Exoticalot
People are voting emotionally.
Lumsdal
Good , But It Is Overrated By Some
Zandra
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
Cassandra
Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.
SnoopyStyle
The EPA lost an agent under suspicious circumstances in the Appalachians. Jack Taggart (Steven Seagal) goes undercover as a carpenter to Jackson, Kentucky. Orin Hanner Sr. (Kris Kristoffersson) is the owner of Hanner Coal Company and is being paid to dump toxic barrels in the mines. Taggart faces resistance from the Hanner thugs, local cops and local criminals. He finds an ally in bee keeper Sarah Kellogg (Marg Helgenberger) but locals believe she murdered her father. Her brother Earl (Stephen Lang) has a dark secret.Steven Seagal doesn't really blend in the Appalachians. He may as well be wearing neon as he goes undercover. He is a fish out of water and it's very strange. The man has a limited number of skills. It's fine to like his narrow types of movies, but this doesn't feel like one of those. It's funny when he's talking to the locals with southern accents. The whole thing feels more like a joke than a thriller.
videorama-759-859391
This was Seagal's one last mainstream hit, if you exclude Exit Wounds and yeah.... uh Half Past Dead. Again here's another good actioner, with one hell of a message, that will have minds, questioning the value of human for the sake of some millions. We really get to see Steve one last time, on the screen, bust up some heads, and stomp on some toes. Like On Deadly Ground, this seems another personal project for Steven, who's attempt of a hillbilly accent can only be described as what the fu..? Should of just let it slide. He's an agent for the EPA, investigating the suspecting dumping of pollutants, which are killing the little fishee's and some of the town folk, making them very sick, prefore. Also one of his agents was shot, investigating this operation. One pretty town woman has sourly been given the wrong end of the stick, where she's not very well liked, well her protective brother is working for the baddies. It's another interesting play of background story here, in a movie better than you expect, despite David and Margaret, passing it off as: (sarcastically) "Yeah, can't wait". And really as a boss bad lead, Kris Krisoffertson, was interesting, but not sufficient. He played bad better in Payback. Some of Steven's lines near the end of the film, cracked me up too. This film really leaves no detail forgotten either, regarding straightening out Kris Krisofterson's son and the other punks, plus delivering through on a promise. For Seagal Cinemania, this wasn't a bad pic to go out on, and has more to offer, than you originally think. Seagal is still in need, of an acting tutor badly, though.
Comeuppance Reviews
Jack Taggart (Seagal) is an EPA agent with an attitude. In order to get to the truth about a large, illegal toxic waste-dumping scheme, he goes undercover as a handyman in rural Jackson, Kentucky, where the waste is said to be hidden. This toxic waste is causing the townsfolk to develop medical issues, and is even killing them. While Taggart finds friendly locals like Cotton (Stanton), Reverend Goodall (Helm), and Sarah Kellogg (Helgenberger), who he forges a relationship with, he does end up with a lot of opposition to his even being in their supposedly quiet little town. As it turns out, the sinister Orin Hanner (Kristofferson) is a corporate bigwig who is using the townspeople of Jackson as his own personal enforcers against Taggart so he can continue to make millions with his waste-dumping scheme. But Taggart vows to end this cycle of corruption and misery - by any means necessary. Will Taggart and his friends triumph over the forces of environmental evil? Find out today! You know, it's a funny thing...we've been so conditioned by Seagal's latter-day efforts, that we assumed watching this older Seagal vehicle was going to be a crud-filled slog filled to the brim with mind-numbing stupidity. But we were very much refreshed and relieved to find out...wait for it...that Fire Down Below is actually a solid, worthwhile, and entertaining movie. Yes, that seems shocking, but that's only based on the 2014 view of Seagal. Hark back to a time when he was a little thinner, his movies went to the theater, and the major studios ensured some level of professional quality. Seagal is as likable as Seagal gets, and he even smiles a few times. Plus his jackets are truly amazing fashion pieces. (Hence, we ventured a supposition that his full name in the movie was Jacket Taggart). This was in Seagal's "Environmental" phase, where he wore buckskin coats and all his movies had to be about pollution or rainforests or something. Somehow his interest in that seems to have faded, as his latter-day DTV efforts seem to have him more as an unlikable thug.If Hard Target was Van Damme's "Bayou" movie, than Fire Down Below is Seagal's answer to that. There's plenty of banjo-pickin' country music on the soundtrack (a lot of which is by Seagal himself, with none other than Todd Smallwood of Street Knight musical fame...what an amazing team-up!), and the first image of the movie is highly reminiscent of the cover of classic SNES game Phalanx. But the idea of a butt-kicking EPA agent who becomes "Undercover Handyman" is an enjoyable idea, but the whole "classic corrupt small town" feels very familiar.But here's the bottom line as we see it: Because this is a rural movie, which is very well-shot and has a nice atmosphere, and has a refreshing emphasis on actual characters, it seems the movie as a whole would have gotten more recognition and critical acclaim had it starred Billy Bob Thornton or Ed Harris instead of Steven Seagal. Take out some of the action scenes, and this could have worked well as a low-key drama like Chrystal, Paris Trout or Sling Blade. But because this is a Seagal movie, it ran into a dilemma: As a drama, it's not going to please drama fans, and as a straight-up action movie, it runs the risk of upsetting action buffs who have to have everything go at a breakneck pace with tons of brutal violence. We suppose the intended audience is...us, really, because we appreciate actual storytelling, atmosphere, and characters, as well as action. But we applaud Seagal and the rest of the cast for actually trying to make something respectable and not your average crud.So set your newly-minted (and extremely warranted) modern-day Seagal prejudices aside and feel free to delve into the world of classic, pre-obese Seagal. We're not afraid to say we thought Fire Down Below was a winner.
alfiemoviegoer
This is a marvelous film. The juxtaposition of a petite beekeeping blonde with a large muscular dark haired Federal good all round chap has not often been done better. Nuclear cyanide, a wimpy son and heir to a poisoning conglomerate added to the eclectic mix.Fast staging of semi-martial arts fights with quick quips about damaged wood sticks just about sealed it for me.Sadly I watched this film for the first time on the day that Levon Helm died. He died in the film, as the preacher. I could write some great stuff about Seven Seagulls as an actor and mock the film, but won't, out of respect for Mr. Helm.