Seagal is back...on video. The aikido master returns as Harlan Banks, a career thief whose attempt to go straight is marred by a group of baddies who set him up for a 20 million dollar pay day. When put along the likes of The Foreigner and Submerged, this will be a breath of fresh air. It is 90 percent Seagal's voice and he seems to at least have a little fun with it now, I mean how many chances to you get to see Seagal smile? not nearly often enough. Now there IS some stock footage but it is blended pretty well. His double seems to be doing approximately half of the work while Steven does more then we would think (his confrontation with the guy in prison was ALL Steven as was his fight with Couture, however most other scenes feature his double). Treach is an extremely likable character and seems above this, gotta respect him for trying at least. To leave you with a positive quote from the film. "You drive like a motha' ****** old lady.
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mattressman_pdl5 January 2006
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TheLittleSongbird8 July 2011I may sound biased, but I don't like Steven Seagal(except for Under Siege and a couple of others) and most of the direct-to-video releases he's done. Today You Die is a pretty poor movie, however with stuff like Submerged and particularly Out for a Kill, Seagal has done worse. The photography and editing aren't as slipshod or as dull as they can be, Nick Mancuso is good and the final explosion is spectacular. Even Seagal is better than usual, however that doesn't necessarily mean he was good, in fact it was still a lazy performance but at least the lines were intelligible. The action didn't do much for me, because of the sluggish pace in general of the film, it felt unexciting, while the plot is derivative with too many plot holes to push a delivery truck through, Treech is very irritating, the script is really quite dumb in places and the soundtrack was not to my taste, too loud and overdone. All in all, a poor film but not among Seagal's worst. 3/10 Bethany Cox
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Poor action films are the graveyards for aging martial art stars. In such films they struggle to maintain that dangerous demeanor that made their early work successful, but they all end in failure. Seagal is too old for this type of role but he wont let go...no matter how silly he looks. Some hope his current work will somehow bring back the magic, but there is no magic left. The late '80s and early '90s belonged to Steven Seagal and his work made me a fan. I could see him fit nicely in a slot on The Sopranos where his overweight body, jowly features and sullen attitude could have found a home. I wonder what the return is on his run of direct to video films?! Since he produces them I'm assuming the $$$ is more than satisfactory. If this is the deal we will be subjected to poorly done Seagal action films well into his late 60s and 70s.....
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supertom-312 September 2005Steven Seagal is back! Here with his third film released this year. Of course as a one time fan who has become increasingly disgruntled I can say it comes as no surprise that this is pretty lame. Firstly the film made headlines because of apparent problems in production due to Seagal. He would turn up late on set, change the script, crew etc and generally cause problems for the director, Don E Faun Leroy (his lack of talent his trouble enough!). This also happens in their second collaboration the upcoming Mercenary which promises to be just as bad as this garbage. This also marks a big turning point in Seagal's career because this film is the first of his to really dig out the stock footage. There was a little in Ticker but this film takes the biscuit. They borrow bits from, The Order (A Van Damme movie, Seagals biggest rival in DTV movies!) No Code Of Conduct, Undisputed, and also an entire action sequence from the little known Peter Weller starring vehicle Top Of The World. Interestingly the car chase stolen from Weller's epic, made almost 10 years ago and ironically probably cheaper than this garbage, is actually by far the best action scene of the film. I was shocked enough when Dolph Lundgren had a brief stint in the stock action video world, which thankfully he has escaped from. Seagal though is the leader of the DTV action market currently, with Van Damme and Snipes his main rivals. Seagal still manages to sell movies and for the life of me I don't know how. Surely the fans must be getting bored of this awfulness, longing for a return to the likes of Above The Law. The story here is totally lame. In fact the film has so many plot holes it doesn't bare thinking about. For example at the end of a film there's a little girl that Seagal apparently knows at an orphanage who he gives a necklace to. Why I don't know but we never see her at all in the rest of the movie, or hear her mentioned. Seagal has a girlfriend in this movie who at the beginning of the film is with a psychic and she becomes haunted by visions, which by the