#HALF PAST DEAD FILM CAST MOVIE#

To sum up, Half Past Dead is a stupid film with a stupid title. Morris Chestnut in Half Past Dead (c) Franchise Pictures It is now up to Sasha to save the judge and stop the terrorists before time runs out, all while keeping his true identity secret from Nick. In exchange for Mckenna, Johnson and his group take Supreme Court Justice Jane McPherson (Linda Thorson) as a hostage, who was at the prison to witness McKenna’s execution. One night, a group of terrorists led by Donny Johnson (Morris Chestnut, Boyz N The Hood) break into the prison searching for soon-to-be executed death row inmate Lester McKenna (Bruce Weitz), a man who knows the location of a stash of gold bars worth millions of dollars. Sasha and Nick are soon incarcerated inside the newly re-opened New Alcatraz. During an FBI raid, Sasha is shot while protecting criminal Nick Frazier (rapper Ja Rule) and is declared clinically dead (or ‘half past dead’) for a short period of time. Seagal plays Sasha Petrosevich, an FBI agent working undercover for a San Francisco crime boss. The film starred 90’s action star Steven Seagal ( Under Siege, Executive Decision) in his last theatrically released film for eight years while he invested in the direct-to-DVD action market. Paul is also responsible for writing ‘cinematic classics’ Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man and Who’s Your Caddy?. Half Past Dead was released in November 2002 and was written and directed by newcomer Don Michael Paul in his directorial debut. This film is not like the dumb action films made by the likes of Stallone and Schawrzenegger in the ‘80’s and 90’s that were hugely entertaining despite potentially lacking in overall quality, this dumb action film is likely to have viewers tuning out within seconds of the film beginning. If you are expecting a dumb, forgettable action film, a dumb, forgettable action film is what you are given.

To those people, you were right to be wary of ‘ Half Past Dead.

#HALF PAST DEAD FILM CAST MOVIE#

This saying could also apply to not judging a film by its title, and for people first hearing of a film titled Half Past Dead, the title may not instil much hope of them expecting to see a movie containing an interesting plot, well-written characters and dialogue and a thought-provoking message running throughout. There is an old saying that tells us to ‘not judge a book by its cover’. However, if you’re a big Seagal fan, and are willing to remove your brain for 2 hours then the pyrotechnics, short bursts of aikido and an extremely attractive Nia Peebles may make this worth your while.The film that ended Steven Seagal’s career at the top…ĭirected by: Don Michael Paul Starring: Steven Seagal, Ja Rule, Morris Chestnut, Tony Plana, Kurupt, Nia Peeples, Claudia Christian, Linda Thorson, Bruce Weitz In conclusion, ‘Half Past Dead’ is another poor addition to the rap fu genre and is less entertaining than both ‘Exit Wounds’ and ‘Romeo Must Die’, whose audience this clearly aims itself at. Most of the action is gunplay and explosions, and is poorly done, looking more like a film student’s attempt to mimic ‘The Killer’ and ‘The Matrix’ than offering anything remotely realistic. The little hand-to-hand combat on offer is quite nicely choreographed and executed but far too infrequent to recommend a viewing.

Unfortunately, playing the same quietly spoken good guy as usual, he could have phoned in this performance. If you’re still reading this review, then you obviously have an interest in Steven Seagal movies, so let’s forget the rehashed plot, dodgy hip hop leads and music video direction and focus on the main man himself. Unfortunately, DMX who appeared in those average flicks actually looks like an impressive actor compared to the line up here. The addition of hip hop stars such as Ja Rule and Kurupt is clearly a cynical marketing ploy to appeal to the kind of kids that flocked in droves to see ‘Romeo Must Die’ and ‘Exit Wounds’.

As I said, we’ve all seen this setup a million times before, and with nothing new in terms of action, plot or performance on offer, it quickly becomes a waste of time. Seagal plays an undercover FBI agent placed into a maximum-security prison – the new Alcatraz. Quite an achievement considering how generic these types of film usually are in the first place! Unfortunately, the few redeeming features present on Exit Wounds were quickly discarded by ex-‘Renegade’ director Don Michael Paul in creating one of the most generic and hackneyed of action movies I’ve seen in years. Following on from the relative success of ‘Exit Wounds’, Seagal teamed up with another hip hop star, Ja Rule, to capitalise on the popularity of what has recently become known as rap fu.

Half past dead film cast