Shadow Man (2006)

I have seen a few of the films from the leading actor, both the ones that made it to the cinema, and the ones made for TV and straight to DVD, and so far Under Siege is the only one worth mentioning, I was sure this film would be another I would find tedious. Basically Jack Foster aka The Shadow Man (Steven Seagal) is a widowed former CIA operative, he is travelling with his young daughter Amanda (Skye Bennett) to Europe for what they thought would be a relaxing getaway. However Jack is tricked by rogue CIA operatives into smuggling a deadly virus out of the United States, they kidnap Amanda following the completion of the mission. Jack slowly realises he is just a small pawn in a much bigger game, he vows to rescue his daughter and bring her back safe and sound, he will get vengeance upon those who crossed him, using his great skill of martial arts and weaponry, and he must also stop the extremely wicked plot to hijack the world. Also starring Eva Pope as Anya, Imelda Staunton as Ambassador Cochran, Vincent Riotta as Harry, Michael Elwyn as George, Garrick Hagon as Waters, EastEnders' Alex Ferns as Schmitt, Michael Fitzpatrick as Chambers and Elias Ferkin as Velos. Seagal is completely out of shape and mumbles his way through, the casting of Staunton as the embassy leader is pointless, and it laughable seeing from Trevor from EastEnders putting on a bad American accent, I could not follow the wretched story of kidnap and international conspiracy with a virus, the special effects are awful, not even the fast fight and chase sequences can save it from being a complete waste of time, a crap action thriller. Poor!

Well, another of Seagal's Direct-to-DVD movies down the hatch. This one actually wasn't too bad.Once again the the big dude plays a former operative with a colorful past which is hinted at but never explained. Once again he has a daughter that's kidnapped and he breaks some bones to get the guilty party.The script, in fact, is somewhat confusing now and then and the paper thin story seems more complicated than it actually is. Old Steve does OK here, he's not dubbed (I think) and he seems to be doing most of his fighting himself. Oddly enough, fairly many shots show him (and leading lady Eva Pope) continually below face level so just about anyone could be doing the running there.Spoiler A particularly curious scene involves Seagal and Pope fleeing the safe house due to a helicopter chasing them. Their faces are never shown while running, neither in the car as they get to the woods and only a close-up of Steve with a gun while he shoots the chopper down. Very strange scene - might even have been put in after the fact. Very cheesy CGI in the scene by the way.End of Spoiler "Shadow Man" is average entertainment all the way. If you're in the mood for Steve, this is an OK choice. Decent fighting scenes and shoot-outs but it's mostly pretty forgettable.

Steven Seagal is getting old. Luckily he had found some extra energy when compared to his "movie" Black Dawn. Still - Steven seems to be so fat and tired of all this action junk, that he only has the energy to whisper his lines and barely keeps his eyes open. Anyways Shadow Man is definitely an above average film in Steven's latest production thanks to good production quality, director and a better script than on average in these films.The plot is simple: Steven's character Jack is carrying micro cell containing a virus without knowing about it. Bad guys and the good guys want it. Ka-Boom. The end.The film is pretty good in the beginning but it kinda loses it's intensity on the way. In the end of the film you just wish for the film to end. It's a horrible movie but if you have absolutely nothing better to do and you're a Steven Seagal fan - then you might check this one out. Otherwise - get something else. I'm not a demanding critic when it comes down to guys like Steven Seagal: The problem's just that I gotta keep it real - I didn't feel myself entertained during the film. Steven's losing his grip on this.Some people say Steven Seagal has only one face. They couldn't be more wrong; Stevie has at least two faces. Cool and extra-cool. In the film for a second I thought Steven was trying to act but neh.. I was wrong.

The film concerns about a shadowy CIA ex-agent (Steven Seagal) , he goes to Bucarest (Romania) and at airport his daughter is kidnapped after an explosion . A Romanian cabbie (Eva Pope) carries to the small girl and being pursued by Seagal . Later on , he contacts with the American Ambassador (Imelda Staunton : Vera Drake). The film expands an exciting suspense about world of espionage blending with lethal virus intrigue and a kidnapping.The picture contains numerous gunshots , blown up , bloody killings and great lots of violence when struggles and murders happen . Interesting scenes when Seagal is locked into room and he similarly to ¨McGiver¨ uses items for creating weapons confronting nasties ; besides , some cars chase are quite thrilling . Here appears the prestigious British actress Imelda Staunton , she shot for two days, but Seagal did not film any reverse angles with her . All the scenes where her character speaks with Seagal's character were done with the help of a stand-in . Imelda Staunton was quite vocal about her displeasure with the film with several online publications , she went on to say that the picture was a disorganized, under-funded mess . The film is produced by veteran French producer Pierre Spengler and Joe Halpin , usual financiers of Seagal films and shot at Castel Studios in Bucarest where have filmed his last movies .The picture belongs the last period of Seagal career when he's making middling and low budget films , directly to video and many of them are considered semi-turkeys stinkers . These film are directed by B-directors as Don E. Fauntleroy (Mercenary for Justice) , Michael Oblowitz (Foreigner) , Anthony Hickox (Submerged) , Alexander Gruszynski (Black down) and this one , Michael Keusch (Attack force , Flight of fury) who directed him in three films . Following the tendency to oriental action cinema , Seagal hired Asian directors as Mink (Into the sun) , Leong (out the reach) , Ching (Belly of the beast) . These movies aren't on the level from previous successful and big budget Seagal films just like : ¨Glimmer man¨ , ¨Under Siege I,II¨ , ¨Exit wounds¨ , ¨The patriot¨ , ¨Fire down below¨ and others .