Review by Adam Stephen Kelly
Stars Steven Seagal, Dan Badarau, Darren Shahlavi, D. Neil Mark, George Remes, Claudiu Bleont,
Madalina Mariescu, Calin Puia, Cosmina Pasarin, Alexandra Coman, Oana Jidoveanu | Written by Steven Seagal
UK Certification 15 | UK RRP £22.99 | Blu-ray Region B | Runtime 97 minutes | Directed by Lauro Chartrand
Action legend Steven Seagal has turned his attention to writing for the screen in the last few years, while still maintaining his rather epic work rate as an actor. Born to Raise Hell sees the mighty man taking on the roles of writer, star and producer, as he tears up the straight-to-video movie with countless thunderstorms of gunfire and enough cheesy one-liners to make a high definition Diciassette Formaggio.
Seagal plays a US Interpol agent who is sent to join the International Drug Task Force in Romania in order to combat the export of hard drugs from Europe to the States. One such anti-narcotics case sees Stevie-See (the nickname for Seagal that I just created out of thin air, which I promise I'll never use again) tackling a cartel that deals in both guns and drugs, and who aren't afraid to brutalise whoever gets in their way, be it man, woman or child. Soon the streets of Bucharest run red with blood as a violent gang war erupts between the cartel and a former member of the Russian special forces, who agrees to work with Seagal after his wife is murdered by the crime boss and he sets his sights firmly on revenge.
There's never a dull moment, which is what you want from an action flick, let's be honest, but the explosions, fistfights, karate chops and bullet showers are just so repetitive and uninspired that you're prevented from enjoying all the scenes that dabble in the violent. Seagal's script is nothing but forgettable fare, but he certainly did a good job at writing himself a wife who's half his age into the story, especially when they dive into a slow-motion sex scene that involves our grizzled hero wearing a huge black hoody and jeans, whilst his love rolls around topless and in the most non-existent of undergarments. He certainly deserves a pat on the back for that one. What an absolute mastermind of the visual novel.
It's a good 90-odd minutes to spend on a rainy afternoon if you're stuck at home with nothing to do and a must for any Stevie-See (I lied) super-fans. I also highly recommend getting the Blu-ray as the picture quality is stunning and the aforementioned action scenes aren't quite so repetitive and uninspired, compared to DVD, when you're watching in 1080p with true HD sound blasting from your TV.
EXTRAS ? Just the trailer.