For a little over three decades, Steven Seagal has done a lot of things ranging from snapping bones to whispering threats, and he’s even claimed to be a reincarnated Buddhist lama. But directing? It’s safe to say that he only tried his hands at that once, and because this is Steven Seagal we are talking about, it was not your run-of-the-mill action flick. On Deadly Ground is equal parts high-octane action and part eco-thriller with Seagal not just throwing punches, he also delivers heartfelt speeches about taking care of the planet. Topping it all off is the fact that it starred another big wig — Michael Caine, who plays a ruthless oil tycoon, because why not?
Right off the bat, the film comes across as your standard ‘90s action movie with explosions, high-stake fights, and, of course, Seagal singlehandedly taking down a hoard of bad guys. Because this was also a passion project on the actor’s part, it also took some wild detours along the way. Picture Die Hard meets An Inconvenient Truth but with a lot more Aikido. It’s safe to say that the film had layers to it, piling martial arts mayhem on top of environmentalism… and there’s even a point where Seagal literally transforms into a mystical warrior. The end result was a movie that presented itself as both a guilty pleasure and somewhat of a baffling watch, so it makes sense that critics were not kind. However, if you take the over-the-top earnestness with the bizarre, On Deadly Ground is the kind of cinematic oddity you just have to see to believe.
Steven Seagal’s ‘On Deadly Ground’ Is Both Action-Packed and Accidentally Hilarious
Action movies come in different shapes and sizes with some offering brutal fight sequences and others delivering skyscraper-high stakes. Then there’s On Deadly Ground which gives viewers Steven Seagal walking away in slow-motion from an explosion, clad in a fringed leather jacket while Native American flutes play in the background — and that’s just the beginning. At that point, it’s already clear that the film is ridden with moments of unintentional hilarity and there are so many contributing elements. Here, Seagal plays Forrest Taft, an oil rig firefighter-turned-environmental warrior who discovers that the ruthless CEO of Aegis Oil, Michael Jennings, is running unsafe drilling operations in Alaska. With the help of a Native Alaskan activist, Masu (Joan Chen), Taft sets out to take down the corrupt oil company at all costs.
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A dirty good time for lying, thieving men.
Caine, who’s served up dazzling performances across genres, plays a cartoonishly sinister oil executive and delivers his lines like he’s trying to wrap things up before lunch. Instead of dampening things, this element somehow makes the movie even funnier. Then there’s Seagal himself who takes things to a whole other level, after all, this is his first time in the director’s seat. Whether he’s beating up a bar full of guys or walking away from explosions like he timed them himself, his intensity is both mesmerizing and borderline out of sync with the rest of the film. This includes his infamous environmental monologue that you have to see to believe. At a point that perfectly qualified as a standard action climax, the actor halted everything to deliver a five-minute speech about how Big Oil ruins the world. While the sentiment behind it wasn’t bad, the sudden shift from explosions to TED Talk was so abrupt that it felt like a blooper. Whether it was accidental or not, On Deadly Ground is the perfect example of an action movie that doesn’t quite stick the landing but still entertains in the most unexpected ways.
‘On Deadly Ground’ Gives Us Michael Caine Like We’ve Never Seen Before
Michael Caine is an Oscar-winning legend and a man whose versatility has allowed him to play everything from noble mentors to charming conmen. But, it’s safe to say that On Deadly Ground brought a flavor of Caine that had never been seen before. Things like subtlety and restraint went out the window with his portrayal of the oil tycoon, Michael Jennings. The only way to describe it is that it seemed like he was in a completely different movie, but that’s just part of On Deadly Ground’s magic. From his very first scene in the film, it’s clear that Jennings is the perfect bad guy for an action movie of this nature. He’s loud, greedy, and as delusional as they come. The actor sells all these attributes with physical cues like wild eyes, a sneer that doesn’t quit, and a questionable American accent. He equally plows through every scene like he’s in a bid to out-act himself whether he’s laughing maniacally or setting an oil rig on fire.
Perhaps one of his best moments in the film is when he casually gives orders for someone to be killed while sipping a drink. It’s so effortlessly bone-chilling that it almost seems like he’s spoofing the concept of a corporate villain. Despite all this, Caine’s commitment to the role sells it because it’s clear he knows exactly the kind of movie he’s in, so when the rest of the cast went loud, he went louder, and when they went big, he went bigger. At the end of the day, a film where Steven Seagal played an invincible hero needed a villain who wasn’t just over-the-top, but as entertainingly bad as they come.
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