Steven Seagal formula film
342017
Another blood and guts epic with a young daughter as "human interest":
I bet Steven Seagal like Elvis Presley wonders where the formula
has gone wrong? He's thicker and older and he plays
a gray place between good and bad that he seems able to do better than a good guy. Steven Seagal is the stuff of villains, not heroes.
He a a natural bad guy and these roles don't match his
"character": he can't sell hero anymore.
753878
The Glimmer Man is Steven Segal's first forary into a buddy movie. Kennan Ivory Wayana gives some good one liners in the film and he even gets beat up a few times. The film has some nice action sequences and some chemsitry between Segal and Wayans. I give *** out of ****.
3727582
After seeing it recently, and not having watched this movie in years I have to state that this has to be one of the most ridiculous action movies ever created by man.  The shear impossibility of that many heavily armed men trying to shoot down and kill only one guy, and always failing, is absolutely laughable and absurd it makes for entertaining viewing.

 When I first saw this movie when I was young I took it seriously, since Seagal at the time was a new and different style of Martial Arts star then what we had seen before with Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, & Chuck Norris.  Looking at it now, being an adult who has actually been in real life violent situations I look at this movie as pure escapism and equal to actual life authentication as a "Star Wars" or "Wizard of Oz" film.

 The funniest part is when about a thousand guys heavily armed to the teeth attack Seagal in this Japanese themed house, all attacking him one at a time.  Then the gunmen were incredibly bad shots because every single bullet out of thousands had missed it's mark.

 One funny part had been after Seagal beats up these goons in the house, two other guys armed with uzzies simply stand outside the double doors like video game characters at like a 90 degree angle, instead of firing their weapons and killing Seagal they just stand there and wait pointing their weapons out just to get killed.

 Then he drives this jeep while a sniper on the roof fires at him, on top of this helicopter hovering over raining down some lead never hitting him or Kelly LeBrock once.

 One major scene in the middle of a big night time carnival in the city in front of a hundred people Seagal gets into this death match against this large guy who was in on murdering his wife.  After a big fisticuff bout Seagal simply kills this guy in front of the crowd and walks off like he just purchased an ice cream cone!

 When he infiltrates the evil boss corrupt Senator (the actor from Die Hard & Iron Man 3) he takes on like thirty dudes, beats the snot out of this guy at a pool table with ease then kills just about everyone.  When the police arrive at the scene they automatically take Seagal's side with big high fives, "Good job buddy you really wasted those dudes!" letting him walk away as if he just left a boxing match or a movie theater. Can anyone imagine any major police department in the world responding to a crime scene like that & saying, "Hey right on! Yeah thrash them all!" ??? Lol!

 If you want to see a movie where NOTHING what so ever like that would happen in reality then watch this one.

 And then we have Kelly LeBrock, a gorgeous English model at the time who does absolutely nothing for the movie except look sexy, and provide a lady for Seagal to either rescue from the villains or to have sex with (what else are women characters for in action karate films any way right folks!  God forbid the film makers portray women as equals or human beings showing them any respect) Lol So ridiculous!  She was a good actress at the time and did really well in "Weird Science", yet all she is for this film is eye candy here.

