Richard Knapp

Back in the early ’90s, if you asked any moviegoer who they considered one of the biggest action stars of the day, names like Schwarzenegger or Stallone would easily come to mind, but chances were also pretty good that some folks would answer with Steven Seagal. Fast forward to 2009 and Seagal is the star of a reality show in which he plays, well, himself. Debuting this Wednesday, December 2nd is the new A&E series Steven Seagal: Lawman, and if the previews are to be believed, we’re going to see how Seagal has been kicking ass and taking names for the Jefferson Parish Police Department in New Orleans for the nearly twenty years.

But so we don’t forget what he’s done in the past, here’s a list of the best that Seagal had to offer in his heyday. Not to be mistaken with today’s smarter, more kinetic breed of action films, these picks are plodding and clumsy in comparison. Movies like this simply could not be made today. Better yet, they could not be made today and be successful (as witnessed by Seagal’s continued attempts, averaging two to three films a year for the last five years), but put that aside for now. Don’t expect Oscar material, but instead seven hopelessly-underdeveloped yet gleefully-violent action flicks that rightfully earned their place in action movie history.

Above the Law

In 1988′s Above the Law, Seagal’s Nico Toscani is a Chicago cop on the trail of a particularly scummy group of drug dealers when he discovers that an old nemesis from his Vietnam days is behind it all, including secret government plots to stifle his investigation and various attempts to bury him and his family. When Nico is suspended from duty for digging too deep, he takes matters into his own hands and tracks down the bad guys, dishing out his own brand of justice and leaving bodies in his wake.

Directed by Andrew Davis, Seagal’s action-packed debut showed audiences that you don’t have to carry a big gun and a bad attitude to take down the bad guys. More than anything else, Above the Law was a new shot in the arm for action movies and propelled Seagal into the limelight. It wasn’t necessarily a huge hit at the box office, but all the same, it made its mark as a solid action film with an intriguing new face and a bit more depth than expected.

Marked for Death

When Jamaican gangs cause grief in his hometown of Chicago, freshly-retired DEA agent John Hatcher finds himself in the middle of it all and when he interferes with some gang-related activities, he ends up putting his family in danger. After the Jamaicans track him down and pull an old-fashioned drive-by, Hatcher takes it upon himself to get to the bottom of it all, uncovering an international drug ring led by the highly-irritable Screwface. With local high school football coach and longtime friend Max (Keith David) in tow, Hatcher takes his arm-breaking tactics to the streets and all the way to Jamaica.

Marked for Death is a super-simplistic take on the growing drug problem in America and even though it plays up stereotypes and xenophobia for most of the film, the visit to Kingston in the third act does its best to dispel all that and put things in perspective. Add to that some choice reggae cuts on the soundtrack and an appearance by Jimmy Cliff and it’s all irie, as they say.

Out for Justice

Without a doubt one of the most graphically violent of Seagal’s early films, Out for Justice starts busting heads before the opening credits begin rolling and rarely lets up. Seagal plays boy-from-the-hood-done-good NYPD detective Gino Felino on a quest for revenge after his best friend is gunned down in broad daylight by mobster wannabe Richie Madano, played (for better or worse) by an especially ratty-looking William Forsythe. In his search for Richie, Gino comes across all manner of lowlifes, scumbags and wiseguys, making short work of them with his bone-cracking techniques and doesn’t stop until he finds Madano and exacts the aforementioned “justice” on him.

Out for Justice is also notable as the first time Seagal attempts to play a character other than every other character he’s played–mostly by putting on a Brooklyn accent heavy enough to make your head spin. Seagal’s Gino is a man who knows the mob, knows the street and knows the code of honor that they both live by, and it’s refreshing to hear Seagal actually take some glee in the dialogue and wear a performance on his sleeve, even as the act wears thin in the film’s quieter moments.

Under Siege

After being decommissioned, the USS Missouri is overrun by a group of gunmen posing as caterers and musicians led by the ship’s executive officer Commander Krill (Gary Busey) and charming-til-you-get-to-know-him William Strannix (Tommy Lee Jones). CPO Casey Ryback is a low-ranking cook who–thanks to being a former Navy SEAL, of course–finds himself being the one man who can come through and save the day. Not only does he know his way around the ship, but he knows what the bad guys’ plan is and knows just how to stop them. And save the day he does.