end of the film are never explained and mean nothing. The film is so ridiculously glued together by a series of meaningless pap that it becomes headache inducing.. This is by far Seagal's dumbest movie! Seagal himself is as wooden as ever, however to his credit he doesn't get dubbed in this one as far as I could tell. Seagal does however feel the need to talk like he is a gangsta rapper, making me long for the days he would don his Brooklyn/Italian-American accent, in his classic early films. He also has a painfully unfunny double act with Treach, who I assume is a rapper. It is funny how producers seem to think that the combo of Seagal, plus hip-hop star seems to work, because his team up with DMX in Exit Wounds was his most successful film since Under Siege. Clearly though if no one has heard of the rapper, it won't work. This is an action film though and so the action itself must be judged. Unfortunately the action that didn't come form the NU Image back catalogue is strictly routine. There are a few small fight scenes with some classic Seagal aikido but when 90% is performed by his stunt double, who really does have a rigorous work out in this film, it really doesn't impress much. There are also some standard gun fights which really only have some nice violent and bloody squibbage going for them. All in all this is a painfully boring experience and once again I'm left giving the same verdict: Seagal has lost it! I keep asking the years old question now, "why do people still watch his movies?" That is all very well and good as a question but the sad bastard that I am continues to watch his films in the deluded hope he may do something good once again. Chances are slim, unlike Seagal's ever expanding waistline. *1/2
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Mr5STARRVD13 September 2005It's been 3 months and you know what that means...A new Seagal movie. Seagal has really been on role making horrible film after horrible film. Each time every movie getting worse and worse, he's really amazing! I don't really know what to say about TYD, first it's a piece of crap, the story makes no sense at all, secondly he uses stunt men in all his fight scenes, and last but not least a lot of the footage is taken from other movies! It amazes how this guy continues to find work, he comes to the set late and leaves early and because of that his films are full of plot holes and stunt men. Why do we continue to buy his movies, why do we continue to have hope that maybe just maybe he will make a great movie?
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argentobuff27 March 2006Ah yet another Seagal movie.In no less than a few mere months arrive to populate the video store shelves.As bad as Submerged?No.But that is not saying much.Like perfume on a pig.
Seagal is professional thief who wants to quit,but goes for one last job only to be double-crossed by his boss.He lands in Prison and is befriended by a Gangster who helps him to break out and seek payback.
Its good to see Seagal finally not playing an agent,cop,or what he usually plays.We actually get a USA Location in Las Vegas it seems. Then an eastern European territory as usual. There is no wire-Fu either here.Don Fauntleroy does an okay job.
However most of the action and fight scenes with Stevie are clearly doubles.Scenes from other movies,a lack of realism and logic in even tiniest situation.Seagal and Treech make a so-so team inspiring(unintentional) laughs one minute.Sighs the rest.
Several notable faces turn up to slum it.. sleepy Kevin Tighe is a long way from his emergency days.Nick Mancuso shows up in sleepwalking mode to take a check.No more rappers.Please?
At this point the action scenes and plots are more predictable and recycled generically more than ever.Its a stale scene that Seagal needs to get out of or hang it up.He should have gotten out a while ago. -
sanliizzet27 February 2008I ran across this movie on a local TV channel last night. Frankly, I have never heard about this movie before. Simply, I lost track of Seagual's recent movies, for each one is worst than the previous one. Here, again we have a dull Seagal as if he was insisted by his girlfriend to make this movie and he accepted forcefully. The plot is ridiculous, acting is below zero, and there is no single aspect the movie is not falling apart. I simply don't have any idea why Seagal did this movie. Man, it is even worst than "Out for a kill"! If you watch this movie you will start feeling sorry for Seagal. He seems to be running out of ideas, enthusiasm and money. Avoid this movie and do something worthwhile.
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BA_Harrison10 August 2006I usually spend almost as much time writing my reviews as I do watching the film, but with Today You Die, I feel that doing so would be a criminal waste of my time.
So here is a five minute rant about how bad this film is.
There was a time in the mid-80s when a single look from Steven Seagal was enough to crack your ribs; a full on scowl could knock you off your feet. If he actually got a hold of you, he would snap you like a twig.