So when all is said and done I give this one a B-/C+ and one thumb barely up.  Seagal did make a couple of better action films but this one was the most implausible.
2307556
I saw this movie when it was first released to the theaters and 2 or 3 times on tv since. The acting by Oates was typical of him. It seems that he played the same type character in all his movies. Taylor and Wilson just  plain didn't act, no personality or character to relate to. There was a  very thin plot. For people that love cars like I do, enjoy this film. The  competition between the old hot rod and the sleek new factory built  hi-performance car makes this an intriging movie.
482594
Steven Seagal and Keenan Ivory Wayans definitely played off each other extremely well in this movie! Both are awesome in their roles!
1764032
Taut and convincing.  However, except for the principals, the actors were all from the same Eastern European talent agency that Steven Seagal habitually uses in his cheesy straight-to-DVD films.  This is one of those films where the audience can SEE how the budget limited the production.
4724501
I like Steven Seagal movies, must buy for fans and great value!
1880863
I happen to enjoy Steven Seagal's movies, even his not so great ones. Seagalogy provides an in depth synopsis and commentary on all Seagal's work, inluding his musical career. For the diehard Seagal fan, this is an excellent resource. It's written with a funny and often profane tongue-in-cheek style that is a good match for Seagal's body of work. For a shorter review of Seagal's career, I also recommend the blog at DanRenoNovels dot com.
4747032
Director, Steven Soderbergh is one of the few director's today, who has both the clout, respect and talent to get a superstar cast together (and forgo their multi-million dollar salaries) and actually being able to pull it off by making a good movie. His remake of the '60s Ratpack, film vehicle, "Ocean's Eleven" does just that, with the operating word being 'fun'. This movie is in the genre known as the 'caper picture'. The whole fun of the 'caper picture'is watching how a complicated plan unfolds to pull off some criminal endevor. In this case the plot revolves around recently released thief, Danny Ocean, (wonderfully played with a wink by George Clooney)who has an audacious plan to knock off three Las Vegas casinos, all at once. He and his buddy, Rusty(played by Brad Pitt) put together a motley crew of experts (which include actors, Matt Damon, Elliot Gould, Carl Reiner, Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac) each of which has a field of expertise (demolitions, survelliance, cons etc.)Its sort of like the "Dirty Dozen" minus one. Once the 'crew' is in place, the viewer gets to lay back and watch the convuluted plan unfold. Our heroes go head to head with a rather cold, nasty, casino boss(Andy Garcia), who also happens to be dating Danny's beautiful ex-wife (Julia Roberts). No, this movie isn't going to win any Academy Awards like some of Soderberg's other film vehicles such as "Traffic" and "Erin Brokovich". And it dosn't have the critical acclaim like his "Sex, Lies and Videotape". But, what drives this movie is just good old fashion F-U-N. The light hearted, script is well written (at least for Hollywood Blockbuster standards) and constantly keeps the viewer guessing what will happen next. The actors play their roles rather 'tongue in cheek' and they have loads of chemistry together (especially Clooney and Roberts).The cinematogrphy is a cut above the usual and some of the hotel scenes remind me of Soderbergh's other great 'caper' picture, "Out of Sight". A special mention should also be made for the jazzy, pulse pounding score which seems to help propel the movie's action. If you want to see some fun, light entertainment then I highly reccomend "Ocean's Eleven".
2480326
Early in his career, Steven Seagal gave us some great ("Out for Justice", "Above the Law", "Under Siege") films as well as some good ones ("Hard to Kill", "Marked for Death", "Dark Territory"), but as his career prospered and his weight grew, the quality of the films started to slip as did their box office appeal. Beginning in 2001, Seagal as a writer and producer made direct to video (DTV) films, usually cranking them out at a rate of 3 per year. Here in 1996 we have one of the last of the classic Seagal films. Indeed it could be argued that it is his last good film, although "Exit Wounds" (2001) was pretty good.

"Glimmer Man" has Seagal as a cop in LA. Keenen Ivory Wayans plays his partner, Brian Cox is his former CIA boss, Bob Gunton plays the villain, and John Murice Jackson is the heavy. The plot is pretty ordinary - Seagal must hunt down a killer which causes he and his partner to come into peril.

Keenen Ivory Wayans is best known for his irreverent Emmy winning TV series "In Living Color" (1990-94) although he occasionally appears in film. You'll remember Bob Gunton best from his role as the warden in "The Shawshank Redepmtion" (1994). John Murice Jackson is best known for his work as the Rear Admiral on "JAG" (1995-2004).

