On Deadly Ground

Directed by Steven Seagal, On Deadly Ground follows Alaskan firefighter Forrest Taft (Seagal) as he sets out to sabotage a dangerous oil rig being constructed by a malicious businessman named Michael Jennings (Michael Caine). Filmmaker Seagal, armed with a script by Ed Horowitz and Robin U. Russin, delivers a progressively hit-and-miss endeavor that admittedly gets off to a promising start, as the picture kicks off with a compelling opening stretch detailing Forrest’s efforts at fighting a dangerous oil-rig fire and, eventually, his barroom brawl with several loud-mouthed locals (led by Mike Starr’s entertainingly obnoxious Big Mike). It’s disappointing to note, then, that On Deadly Ground loses a significant amount of forward momentum once it moves into a comparatively tedious midsection, as Seagal suffuses this portion of the proceedings with a series of far-from-enthralling interludes and episodes (eg Forrest’s stay with a local tribe and his efforts at planning his next move) – with the picture’s sole saving grace during this stretch Caine’s deliciously, gleefully over-the-top work as the smarmy bad guy. And although the movie climaxes with a relatively stirring (and very violent) third act, On Deadly Ground, which closes with a laughable speech by Forrest about the dangers of oil pollution, has long-since confirmed its place as a disappointingly erratic endeavor that could’ve used some serious streamlining.

** out of ****