These days, although he is still capable of doing considerable damage, he no longer looks the part. He's gone to seed and just doesn't know when to call it quits. He walks like he's dumped in his pants yet somehow still manages to look constipated, and he has put on weight. His trademark long ponytail has gone, but his hair still looks stupid. How this man keeps on working in the movie industry is beyond me.
Today you Die is the usual Seagal mix of bone crunching fights, car crashes, gun battles and pyrotechnics. Seagal mumbles his way through the dull script, delivering his lines with zero enthusiasm or believability. In this third-rate action flick, he plays Harlan Banks a thief trying to go straight, who is conned into partaking in a $20,000,000 robbery. He gets caught, goes to jail, escapes, and seeks revenge. Yawn.
There are some pretty good car chases and gun fights which intersperse the boring stuff (of which there is a lot), but reading other comments on IMDb has revealed that these were actually borrowed from other better movies. Seagal is also body-doubled an awful lot in this one.
Seagal turns in one of the most dreadful performances of his careerand that's saying something, considering the lousy 'acting' in some of his recent efforts. Most hilarious is his totally embarrassing attempt at Ebonics (African American street slang). 'I da man, fo' sho'no, actually Steven, you sound like an arse! With a ridiculous script and plot lines that go nowhere, this film is a waste of time, money and effort. And the final moment, where Harlan Banks saves a Children's home from closure is enough to make you blow chunks.
Damn, I just looked at the clock. I was enjoying trashing this steaming pile of dreck so much, I went way over my five minutes. It's time to post this comment and get to watching something decent. -
tarbosh220009 September 2005"Today You Die" is another ridiculous action film from Seagal. The plot is: Harlan Banks (Seagal) gets a job as a getaway driver for a big casino heist. It turns sour and Harlan goes to jail. In the slammer he meets Ice Cool (Treach) who can help him escape. Meanwhile the brains behind the casino heist think Harlan has the stolen money. When Harlan escapes he dishes out some revenge to the bad guys.
There are many unintentional moments of comedy and here some of the standouts: 1. When Seagal jumps on a chandelier and kicks a goon 20 feet. 2. When Seagal does any fighting they don't show it.(The stunt doubles do all the work). 3. The glaring continuity errors. He punches a guy in a brown coat and then it switches to a black one. He also wears the same button down blue jacket as in "Submerged" (2005). He refuses to take off his jacket while in prison with Ice Cool. He is the only guy in the entire prison NOT wearing the traditional prison garb.
Besides that, Treach and Stevie have some chemistry and the movie is action-packed. See it if you still like Seagal.
For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com -
scott_mc_9919 August 2006Today You Die was the 4th Seagal movie in a mini marathon I just held. Wow, I don't know where to start. He seems to mumble his lines more and more as time goes on, and the scenes between Seagal and Treach where they seem to improv are embarrassing. And what did his girlfriend's dreams have to do with anything else in the plot? I can't recommend this to anyone but the most die hard Seagal fan, and even then you are better off with his earlier work. Of the 4 films in my marathon (Submerged, Into the Sun, Foreigner and Today You Die) Today was the worst. A previous reviewer mentioned this but the usage of stock footage was quite obvious.
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Seagal, once again he wants out of something. Usually it's the Cia or the Military. This time he wants to quit being a thief. But on the first day of his new job as a driver for money a diamonds it seems that he is being set up. Well.. so he tries to split, destroying a lot of cop cars during that attempt. Well then he leaves the car with 20 Million $ somewhere and gets picked up by the police. Suddenly he finds himself in Jail. (Without a trial I mind you). In the Penetentiary he makes a fried who helps him escape. And further a bad thing for him: He kinda forgot where he stashed the money. And the guy he is now after is kinda involved in the setup but he needs the money also. And of course nobody knows if the the Guy, called Max by the way, is still alive or not. (I becomes clear later on but I don't want to spoil it for you). Well and then there is his girlfriend having visions. Why and what for.. nobody knows... Oh and there is a lot of stuntman replacement for Seagal even when it's not necessary. BUT: Compared to his last movies like Submerged, Into the sun and other, well not so really good movies this one is a real masterpiece. So I rated it with 9. But that's on a Seagal Scale... On a regular Scale it would be 3 or 4.. Oh and for the Actionfans: there is a lot of it and really bloody.. so if that's what you are looking for you are gonna get it... regards, Stephan
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chatpilot15 September 2005First off let me let you all know that I am a die hard Steven Seagal fan.I bought this movie and viewed it expecting something better than his last installments.