Brian Cox puts in a film stealing performance. Cox won an Emmy for "Nuremberg" (2000) and a BAFTA for "The Escapist" (2008), but he's probably best known for his work in the first two "Bourne" films. Quite frankly I've never seen him give a poor performance, and my favorites are "Braveheart" (1995) and "The Long Kiss Goodnight" (1996).

There is plenty of action and Seagal has the opportunity to display his considerable Aikido skills in full view. The banter between Wayans and Seagal is OK, but not up to the standard of such buddy films as "The Last Boy Scout" after which it was patterned. The plot may be a little confusing, due to the cuts made by the producer, but if you stay alert you can follow it if you want. Seagal's pictures don't necessarily need a coherent plot, but it is there if you want it.

Bottom line - one of the last good Steven Seagal films.
694151
This is not a bad Steven Seagal film. The plot is actually intriguing but did not live up to its potential due to some ineffective and uneven direction and choppy editing. The film works better as a standard detective drama forgoing anticipation of Seagal's usual physical antics.
1685809
I felt I needed to review due to an article I read the other day where Chris Pine apologized for not doing this movie justice...at the time I was looking for a sequel!  I'm so sad that he felt that way.  It's been one of my favorites since I saw it.  I have always loved the previous movies, but I felt like Chris Pine was born to play the part 5 minutes in.  He really is an excellent actor.
2215974
Still exciting with good chase sequences (esp. the motorcycle romp through Manila).  Integrates various bits of the Damon films and leaves options for future films that might combine Renner, Weizt and Damon (along with the other characters from the Damon and this film).  The Stacey Keach characters' goverment position (and Norton's too for that matter) are not really explained.  I'm guessing they're part of DOD but that isn't clear.  Human performance modification is the big aspect here.
2766450
No comments below are for racist purposes, only honest observation.

I'm comparing this to his other work Diary of a Mad Black Woman and Madea Goes To Jail.

This movie has the same formula as the other movies:

1. Black people = majority. White people never serve a major role in this guy's movie, the best they can be is the background actors. This is NOT a racist comment, this is the truthful observation, anyone that watches Tyler's movies, especially those listed above, should have seen it a mile away. I'd go into more details, but meh....I know this movie is situated in Atlanta and the majority are black, however, in his movies you can clearly see white people in the background so you can't possibly justify his racially VERY unbalance group of actors.

2. Has Madea (only in this movie, she appears a lot less often and has weaker lines and actions).

3. The teaching of moral value, he likes making movies that speak out to the black community, but should appeal partially as well to everyone else.

4. Usually has relationship or domestic issues like being abused or whatnot.

5. Fairytale ending or good ending. Sorry, but because he's using real life situations, he should not fool people into thinking that everything works out great in the end with everyone singing and smiling and the world is working itself out. Tell that to my life. Real life situations do NOT always end great and does not always end up with you being with some sort of hottie/stud that is perfect in every way. Also, many of the people in this movie, especially the lead actors, are unrealistically good looking. I just don't understand why someone so concentrated with real life situation portray real life in such a fabcriated and exaggerated manner. This goes for most of his movies.

Sorry to say, but this movie is nowhere NEAR as good as the two movies I listed above. Madea, as said, appears less often. The humor isn't as fun, even the drama is not as well built because you really start to notice that he's starting to use the same formula, it is almost a mimic. He's starting to lose his credibility as a writer in my personal opinion. I felt this way about this movie because it's the third one I've watched after the other two. It works in this formula:

FORMULA:
1. Girl has problem with guy.
2. Then comes the perfect black man that not only looks perfect, but acts perfect (how unrealistic? So what...you have to look good in order to be good to a woman? A perfect gentleman does NOT have to look like a stud...that's one negative to Tyler Perry's movies, he hits in a realistic mark but his characters and the way they're fabricated is unrealistic to the majority of the population)
3. Then she tries to work it out and in the end you get a moral teaching of some sort and everything works out like some sort of fairytale.

