by a cosmic mile. That is not saying that this is a masterpiece, but it works pretty well due to some really evil bad guys (led by William Sadler) and the fact that Seagal's character is legitimately out for revenge. Seagal is a cop who has just learned that Sadler, an ambitious lawyer with political aspirations, is involved with shady cops and high-class crime syndicates. This information will lead to an attempt on Seagal's life which will kill his wife, cause their young son to just barely escape death and cause Seagal to go into a coma himself. Of course he awakes some eight years later and his only motivation is to bring all those involved to justice. Works well due to Seagal's performance more than anything else. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Steven Seagal is a hard man to kill. Especially when he's out to stop corruption. Watch out thugs and government officials (oh we know how corrupt they are). As Seagal hands out plenty of broken arms, but before getting warmed up (although he does encounter some thugs in a shop outlet) he's gunned down in his home with his family murdered. After being comatose for 7 years he awakes and now he's out to settle a score. All the best moments come when Seagal is laying flat in bed doing nothing and everything after that is a bonus. Where can you get a comatose Seagal with long stringy hair, a fuzzy beard, Kelly Labrock asking if he wants a little pussy and then putting a little kitten by his head. Oh there are some priceless dialogues… also Seagal's usual philosophical banter. Before exacting revenge… He's targeted but escapes from the hospital while still lying in his bed. On the run he recovers with Labrock in a secluded house that she's house-sitting. Now we go through the motions… Seagal's motions. Healing physically and mentally… the Buddha way. Being stoically humorous, running up hills, breaking wooden planks and thinking of the past. Then he gets a little bored (decked back in black leather jacket, tight jeans and sporting the slick ponytail); but he doesn't have to go to them as they come to him. His almighty senses come to light (you know that sixth sense) and formulaic taut action erupts. Simple-minded revenge - brutal, scorching and explosive. Don't think about it (ridiculously plotted), just enjoy it. It's a tough, unpleasant barrage of set-pieces and we know how Seagal enjoys playing fair. The bad guys are your typical smarmy lot and cop a beating, a painful beating. "I'm gonna take you to the bank… . The blood bank".

Yes, here he was "Hard to Kill", then he would be "Marked for Death" and finally "Out for Justice". I think there was another three titled movie before this one, but I did not see that one. This one had the best plot of the three that I saw, in fact the second one does not really have all that much plot and the third one made "Marked for Death" look like it had a super plot because it (Out for Justice) had no real plot to speak off. All three feature kick butt fighting that usually has Segal kicking some butt with little doubt who the victor is going to be. Which that makes for some pleasing watching the villain get beat up, but it kind of takes anyway any tension you might feel watching the film. However, this one features some gun play in it that adds to the film as would "Marked for Death". This one has Segal as a cop who records a deal that could really do damage to a guy. Well the guy sends some guys to gun down him and his family. However, while they are seemingly successful at killing the wife and child Segal's character ends up in a coma and when he wakes up they are promptly back on his heels. Well he uses some nifty healing tricks and soon is on the bad guys heels. Kelly LeBrock of "Weird Science" fame is in it and plays a nurse and this is like the only other movie that I have seen her in. Rather good, has nice action and is my favorite of the three movies I listed.

Hard to kill? He's impossible to kill! Yes thousands of bullets fly about but not one so much as ruffles Mr Segal's hair. (Mind you with all the gel I'm not surprised.) On the other hand his many assailants are all too easy to kill. As the years go by it gets harder to see why Segal was once a hot box office property. His acting is non-existent, every line, be it a quip or a pledge, is delivered in a flat, inflection free monotone. His martial arts skills are no more exceptional than many other screen heroes. His ego is simply enormous The ultra-serious tone of his films, no matter how inane the plots only make them more ridiculous. Kelly Le Brock actually manages to match his woodeness, rendering their scenes together excruciating. The right-wing morals of the film are somewhat basic too. Never more so than the scene where Segal snaps a man's neck in front of his son, only for the kid to run up and give his dad a big hug as if he had just been given a Christmas present. And these are supposed to be the nice guys?

Steven Seagal plays a police officer investigating a potential underground deal on a local pier when he is discovered. Later that night, his family is brutally murdered in front of him and he is left for dead. Actually in a coma, he wakes up seven years later and with the help of a nurse tries to track down the men who killed his wife. (The audience knows from the very beginning, but Seagal has to jog his memory.) Of the Seagal films, all of which basically have the same idea, this is one of the best. An early scene shows Seagal busting up a robbery at a local liquor store, throwing the robbers through glass doors and into display cases. This is what you're going to see again and again throughout the film, so if you don't want to see men get their arms twisted and bodies thrown in the air, you're watching the wrong movie. But you should know this if you know who Seagal is.

William Sadler co-stars as the evil senator bent on gaining ultimate power. This is one of Sadler's earlier roles, but a fairly large one. Unfortunately for him, he has to say the line "you can take that to the bank" around fifteen times. It really only needed to be said three or four to get the point across. Everything after that just suggests the writers had short-term memory and assumed the audience does, too.

Kicks, punches, arm twists and such. Steven Seagal. If this is what you want, this is your film. Sure, the film is critically not rated very high, and that's understandable -- it's not a "deep" film by any means. It's just a lot of butt-kicking. But you knew that, didn't you?

'Hard to Kill' is Predictable, Yet Fun. Eternal Bad-Ass Steven Seagal, like always, delivers a spirited & energetic performance.

