Exit Wounds
2001
Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Martial arts director: Dion Lam
Stars: Steven Seagal, DMX, Isaiah Washington, Tom Arnold, Michael Jai White, Jill Hennessy, Anthony Anderson
Exit Wounds subscribes to Hollywood plot cliche #101: a hard-headed cop (Seagal) is demoted to the worst division in his district after showing up his superiors, where he soon finds a tangled web of corruption. At any rate, this movie, the second directorial effort from Andrzej Bartkowiak (who got his feet wet with Romeo Must Die) also marks the return of Steven Seagal to the big screen after a couple of direct-to-video efforts.
Honestly, I have never been a huge fan of Seagal (though I always enjoyed the bit from Above the Law when he beats the hell out of some guys with a pool ball stuffed into a sock) but I enjoyed this movie. Though it was a bit odd to see the strapping actor do some (thankfully limited) wire work, for the most part the action sequences in the film work well, especially the climatic chase and shootout. DMX also looks good during the fights and shows that he is actually a somewhat capable actor. Though any decision based on the relatively weak script -- which, like way too many recent movies, is too dependent on lame double crosses -- is dubious at best. Anthony Anderson (the fat guy from RMD) and perpeptual bumbler Tom Arnold provide some funny comic relief as well.
On the down side, like most other US action movies that have tried to capture the feel of the Hong Kong counterparts (this one even go so far as to rip off a few gags from HK movies, like the "shotgun on a bungee cord" bit from Tiger on the Beat), the editing is too fast and choppy to allow the viewer to fully enjoy the action. I think it's about time that the US studios start importing Hong Kong editors along with the actors, co-ordinators and directors they seem to be siphoning off of the former colony.
RATING: 6.5
Note: the production was plagued with problems. Here's the details of a couple of them according to the IMDB:
"During filming in Toronto, a van was being towed along a street upside-down as part of a chase scene; stuntman Chris Lamon and another man were supposed to roll safely out, but Lamon apparently struck his head, and died six days later. Todd Schroeder suffered a concussion in the same incident. The scene was reshot with the van moving slower and the stuntmen placed differently. Filming in Toronto was delayed again when actor David Vadim was arrested and charged with committing a sexual assault on the set."
A review of the DVD for this movie can be found here