Marked for Death (1990)

What a waste of my time!!!

Masterful Movie

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

The film has the charisma of its star - a striking figure, but it lacks visual interest or suspense. It also reinforces racial stereotypes by presenting an all-black Jamaican gang of voodoo-practicing drug pushers, but there are also familiar clichés of East coast hoodlums, especially their 'made man' gangster speak. Of course, these nefarious crowd is dispatched by Mr Seagal with entertaining and well choreographed martial arts brutality. The low lit scenes provide a certain mood and tone for the film but in other scenes they seem too murky for purpose.

"Marked For Death" is another completely average Seagal vehicle, almost indistinguishable from all the other three-word-title movies he was in around this time. Unlike "Out for Justice" and "Above the Law" its violence isn't wince inducing, and unlike those films and "Hard to Kill" it has a memorable villain who gets a fair bit of screen time.The story is something about Seagal moving back to the old neighbourhood and fighting with Jamaican drug dealers. They are led by the demonic Screwface, a Jamaican guy with bold green eyes. He is the only one you can tell apart from the rest; they've all got dreadlocks and the same accent and slang.Apart from the villain, and a weird twist at the end, the only thing about this movie that made me stop and think was the typical scene where, after moving back home, Seagal's home is shot up from some bad guys. He survives, but his niece is gunned down and ends up in a coma. The fact that the movie doesn't make much of a point about her recovery or lack thereof isn't that surprising. It's the fact that there's a scene in the hospital afterwards where they hear they don't know if she's going to pull through and Seagal's sister starts hitting him with her little fists and crying hysterically saying "it's your fault!"The thing is... she's right. It is her fault. Why did Seagal, a guy who remarks coolly "What else is new?" after being told that a lot of people want him dead, have to go and move in with his family? Why didn't he get a place of his own?The answer is obviously to provide this moment, where things "get real" and the hero has a reason to go after the bad guys doggedly. But if you suspend disbelief for a moment, it seems like he made a massive error of judgment.The weird twist I mentioned is that Seagal kills Screwface, beheading him, and takes his head to his gang to prove he's gone. You know that can't be it just by looking at the run-time: this in an action movie, and with about 20 minutes left on the clock, you know the final showdown hasn't happened yet. So what do we get? Two Screwfaces for the price of one. Yes, apparently the man has an identical twin in the US who pops up in this scene for a final fight. The thing is, I didn't realise he was a twin while watching the movie. They must not have made a very big deal about it, because I had to check the Wikipedia page for an explanation of why the guy we just saw Seagal decapitate appeared in the next scene. There's nothing wrong with the idea of the villain having a twin - actually it has scary possibilities - so why did the movie handle it so blithely?I think the answer is the director didn't know how to do anything other than mediocre action. You know Seagal; you know what to expect from him.

Don't you just love watching insane people in movies? Take Screwface for example; he's so over the top and out of control that you don't know what he'll do next. Even made his posse shudder.This is one of the few Seagal flicks that got by me back in his heyday. Probably because between him and Van Damme, the pictures have such similar titles I probably thought I'd already seen it. No matter. This film delivers pretty much like all the rest if you go for this stuff.But there's always been something that bothered me about action films in which the bad guys never follow through. This picture had two instances where Hatcher (Seagal) was on the ropes - in the car wreck and at the warehouse in Jamaica. Both times Hatch would have been a goner if the bad guys just finished him off right then and there. Especially the second time when it was Screwface (Basil Wallace) holding all the cards. Not that I'm rooting for the bad guys, but in real life, wouldn't you want to just get things over with? Instead, Screwface must have thought about revenge just a bit too long and then just lost his head.

'Marked for Death' is Vintage Fun. Power-Packed, Fast-Paced, Action-Packed & Loud, it has it all. Also, its damn cool to watch bad-ass Steven Seagal getting it right completely.'Marked for Death' stars Seagal as John Hatcher, a former DEA troubleshooter. Upon moving back to his home town, Hatcher finds it taken over by a gang of vicious Jamaican drug dealers, led by the twisted Screwface.'Marked for Death' is Power-Packed, Fast-Paced & Loud Cinema at its best. The film never loses pace & always keeps you engrossed. Michael Grais & Mark Victor's Screenplay is Great Fun. Dwight H. Little's Direction is decent. Cinematography & Editing are fair, while the Action-Sequences/Fights are awesome.Performance-Wise: Seagal gets it right completely. His fights are a pleasure to watch & does his part with great energy & style. Basil Wallace as the twisted Screface is frightening. Keith David is perfect.On the whole, 'Marked for Death' is Vintage Fun!