Whoever edited this movie should be shot and quartered.There was a scene where he was fighting some guys and he was wearing a brown leather trench,but when he was attacked and countered he was wearing what appeared to be a black suit with a blue shirt.
Another problem I have with this movie is that Steven Seagal did not do most of the fight scenes.There were a lot of shots from behind and you could see that his stand in was thinner and walked differently.Also I ran one particular fight scene in slow motion and caught the profile of the stand in.Terrible editing,direction,and acting of course.
If you are an Ultimate Fighting fan you will catch a glimpse of Randy (The natural) Cotourre getting his ass knocked out by Seagal which is highly unlikely in real life.
On top of that he had this so called psychic girl friend who was like 20 something.A very stupid and useless role in the movie since all she did was keep telling Seagal about her premonitions.
Also when he was in prison he was strutting around like it was his house and he did not even have the uniform all the other inmates had on.The guards were considerate enough to let Seagal strut around in his dark blue denim jacket.
The way he got caught by the cops was ridiculous.He drives this armoured truck around crashing into everything.He drives into an abandoned area and drags his captor out of the truck runs a distance and calls his girlfriend on a cell then passes out.
If you are a Stephen Seagal fan buy it.If you like him a bit and are curious rent it.But my opinion on this movie is not good I have seen better kids movies then this.Actually I think 'Into The Sun' was way better than this garbage.In my opinion if Steven Seagal is not willing to take a more active role in his fight scenes maybe he should call it quits.It makes me wonder if there is something physically wrong with him. -
skallisjr3 October 2005Any film with Kevin ("Adam 12") Tighe as a bad guy has to have some virtues.
The film starts with Harlan Banks' (Seagal's) lady, Jada, diddling with Rider-Waite Tarot cards, and getting some of the symbolism correct. She's psychic, you see, and shortly thereafter gets prophetic dreams, which like most such, are ambiguous. She warns Harlan to be careful, but....
Banks takes a job driving millions of dollars in an armored car. It's his first day on the job, and, surprise! it's a doublecross. After a wild chase, he ends up captured, and in prison. Here, he discovers he's still alive because everybody wants the money, which has mysteriously disappeared.
Max (Tighe) was behind the attempted heist, but apparently was killed. Someone mentions that Max dabbled in black magic, and was really still alive, but most everybody considers him deceased. Except Banks. He wants revenge.
Fortunately, he befriends Ice Cool (Anthony Kriss) another prisoner, by saving his life, and by speaking street Ebonics, showing he's hip. The two of them break out of jail, and the action goes on from there.
The story is a bit silly, and, MAJOR SPOILER Like some of Seagal's other films, there's Corruption in some of the Good Guy ranks.
The mystic element the film started with kinda peters out. How Max survived wasn't really explained. But the film has action, etc. -
callanvass8 January 2011(Credit IMDb) A former thief who is trying to go straight seeks vengeance on those who framed him.
Today You Die consists of more stock footage then I'd have liked, but considering the turds he puts out on a consistent basis these days, even stock-footage I'll take, if it has some good bits and pieces. It has a decent car chase scene, and Seagal does do some fights, only a few of them are filmed in the dark. Seagal looks a bit more motivated then usual, despite wearing a big coat, to hide his heavy baggage. Treach isn't that easy to watch though, and his chemistry with Seagal wasn't that great. The ending is a bit cheesy too. But that's Seagal these days for you.
Performances. Seagal is better then he usually is in low budget crap, but that isn't saying much. He's still lazy, and I never was fully satisfied. That being said, he's better then usual. Treach is annoying, and should stick to rapping. Mari Morrow is OK in her role as Seagal's love interest. Kevin Tighe and Nick Mancusco both good villains, do alright here. Sarah Buxton is easy on the eyes and does decent as an Agent.