At the time, Under Siege was largely referred to as “Die Hard on a Boat” for it’s somewhat copycat premise, but the two things that save it are Andrew Davis’ solid direction and the delightfully over the top performances by its baddies Jones and Busey. You know whenever Tommy Lee Jones can out-crazy Gary Busey there’s bound to be some sort of magic going down–and the G.I. Joe-inspired character names can’t hurt either. All told, Under Siege was a big hit at the box office and even nominated for two Oscars for sound work, making for Seagal’s most successful film to date.

Executive Decision

If you could divide Seagal’s film career into two “eras”, the turning point would without a doubt be Executive Decision. This would be the first time that Seagal’s character isn’t the invincible, street-smart tough guy. Nor is he the pony-tailed Zen master that just wants to protect his family. Nor is he cop who knows the score and is out to put the bad guys down for good. In fact, this would be the first time that Seagal wouldn’t even be the star of the show.

If you were a fan of Seagal’s early flicks, this probably wouldn’t be considered a favorite, but its importance in his film career is undeniable. In the grand scheme of things, it was yet another sign of things to come; that the action movie landscape was shifting once again.

Despite the rehashed terrorists-on-a-plane plot (or in this post-9/11 world, perhaps because of it), Executive Decision is the one of the few Seagal films that feels “real” due to the ultimately inconsequential role of Seagal’s Lt. Col. Travis. His character’s fate was far from what audiences were expecting and when the movie turns to everyman David Grant (Kurt Russell) in the clutch, it’s almost as if the movie gods were telling us that Seagal and his kind of action hero were on the way out.

Exit Wounds

Seagal’s Orin Boyd manages to save the Vice President from terrorists but blows up enough of the city to get himself transferred to another precinct in the hard streets of Detroit. Once there, he attends anger management classes, finds a buddy who provides some comic relief, has a run-in with a rapper-turned-actor and some shady goings-on, gets busted down to traffic cop, discovers that the cops are the real bad guys and teams with his new partner to take down the corrupt cops and vindicate the rapper-turned-actor’s incarcerated brother in the process. If that doesn’t sound like every cop movie trope ever known to man, that’s because I forgot the scene where Boyd appears to get shot dead, only to reveal that he was wearing a bulletproof vest. And yet, there’s plenty of fun to be had watching it all play out.

One of his last films to see wide theatrical release, it would seem that Seagal used Exit Wounds as both an opportunity to amp up the action thanks to the handiwork of Andrzej Bartkowiak (Romeo Must Die, Doom) as well as to poke a little fun at his tough guy persona and capitalize on a crossover audience. Exit Wounds might have be the beginning of a hipper, flashier Seagal era, but instead, it marked a turn for the worse. With the cast pulling from all corners of the spectrum, including DMX, Isaiah Washington, Tom Arnold, Jill Hennessy, Anthony Anderson, Bill Duke, Bruce McGill and Eva Mendes, the movie works best when you forget all those names and their assorted careers. Simply enjoying it for the fast-paced action, grin-inducing stuntwork and some self-deprecating humor, Exit Wounds is still palatable, if only to serve as a final glimpse of Seagal’s best work before his films were relegated to direct-to-video releases.

The Onion Movie

One of said direct-to-video releases was 2008′s The Onion Movie, in which Seagal stars as a parody of himself. At first it’s just a hilarious commercial for the upcoming action flick called Cock Puncher. As The Onion Movie works its way through various news bits and comedy vignettes, things start to fall apart at Onion News due to corporate interference from Global Tetrahedron, and in classic Seagal movie fashion, the real Cock Puncher’s ball-breaking talents are called upon to save the day. There’s cock, there’s punching, and the two come together with a magic only Seagal can bring.

And just in case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s the A&E promo for Steven Seagal: Lawman. Now that you’re armed with the best of Steven Seagal on film, you can have a better appreciation for how he’ll be busting down scumbags on TV. Enjoy!