Pistol Whipped (2008)

"Pistol Whipped" is definitely an odd one out in Seagal's filmography, because this is one of the few movies in which he really tries to act. When you consider the guy has been phoning it in for most of his career, it's a breath of fresh air to actually see him try (though often fail) to emote. He's also helped by the screenplay, which actually gives him a vulnerable character to play this time. It's not the usual implausibly perfect (ex-)CIA guy schtick, he's an alcoholic, a bad father, he's not very intelligent (he sees none of the twists coming) AND he even gets shot! I thought I'd never see the day when Seagal would try to play someone resembling a human being. That doesn't mean the movie's perfect though, far from it. It's one of those typical crime thrillers by a guy who's seen too many Tarantino movies. All of it bathes in a faux-cool atmosphere, complete with pointless slow-motion and sped-up footage: it tries to go for visual flair I guess, but actually comes of as an over-enthusiastic hobbyist who's just found a new button on his camera. It's very watchable though, which I can't say about many other straight-to-DVD releases by Seagal (and I've seen way too many).By the way: even though Seagal's character is far from perfect here, I'm pretty sure the man got to write one bit of dialogue himself. "Drea:And after, like, a bunch of years I finally realized what I really needed to do was grow a dick. Matt:Well, probably I would like you a lot less if you had a dick. Especially if it was bigger than mine, you know what I mean? Drea:I don't think that's possible." Not making this up, that's really in the movie.

steven seagal is back in top form in this action thriller about an ex cop who is recruited by a big time gangster to be his personal hit-man, seagal's movies have since 2003 been absolute garbage really, and im happy to say that pistol whipped is the best steven seagal movie since fire down below, he kicks ass brutally and has some of the best shoot outs I've seen in an action movie for a long time, there are no stunt doubles this time, no stupid voice doubles just a classic badaas seagal bieng a badass, seagal's role here gives him more to do as well as he plays a quite bad character who wants to be a good farther and he pulls these scenes off well if at times a little awkwardly, but hey this is a steven seagal movie and it delivers some top bone crunching violence, definitely recommended

I am a big Steven Seagal fan of his 90s movies but began to loose faith in him after Half Past Dead. That was a very impressive movie which did not deserve a rating of 3.9 out of 10. Plenty of action and humour, plus some great kicks from seagal. After his Straight-to-DVD features, i began to lose faith, his fights looked so fake because he had stunt doubles that looked nothing like him and his voice was dubbed pointlessly.Then came Renegade Justice (or Urban Justice as US calls it), it was a very decent action flick and made me see that he dozen't need to retire early. The fights were all done by seagal and dubbing was ignored. It was also a fun film to watch and a must-have for all seagal fans. What I mostly love about it is seeing seagal the way we use to know him in the 90s. Just no original plot.This film that I am talking about is the best seagal film I have ever seen. This is mainly because he isn't the hero in this film. There are no heroes in this film. He is an alcoholic ex-cop with a gambling problem, a huge debt and a neglectful father. It convinced me on what a depressing character he was.The soundtrack was brilliant. At the start, seeing Seagal shooting in a cemetery while there was emotional music playing in the background made me see the drama in this film. The second scene where seagal and the priest are talking really described his character as not being some "perfect hero" but a more realistic character. These problems that he has is also his fault.The action was also brilliant as well. There is still mindless violence in this movie but that won't spoil your fun as the fight scenes are still realistic but they are not the reason why this movie is so great. Seagal also shows talent and emotion in his acting which is very rare as he is mostly acting with his fists and guns.This is the best seagal DVD movie yet. Mainly because it is something a little different than his others and is the most unique out of all of the films he has been in.

Steven Seagall at one time was one of the best action actors around twenty years ago and by the turn of the next decade he would be a attraction to see on screen even if I never went to any of his films in the theatre. The last several years Steven seem to slow down a bit and he wasn't the same kick ass guy he once was but after watching Pistol Whipped. Steven still had it which hopefully it'll be an opportunity to be on screen again and perhaps appearing in a Quentin Taratino film may really boost a comeback for him teaming up Uma Thurman. I always liked Steven Seagall even though many critics don't take him as a serious actor but hopefully they'll praise his acolaides when they start to realize his talent.