'Hard to Kill' Synopsis: Detective Mason Storm, who falls into a coma after being shot during a fire-fight that killed his wife Felicia and son Sonny, reawakens seven years later to find his son alive and seeks vengeance with the coma-ward nurse and his old partner.

'Hard to Kill' never tries to be path-breaking, and that is its biggest plus point. It remains true to its premise & offers entertainment. Steven McKay's Screenplay is engaging. Bruce Malmuth's Direction is passable. Cinematography & Editing, are functional. Action-Sequences are excellent.

Performance-Wise: Seagal is an Eternal Bad-Ass, and in here, like always, he delivers a spirited & energetic performance. Kelly LeBrock looks amazing & does a credible job. Frederick Coffin is adequate. William Sadler is perfect. Branscombe Richmond lends support.

On the whole, 'Hard to Kill' is a winner.

For Steven Seagal, it was a lucky break for him to catch popularity as an action star. Any later in the 1980s and his name may not have made as big a splash as it initially did. Thanks to the success of Above the Law (1988), Seagal was seen as an upcoming asset for Warner Brothers and was being looked at as competition against other high profile 1980s actioneers like Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris. Encouraging this prediction was this film. Unfortunately even for its financial success, Seagal's second film entry isn't anything ground breaking. As an overall product, it works but it's nothing special or unique. It's just a useful time waster. There are elements that work for the film but they're only equal to the flaws that flood the production.

Steven Seagal plays Mason Storm, a cop who had a lead on a mysterious crime boss looking to get into power by running for congress. Due to unfortunate circumstances, Storm's cover gets blown and is attacked while at home with his family. Thought to be dead, Storm awakes from a coma in a hospital 7 years later and discovers the crime boss is still at large. It's at that point Storm decides to finish what he began. Although much of its premise has been seen many a time before, it's an acceptable one. Written by Steven McKay (Darkman II: The Return of Durant (1995)), his work here isn't bad but it isn't very good either. One of the biggest questions that don't make any sense is how was Storm's identity kept secret for so long? The reason is actually given later on but how did these villains not check up on that? That's really sloppy guys. Also, it turns out the film was heavily edited down, which explains the actual seen to how Storm was kept hidden from his enemies. However with that stated, credit can not be given for something that doesn't exist in the final product because no one else will know until they bother to lookup the information (if they're that curious).

The other problem with McKay's writing is the suspense used for its villain. There really is no pay off to the realization of which the antagonist is. Not only is it revealed way ahead of time but also is only more clear as day due to a key phrase the character says. Mind you he says it after every claim he makes. Yet, another character clearly states that over the 7 years Storm was out, nobody could find any patterns. Sounds straightforward to me. The acting for the most part is fine. Steven Seagal has a number of good one-liners and his relationship with Lt. Kevin O'Malley (Frederick Coffin) feels authentic. Coffin and Seagal's role have the most real feeling relationship as two cops who have their backs. Then there's Kelly LeBrock (who happened to be Seagal's wife during the time). Slightly looking like a cheaper version of Angelina Jolie, LeBrock plays Andy Stewart, a nurse at the hospital that Storm wakes up in and ends up following until the ends of the earth. For what she portrays, it's fairly typical. However, this is nothing compared to her English/Australian accent she tries to pass with. It is very weak.

The action was applaudable though. In fact, the amount of shoot outs and fist fights that occur feel a bit more frequent than the action sequences in Above the Law (1988). Plus, there are some more unique kill scenes too. For example, don't get angry with Steven Seagal while you're playing pool. Not a smart idea. The pacing on the other hand is a different story. Directed by Bruce Malmuth (Nighthawks (1981)) and edited by John F. Link, these two crewmembers seem to have clashing agendas. For the action scenes, Link provides tight editing that keeps things moving quickly. Yet as a whole, Bruce Malmuth's directorial skills end up slowing everything down no matter the quantity of action scenes. Much of the direction is the crime boss' henchmen trying to kill Storm. This is fine, but for a cat and mouse chase there should be fewer slow paced parts than fast. Link was working on getting that down but it seemed like Malmuth had other plans. This just makes the sit feel rather sluggish in general.

The cinematography and music however attempted to reclaim some of the bad parts of the film. The film score, although hardly memorable at least had themes for its characters. Produced by David Michael Frank, a composer who's known for his fondness in synth compositions, doesn't stray far from that. Using a lot of keyboard and percussion, Frank demonstrates he can at least produce music with a signature style according to him. Matthew F. Leonetti (brother of John R. Leonetti) shot the cinematography. And although a large percentage of the film is shot at night or indoors, there are daylight and landscape shots that look great. A very good-looking scene is where Seagal is training in rural landscape. Seagal even climbs up a mountain and the view is magnificent. The action choreography is also well done and isn't shaky enough to disorient its viewers. Nice.

It's not a good film but it isn't a total loss either. It has decent cinematography, music, acting (almost all) and energetic action. A lot its problems come from its sluggish pacing and rather nonsensically obvious writing that none of the characters seem to understand.

Some repellent violence and a relentlessly predictable plot: just what you expect from a typical Seagal vehicle. This guy can't make any revenge story work for me, since he always plays the "good" guy and he always appears more brutal and sadistic than the villains. The scene where he casually kills a guy and then his son shouts "Daddy!" and hugs him is really repellent.