Bottom line. Mediocre is even pushing it, but if this type of quality means no more stuff like Kill Switch, Attack Force, etc., count me in!. Not sure if it's worth an entire recommendation, but Seagal fans might be somewhat surprised. I kind of was.
4/10(barely) -
krachtm17 March 2013The plot: A thief tries to go straight but is tricked into performing one last heist, which lands him in prison. After escaping, he recruits a sidekick and seeks his revenge.
There are just so many things wrong with Today You Die that it's the kind of movie where you just don't know where to even begin. To start with, the movie has trouble with even basic plot continuity. For example, the protagonist's wife is introduced as being psychic, having prophetic dreams, and visiting a tarot card reader. Throughout the the early part of the movie, this is an important element, but near the middle, it's completely abandoned. The movie is sloppy and lazy, but this is probably the sloppiest and laziest part of it.
Seagal seems to be pumping out as many crap movies as possible, to cash out on his fans before he retires. It's an insult to his fans, and he owes us an apology. Say what you will about Dolph Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme, but they would never abuse their fans like this. -
Almost as if there was an unexpected explosion in whatever department is supposed to handle plot and character development you can almost see bits of "what might have been" scatter all over the place. Bit like the fairly realistic blood spatters from (mostly) shoulder wounds in one shoot out.
Seagal always manages to get interesting co-stars. In this case I nominate Mari Morrow.
And it gets a bit sentimental at the end. Quite touching, especially after such a spectacular explosion in the final warehouse the whole damn county would have been declared a disaster zone. All good fun.
But you can't deny you keep watching them, and part of the fun is that Seagal seems to insist on doing exactly what he feels is right. And even if it goes directly to video, how many stations carry his films?. Dammit I watched a 2005 film tonight on an Irish channel. It all means royalties.
So lets all get crazy!. -
shazdaman13 March 2006this is only the second time i have been moved enough to write a review. unfortunately, both times they have been for movies that can be described with several 4 lettered words that can be defined as faeces or excrement. the other movie of such calibre was masked and anonymous.
anywa, onto the review.. there are several key things wrong with this movie which i will describe below.
1) steven has lost the plot (i.e. in all his other movies, family / friend gets killed. steven gets angry. steven kills people. the end).
2) steven has run out of money (there was a good car chase scene at the start, but i think he blew his budget on that and couldn't afford a decent script writer or editor).
3) steven no longer appears to do his own action. instead, the (from memory) 2 fight scenes were shot neck down and from the back, so you couldn't actually see his face. most likely a stunt double. i'm guessing chuck norris.
in summary.. worst seagal movie ever. second worst movie i have seen in recent history, and i've seen a lot of bad movies. -
Steven Seagal does it again. Another daft and dull well for most part straight-to-DVD action vehicle with him whispering his lines, providing intellectual discussions (about dreams and their meanings; "I had an awful dream.") and whooping some ass well maybe not so as the director does a really good job hiding Seagal's face during many of the fight sequences. Quick combat we get a good look, but the extended scenes not so. Thanks stunt-man. Quick and flashy editing helps, which has Seagal always walking away from an encounter with his back facing the camera. Seagal is a thief (a Robin Hood of sorts) who decides to go straight, but a job he takes on as an armour guard truck driver turns out to be a set-up. He finds himself spending time in prison, but he happens to be the only one who knows where the stolen 20 million dollars was hidden. The criminals who set him up want their money, but Seagal wants revenge when he breaks out (in a rather unconvincing manner) with a hommie. "Today You Die" actually started off promising (with an explosively barnstorming car chase sequence), but when it hit's the prison yard and from then onwards it rapidly becomes uninterestingly old-hat with its heavy-handed plot devices (betrayal, corruption), try-hard attitude and flimsy characters. Well at least it provides hilarity. Just listen to the lame dialogues. "He's evil. Something beyond this earth." Throw in one wannabe gangsta known as Ice Kool (Anthony "Treach" Criss), talking all tough and the jovial banter between the two is embarrassingly bad. Watching Seagal going around handing out his own sort of punishment simply was mind-numbing since Seagal is invincible. Not even a scratch. Must be that politeness and muddled intentions. Good for a laugh, but not much else.