In this movie, it's a bit different from that formula, but watch those two other movies first than watch this one. You'll see that I mean. He lost a lot of credibility in my book.

Tyler Perry, if you're reading this... (LMAO Yeah right...), your movies are great! They're so good I actually made my mom watch it and she loved it, which is rare. But please change your formula and the way you write your movies. You do not have to stick with the same stuff over and over.

Maybe make a movie where the guy is the one that is abused first or the person that rescues her is not some stud. If it takes a stud to rescue a woman, then 99.9% of the women out there are doomed. Ethnicity balance is bad in his movies, please don't even try to justify this. Also, include Madea more. She lightens up the movie and makes it much more enjoyable to watch.

As always, acting in this movie is fantastic. The script just feels a bit uninspired and not as strong this time around.
339594
It wasn't until I watched Khamoshi for the second time that I recognized the director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali as being the same for Saawariya.  It changed my opinion of the film and character/actor development. In Khamoshi which was released in 1996 you had a young Salman Khan and Manisha Koirala both who at that time were 20 something year old actors.  Fast forward to 2007 you have Saawariya introducing two new young actors, Ranbir Kapoor & Sonam Kapoor both 20 something actors. It is clear that Sanjay Leela Bhansali cares about the story, the characters, and the actors because he wrings every bit of emotion that he can from them in their performances. My initial impression was that Saawariya was dark.  It still is, only, I recognize now that it is a director style and was necessary for the movie. I didn't care for the movie/play effect. It works..but I don't like that Les Mis the movie feel but the movie was based on Dostoyevsky so dark was the order of the day and it was done well.  The storyline ,he-loves-her, she-loves-another is not unique, however, when you are not inundated with a lot of characters, your focus remains on the two main characters and you take the journey with them.

The music/dancing was fine. Nothing really memorable or hum-able. The costuming was very good. There was this Islamic overtone ( music helped) which added a contrast, but did not invade the movie. Now, if you are a Salman Khan fan ( which I am ) I would say the 6 minute screen time he had in this movie was some of his best work. He did not dance or take off his shirt which, for this role, would have been excessive and not related to the movie. What he did do in 6 minutes would have taken 16 minutes for another actor. You see him in flashback which makes the (4) scenes even more powerful. Ten years have passed since Khamoshi- evident is  the cinema maturity of Mr. Khan. There is one scene where he ( Imaan ) is speaking to Sakina ( Sonan Kapoor ) the camera angle and lighting was excellent.  He cocked his head to the side, paused, spoke...returned it and spoke again. This may not seem like a big deal but had the dialogue or movements been a second off - the scene would have been ineffective ! I see that as exquisite timing something that he has become noted for and working with a director who sees what he wants the viewer to feel at that moment.

Overall, the cinematography is excellent; giving us wide shots and closeups when needed.  Angles were used to bring us the viewer in and for the most part they worked - tapping into our emotions for that moment. I would have loved more than one scene that implied it was morning since the entire movie seemed to take place at night in the rain, wind, or snow but as I said above, it was Dostoyevsky-ish which means dark, somber, filled with angst.

If you are interested in acting and directing - this is a movie to see.  You can find this kind of story line anywhere - but not this execution.  To get a full picture of Sanjay Leela Bhansali and what he can do with actors I would suggest that you also watch Khamoshi-The Musical; not so much for Salman Khan (sic) but to see how a director can take a story and move actors to excellence when for the most part there are only 3-4 main characters. These two movies would make interesting comparative discussions.
97193
One of my favorite films of all time.  The bank robbery scene in Heat is featured in GTA.  It makes me appreciate the film even more. AQ really good.
3663274
Script not well thought through.  Kilmer flat in the role.  His delivery of the lines is off on the timing.  To sum it up...it seemed much like a Steven Seagal movie.  A two star at best.  Pretty sure their will not be a sequel.  I do believe Kristen Bell delivered her part quite convincingly.