On Deadly Ground

Released by:

Warner Home Video

Features:

1994; 101 Min; Rated R (ooh, stunner); Dolby Digital: 5.1 English; Dolby Surround: French; Anamorphic Widescreen (2.35) and Pan/Scan.

Extras:

Survey says... LOSER!

Review:

It's a Steven Segal flick, directed by Steven Segal, do you really need a plot summary? Anyhow, Steven Segal is Forrest Taft, Michael Caine his boss Michael Jennings. Taft is an environmentally responsible employee of Jennings oil company, Aegis. Jennings is cutting corners, building faulty oil rigs. Taft decides it time to resolve the issue in typical Segal fashion, martial arts, C-4 and full auto shotguns. What more do you need. Oh, Joan Chen is the obligatory love interest, but does anyone care?

I'll admit it, for some sick twisted reason, I've enjoyed every Segal movie. Ok, Fire Down Below was pretty bad, it's the only one of his films I don't own. Come on, he sings during the closing credits, country at that! What On Deadly Ground proves, is that once his acting career is over (hey, I sense those cheap shots being made right now), he might have a career as a director. Quit laughing, I though Eddie Murphy did a decent job with Harlem Nights, script excluded. And that is the key for most actors turned director, they need a good script. Even the best of actors/directors can get screwed by a bad script, see Eastwood's Absolute Power.

On Deadly Ground is a decent mindless action flick. What bogged it down, was the ending. I know this was supposed to teach a message to me, but... the speech at the end of the film wasn't needed. Mr. Segal, I know your an environmentally conscious person. Who doesn't hate it when oil companies and other business fuck up the environment? But, after 90 minutes of blood, guts and kicking ass, I don't want to smack upside the head with a message, I've already figured out your point.

The quality of the disc is fine. The new transfer is a little cleaner for the original laser that I used to own, it was just a bit soft on the transfer. This is probably due to the fact I don't own a widescreen television, and the down conversion issues that arise. The audio was decent, not a 5.1 mix that'll knock your socks off, but it does the job. I'll take 5.1 over pro-logic any day.

Extras? Yeah right.  In Warner's quest to provide people what they think people want, they're getting cheaper and cheaper. It's the movie, with a text chapter menu. Ooh, hold me back. Until this, I didn't realize I actually care about some of the simpler extras, such as trailers and production notes. Basically, On Deadly Ground was one step from being a $14.98 "crap-o-rama" release. To put that in perspective, so is Heat from Michael Mann. Be afraid... very afraid.

On a scale of 1 to 10, the movie ranks a 5, mainly because I like Segal's stuff.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this disc a 6, with -1 bonus biscuit, since Warner was to cheap to even include one trailer :-(

Dan Linzmeier, FIT Productions
Fitprod@aol.com
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