Marked for Death (1990)

The film has the charisma of its star - a striking figure, but it lacks visual interest or suspense. It also reinforces racial stereotypes by presenting an all-black Jamaican gang of voodoo-practicing drug pushers, but there are also familiar clichés of East coast hoodlums, especially their 'made man' gangster speak. Of course, these nefarious crowd is dispatched by Mr Seagal with entertaining and well choreographed martial arts brutality. The low lit scenes provide a certain mood and tone for the film but in other scenes they seem too murky for purpose.

When it comes to action films, a kind of reverse psychology works on me. When I hear actors getting slated for their lack of expressions and general all-round bad acting, it just draws me closer to them and makes me like them even more. This has happened with Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Van Damme and now, Seagal. I love their films all the same. MARKED FOR DEATH is an early venture for Seagal, before he found relative fame with the UNDER SIEGE series. It's a pretty good, typical excursion into the genre, with maybe a little more gore then we're used to seeing and the inclusion of a voodoo sub-plot (an interesting idea for an action film, but woefully used).There's a lot of mumbo jumbo and native chants and signs, but basically the voodoo is only included as a plot device so that Seagal has no qualms about mutilating the baddies. The baddie in this film is wearing scary contact lenses which is cool, while Seagal is his usual self (bland, expressionless, violent, just as we love him). Keith David, star of THE THING, pops up in a supporting role too and has a ball with it.There's a lot of violence to please the action fan and also a lot of gore to please those interested in the horror genre. Legs, arms and necks are broken and there's a total gore fest at the end when Seagal breaks apart the gang leader's body in a graphic way, even gouging out his eyes a la THE EVIL DEAD. I was surprised to see so much gore on a terrestrial channel, of course it was a pleasant surprise though. MARKED FOR DEATH is a highly entertaining, gory romp and worth seeing for action fans. It gets my 'mark' of approval.

In one of his early vehicles with the three-word descriptive titles, Steven Seagal this time is fighting the war on drugs. Or, to be more accurate, he's out to annihilate the Jamaican drug pushers who've infiltrated his Chicago community. He didn't feel like doing so at first; he'd burned out while on the job as a DEA agent and realized that in order to win he'd become no better than his adversaries. It's only inevitable that he'll once again get motivated to righteous fury when his own family is victimized. The bad guys in these movies never ever learn that simple lesson - mess with the hero's loved ones and they're just as marked for death as the good guy. Here, Seagal showed that in the earlier years of his career how he really gave more of an effort and could be quite engaging. He's given a truly kick ass sidekick in the form of eternally cool Keith David, as the old buddy / football coach disgusted by what he sees around him. Also lending assistance are Jamaican cop Tom Wright and a professor played by Joanna Pacula. "Marked for Death" does its job in a number of areas; as directed by Dwight H. Little ("Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers", "Rapid Fire"), it hits the ground running, and delivers exactly what we as fans of Seagal movies expect: rampant brutality, with broken limbs aplenty, bullets in foreheads, bodies crashing through windows, impalement, eyes gouged out, etc. The topicality of the script does take a back seat to all of the violent action - there's always one great scene around the corner. There's even a little bit of nudity to spice things up. A major appeal of the movie is the soundtrack, which features some tunes by Jimmy Cliff, who also appears on screen performing with his band. The supporting cast is full of familiar faces - Kevin Dunn, Tony DiBenedetto, Peter Jason, Danny Trejo, Gary Carlos Cervantes, and Earl Boen, with Danielle Harris, whom Little had directed in "Halloween 4", in a bit as Seagal's niece. Basil Wallace, an actor who should have broken bigger after this, has enough intensity and charisma to make for an effective villain. All in all, "Marked for Death" is good fun and builds to a really good finale as well as an amusing twist and resulting final one-liner. Seven out of 10.

'Marked for Death' is Vintage Fun. Power-Packed, Fast-Paced, Action-Packed & Loud, it has it all. Also, its damn cool to watch bad-ass Steven Seagal getting it right completely.'Marked for Death' stars Seagal as John Hatcher, a former DEA troubleshooter. Upon moving back to his home town, Hatcher finds it taken over by a gang of vicious Jamaican drug dealers, led by the twisted Screwface.'Marked for Death' is Power-Packed, Fast-Paced & Loud Cinema at its best. The film never loses pace & always keeps you engrossed. Michael Grais & Mark Victor's Screenplay is Great Fun. Dwight H. Little's Direction is decent. Cinematography & Editing are fair, while the Action-Sequences/Fights are awesome.Performance-Wise: Seagal gets it right completely. His fights are a pleasure to watch & does his part with great energy & style. Basil Wallace as the twisted Screface is frightening. Keith David is perfect.On the whole, 'Marked for Death' is Vintage Fun!