The Keeper (2009/I)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Keoni Waxman

Writer:

Paul A. Birkett (written by)

Release Date:

22 September 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Action

Plot:

In the vein of "The Professional" and "Man on Fire", Steven Seagal plays an LA cop who after nearly being killed by his greedy partner...

Cast

Steven Seagal	...	Rolland Sallinger
Jessica Williams	...	Nurse Williams
Alexandria Morrow	...	Hooker
Kisha Sierra	...	Allegra
Liezl Carstens	...	Nikita Wells
Luce Rains	...	Jason Cross
Alessandra Hayden	...	Night Club Dancer
Seri DeYoung	...	Socialite #1 (as Seraphine DeYoung)
Trine Christensen	...	Regina Lawson
Arron Shiver	...	Mason Silver
Brian Keith Gamble	...	Trevor Johnson
Therese Olson	...	Cocktail Waitress
Steph DuVall	...	Conner Wells
Michael-David Aragon	...	Scar
Gianni Biasetti	...	Henchman #5
Kevin Christopher Brown	...	Texas Deputy Sherriff
Jack Brunacini Jr.	...	Bodyguard
Kurly Tlapoyawa	...	Drug Dealer #3
Gilley Grey	...	Drug Dealer #2 (as Gilbert J. Anderson)
Johnnie Hector	...	Manuelo
Michael R. Long	...	Henchman # 1
Tomas Sanchez	...	Jorge
David Manzanares	...	Cop #1
Gabriel 'Bam Bam' Merendon	...	Drug Dealer #1
Elwood L. Hoyt	...	Senior Detective
Brady Romberg	...	Lucien
Edward A. Duran	...	Crew Cut
Carlton Liggins	...	Detective

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence throughout, language, some sexuality/nudity and drug use.

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Certification:

USA:R | Norway:15 (DVD) | Japan:PG12

Filming Locations:

Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Steamroller Productions

Solid effort from Seagal.

The Keeper: Seagal's delivers another film. The regularity of his releases brings a sense of excitement (well, to Seagal's fans anyway) but also trepidation. Will it have dubbing? Will it have doubling? Will it just plain old suck? On the most part, Seagal's DTV release normally tick a yes to all those questions. In recent years, Pistol Whipped and Renegade Justice were watchable exceptions. Pistol Whipped in particular was almost worthy of Seagal films of old. His last two have been pretty poor. Kill Switch was abysmal, while Driven To Kill was mediocre, suffering from lacklustre direction, poor cast, an all too whispery Seagal, and terrible editing. So does the Keeper deliver? On the whole…yes! Okay, this film isn't great by any stretch. But it's serviceable, and it kicks ass as well. Seagal actually has a bit of character in this, and shows off a bit more of the charisma that made him a star. As well as that, the co-stars are better than in his last few films, while the previous company he worked with, for Kill Switch, and Driven To Kill, has a reputation for half-assing. At least for The Keeper, there's a greater sense of effort to make something that delivers for the fans.

The Keeper opens with a worrying start. Dubbing! Oh dear lord! Not dubbing. However it's just in the beginning few lines, and in truth it's a couple of lines that are really needlessly added in. There was only one other moment later in the film I noticed any, but again, it was pointlessly added in. Mr Stand in still gets some screen time of course, but not that much. I'm also pretty sure, Seagal's double was given a supporting role in the film as another character, because one of the cast looks like he could double for Seagal for behind shots.

But anyway, The Keeper is a Seagal film, and first and foremost, it needs to kick ass. And it does. The action has a bit of punch to it. The gun fights are quick and punchy, while the fights are bone-breaking and violent. Sometimes in Seagal films, they stretch the action scenes out, and make them dull, when short and snappy would be better, particularly in hiding the budget. Generally here, the action is short and to the point. The only problem is, that the film could have done with more action, as the pace drags at times. There aren't many fights, but they are tightly edited, and Seagal beats the hell out of the bad guys. There's not quite some of the ingenuity to the fights that we saw in Pistol Whipped, which is a shame.

Keoni Waxman does a service-able job in direction. He's got more of an eye for direction than Seagal's previous director, Jeff King (who's first name is actually Wan). Truthfully he never does anything beyond okay, but in DTV land, that can be a blessing. And in fairness to him, he never does anything that's too lame. Seagal himself seems more interested in what he's doing here. He's back to his badass self, and showing some charisma again too. He won't be winning any Oscars, but at least there is some sort of character for him, and the film manages to throw in some moments of humour too. His last couple of films were slightly wretched to be honest. Elsewhere, the music is not too bad, and the film is his best looking one for a while (the main disappointment on Pistol Whipped was that it was shot on Super 16).

Overall though, this is a decent DTV film. It delivers what you'd expect. Some action, and some badassedness. The plot is simple, and again, for Seagal, that is better. No CIA intrigue sub plots to drag the film down. It also avoids the usual Seagal, revenge line, that's become a little tiresome for him. Early on in the film there's a few moments in the plotting that are just really, really (and I mean really) dumb, but they don't really drag the film down too much. At least The Keeper delivers the minimum you'd want and expect from Seagal. As for Seagals next two DTV specials, he'll be back with director, Keoni Waxman, which is a good sign. On The Run looks more action packed, so hopefully won't suffer the pacing issues of this film. It might lack some of the character of this one though. ***