"You want to dance with the devil. Lets dance." -
BroadswordCallinDannyBoy17 January 2006Harlan Banks is thief at the top of his game, but, after a successful career, he has decided to settle down with his woman and retire. However, he decides to take one last routine job in Las Vegas. All he has to do is drive the car and it seems simple. Unfortunately someone tips the police and after a hectic car chase he winds up in the slam only to escape and take revenge on those who betrayed and got him there in the first place. A typical action-fest ensues.
Steven Seagal plays himself (surprise!) wearing a trench-coat and sporting his beloved Colt 1911 along with his usual bone-breaking aikido. The Colt and aikido have always been with him, but the first I recall him with the trench-coat is in 'The Foreigner.' It isn't particularly impressive, but it does add a little notch to Seagal's lethal arsenal of badassness. Or it covers up those extra pounds he is packing. Look at it however way you choose. His main buddy throughout the film is played by Treach (another new thing, a rapper in an action movie) and they both uncover a little conspiracy of bad-guys, on both sides of the law, and give each evil-doer his due.
The film's main problem is that is it painfully, and I truly mean painfully, unoriginal. Seagal just follows a clockwork plot throughout the movie and even that manages to get more and more dull as the film progresses. Then it goes from dull to utterly ridiculous in the final scene as people who seemed to be dead on killing each other suddenly, for no reason, start to talk. Groan inducing in every sense of the word. The only real positive thing here is the decent opening - a car chase in Las Vegas complete with flipping police cars and generally entertaining mayhem, but after that brief highlight you've seen it all before. 3/10
Rated R: constant violence and profanity -
AndreiPavlov18 February 2008There is too much trash-talk about Mr Steven Seagal on IMDb nowadays. He is being accused of being fat, unfit, slow, etc. His fans are being upset by his latest movies, movies like these. Jackie Chan fans are giving him names, while being triggered by Steven Seagal fans. I am no fan at all and I don't have rotating blades instead of my limbs, so I watched this film with an open mind. And I can say that I enjoyed it. Can I back my "enjoyment factor"? Get this, IMDb fault-finders.
No.1 The Steven Seagal character is a whispering jacket-clad easy-going rogue with incredible stamina and a charming smile.
No.2 The film is full of surprises.
Surprise One Instead of fighting some crazy flipping bad guy (who is simply ridiculous with his unnecessary acrobatic moves before the real brawl) our hero just shoots him with a shotgun. I was 100% sure there would be an aikido fight.
Surprise Two When coming to jail and meeting black men who have a usual "criminal ghetto quality" our hero starts talking rap (!) in his signature low voice. Can you name any other action movie with such a linguistic twist? Amazing. Our actors also did a great job, making Mr Steven Seagal sound like "Coolio". I almost fell from my sofa when hearing that black-men-rap jargon - grown-up people talking like 13-years delinquents...
Surprise Three The existence of some magical circles, "prophecy" playing cards, intricate Indian ornaments, nightmarish dreams of the female character, and other extravaganza rubbish. I expected it would result in some apocalyptic ending but there is no such thing.
Surprise Four The hero's haircut is strange and his choice of clothes is not run-of-the-mill. I have never seen a man of action in such a heavy leather coat. It must be damn heavy.
Surprise Five In modern action movies it is almost a must for every director to insert some indecent "sexual" scene. This film is devoid of that stupid tendency. This point alone is a boost on my scale.
No.3 The plot of the movie is quite hectic but is not very difficult to follow. The hero finds a job. He becomes a driver working for some old grinning man. Then the hero gets into a bloody mess and very soon is zooming through the streets of the city in a money-van. He crashes, loses consciousness, goes to jail, meets some black hoodlums, fulfils a grand escape, shoots the hell out of a few bad boys, wins a big amount of money, and helps an orphanage. During all this a black woman, who loves him, is loading his ears with her strange talks about her nightmares.
Mr Steven Seagal puts some strange type of an action hero on the screen, who doesn't have to jump high, run fast, flip and high-kick. And I think that it is quite all right if he is an aikido master. Isn't it all about inertia and control of the incoming aggression? Then it doesn't matter if he's fat or not. Sumo fighters even must have weight, must they not? And I think a sumo master is yet to come onto the screen and embody a new type of action star.
He can follow the flow of the fight, he can make one quick move instead of some freaky quick succession of dynamite hits, he can keep calm in all situations, and he can go to sleep without pulling off his big pyjama jacket. I think it is enough for a unique on-screen hero. He is no Jackie Chan and he should not be. I was very glad to see something different from a usual kung-fu/karate flick with explosive over-the-top fighting or a usual modern CGI "XXX" action.
Stop fronting on this film - it is not bad at all. If I should compare, "Matrix: Reloaded" is pure "expansion-remake-of-the-original" manure if compared to this action film, though the IMDb rating suggests the opposite, in my humble opinion of course.
I am sure that there's no need to mention the bad sides of this movie, which are popping out now and then. Many people say that he is doubled in his latest movies. If he is doubled in this one, it is the worst side of the film I suppose. I did not notice though. As to the corny acting - I've got no problem with that, while the film is corny itself.
It would have been marvellous if Mr Steven Seagal and Mr Jackie Chan had made a movie together, playing two rivals with dozens of wicked henchmen at their disposal. I can even imagine the final showdown as Mr Jackie Chan in his Chinese outfit is doing his best with his whirling moves and helicopter kicks while Steven character in a big pyjama jacket is backing off being as calm as ever and makes brisk counterattacks hurting Jackie character badly while whispering one-liners. With good choreography this would have been of the same calibre as the notorious "Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris" fight. Unfortunately this movie is non-existent.
Fair job, Mr Steven Seagal, not perfect of course, but pretty fair: 6 out of 10 (the lingual twist alone deserves respect), just do what you can and make more zany action, keep off stupid bed scenes (like in this action flick) and don't be afraid to show yourself even if you are not in a top-notch muscular condition! And don't hit the gym because it is very harmful to one's health. Thanks for attention. -
janina_19320 September 2005I love watching steven seagal movies not because of the action of the great plot holes but just because it makes me laugh
oh it makes me laugh so hard this movie totally got no point and is ridiculous compared to this movie Pearl harbor rocks!!! and Ben affleck need no acting school at all just to give a impression how bad it is
first off all there so many goofs and bad acting its just getting worse like when steven is try to get out of jail a chopper lands at first the security notice and they led them land when they fly away all of the sudden a guard start shooting
or when he killed that guy in the car he and treach both walk away you can't see no oil on the ground behind him steven notice that there is oil without even watching treach trows a lighter and the car blows up
and there are plenty of more goofs Steven uses his basic action when someone is pointing a gun at him he grabs it and shoot him totally bullshit!!! like some gangster would let that ever happen.
the acting is also very worse at the fight scene in the jail outdoor place you can see steven clearly wait to come in action just rewind it a couple of time and you notice the bad acting
its just makes me laugh i hope one day it comes to the cinema's here in Holland then i'll go there with as many friends as possible just to laugh my self to death -
Finally! A Steven Segal movie where the lead roll is NOT a cop, anti terrorist agent, cia agent, fbi agent, etc. We are tired of seeing Segal play the same rolls. This one is unexpected and excellent. The high speed chase through vegas was actually filmed in Vegas on the strip, and one of the craziest High speed chase ever filmed outside the studio.
First of all, I put this movie up with "Hard to Kill". I saw this movie and enjoyed it several months ago, and then for the hell of it i was wondering what others thought, and was shocked and appalled by the idiotic comments posted about this movie. Lets look at some of them: 1. Posts: "Steven Segal is B(L)ack", "Buddhist or Rapper", Etc.
Response: Steven is Black? No, Steven Segal is an actor. Steven is playing a role. There do exist white people with an accent. Actors are allowed to play this roll. Steven played this roll good. Are you retarded? Don't take Steven Segals roll as a personal attribute of steven. And Treach is playing a felon, not a rapper, just because Treach made hip hop music in his past, doesn't mean that Steven has reduced his standards to working with sub-par actors. Working with rappers does not mean you have reduced your standards, picking up a mic and busting a flow does not mean that you do not have the ability to act. Treach played the part well. Jesus.
2. Posts: "Steven used doubles" "Steven leaves early" Response: So. Most underpaid quality actors do. The only martial arts actor you can find now a days that does his own stunts is Jackie Chan. Jackie Chan and Steven Segal are good friends. Steven Segal is doing us a favor by accepting a roll in a straight to video release. What do you expect, Steven Segal is a quality actor and if you pay him below is level of quality wouldn't you expect him to leave early? I think I would too. Even actors in theatre releases uses doubles, for example cornballs like ben afflik and mat damon who take action rolls and have no evident experience in martial arts, use doubles. Arnold used obvious doubles in Terminator 2 which was considered one of James Camerons best movies. When the budget is low, expect doubles. When the budget is high, expect doubles. You get what they paid for. The movie went straight to video. Get over it.
3. Posts: "Steven put his daughter in the movie" Response: Steven is an actor, he is teaching his daughter how to act. The bad guy is also an actor. Why do you people think this movie is real? Whats wrong with you? You have no right to judge how a parent passes their trade on to their offspring.
A fair post about this movie stated that: "James Bond fans don't like Steven Segal movies" Response: This is probably why: Steven broke Sean Conneries wrist when teaching him martial arts during never say never again filming.
If you have a problem with the movie, don't base it on the budget or the personal life of the actor. Because like the mooninites on Aquateen would say "That sounds like a personal problem" -
namashi_16 March 2012'Today You Die' is a routine action-flick, that is Strictly Passable! It has some merits, but not too many either.
'Today You Die' Synopsis: A former thief who is trying to go straight seeks vengeance on those who framed him.
'Today You Die' is a routine action-flick, with monotony being its biggest enemy. However, this 2005-flick does deliver some Good moments & Fabulous Action-Sequences. Don E. FauntLeRoy's Direction is fine. Cinematography, Editing & Art Design, are decent.
Performance-Wise: Steven Seagal delivers a fair performance. Anthony "Treach" Criss does well. Mari Morrow looks great & is earnest. Kevin Tighe & Sarah G. Buxton fill the bill.
On the whole, 'Today You Die' is passable. -
refinedsugar12 May 2014Unlike the list of producers in the opening credits, I'll keep this short. This is another of Seagal's latter day "bad" movies. You know this within the first five minutes. Stock footage ripped from another flick. Another body double for Steven in a disjointed, awful fight scene. Today You Die is a rarity in it was filmed in the States and features recognizable faces in the supporting cast. Oh, but this was 2005 and we hadn't relocated to Romania or the Eastern Bloc yet.
The storyline is simple enough. A former thief wants to do honest jobs. Okay - but he does so by working for some mysterious man on high who surrounds himself with goons? Laughable quips about dreams and mysticism. Unremarkable supporting cast.
Of course, this is an action flick - direct to video withstanding - and all would be forgiven if the action was well shot and exciting. Its not. No the best thing I can say about Today You Die is Steven actually smiles. Its something you don't see very often anymore. -
lastliberal4 July 2008Ho Hum. Just another flick with Steven Seagal pretending to be some spiritual being, but bashing heads and killing like it was nothing. He, of course, justifies it in the end by donating the money to an orphanage., How sweet. Lay the world to waste and we'll ignore it if you take care of a little girl. Jeesh! This time, he is partnered with Ice Cool (Anthony 'Treach' Criss). Gotta have someone to lay all those cringe-inducing lines on, man, and there are plenty. The dialog is pure crap.
They go after bad guys Nick Mancuso and Kevin Tighe, two people that were born to play the scumbags.
He's squeezing Mari Morrow and impressing soap star Sarah Buxton. How cute.
I guess if you gotta have some July Force excitement, this may suffice. If nothing else it will help you get your degree in Seagalology.