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.

Hot on the heels of Hard To Kill, with again, a less than impressive performance, one could say undemanding now, as we don't go to see Seagal films for acting talent. One in a long line of films before Seagal did straight to video dreck, this third Seagal instalment sees him back on a personal trail of revenge, after earlier retiring. His captain making a potent statement "What are you gonna retire too?", this same actor playing the bartender in that redneck bar in 48 Hours, sardonically suggesting Murphy's choice of drink. When Seagal's undercover mate is blown away in a drug deal gone wrong (a great start of location) and blowing away a woman shooter in return, he decides if by some sort of redemption or salvation to pack it in. When returning to his old neighbourhood to get some peace and tranquillity, he inadvertently stumbles into another drug war, when him and old buddy (Keith David) are witness to an open shootout involving Jamaican drug lords, better known as possies. A nice little educational note there. When his niece takes a bullet, he's forced back into action as we love to see him, him and David walking out of the hospital room, both intent and fierce again has as asking, what's a great actor like David, working with Seagal. Their objective is Screwface, the great Basil Wallace, the standout performer in this who provides a twist too. There are some humorous scenes in Marked for Death, 1) The confession scene. 2) a slightly amusing scene with Seagal, tinkering with some old gun parts or ornaments of some kind at his Sister's place, but 3) Seagal's dialogue to Davi,. concerning two bad arses, one of who'm he just shot, while the other, a Jamaican who made his choice. The family/homely scenes worked well for what isn't a bad actioner, or badly made film, which way you want to term it. It's a solid piece of action making, some potent and memorable dialogue too, as in Seagal's following hit, Out For Justice. This one just doesn't rise to the quality of Seagal's prior flicks. Pacula too as a reporter, provided another homely scene, when Seagal recounts olden days of soup kitchens. Another amusing scene, just before I sign off has Screwface's girl dancing for Seagal, who lets him in on a little wise information, in order to catch her ex. End Song by Jimmy Cliff and the band, is no better way of song to finish this heavy action vehicle, with some occasional but heavy gore.

In one of his early vehicles with the three-word descriptive titles, Steven Seagal this time is fighting the war on drugs. Or, to be more accurate, he's out to annihilate the Jamaican drug pushers who've infiltrated his Chicago community. He didn't feel like doing so at first; he'd burned out while on the job as a DEA agent and realized that in order to win he'd become no better than his adversaries. It's only inevitable that he'll once again get motivated to righteous fury when his own family is victimized. The bad guys in these movies never ever learn that simple lesson - mess with the hero's loved ones and they're just as marked for death as the good guy. Here, Seagal showed that in the earlier years of his career how he really gave more of an effort and could be quite engaging. He's given a truly kick ass sidekick in the form of eternally cool Keith David, as the old buddy / football coach disgusted by what he sees around him. Also lending assistance are Jamaican cop Tom Wright and a professor played by Joanna Pacula. "Marked for Death" does its job in a number of areas; as directed by Dwight H. Little ("Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers", "Rapid Fire"), it hits the ground running, and delivers exactly what we as fans of Seagal movies expect: rampant brutality, with broken limbs aplenty, bullets in foreheads, bodies crashing through windows, impalement, eyes gouged out, etc. The topicality of the script does take a back seat to all of the violent action - there's always one great scene around the corner. There's even a little bit of nudity to spice things up. A major appeal of the movie is the soundtrack, which features some tunes by Jimmy Cliff, who also appears on screen performing with his band. The supporting cast is full of familiar faces - Kevin Dunn, Tony DiBenedetto, Peter Jason, Danny Trejo, Gary Carlos Cervantes, and Earl Boen, with Danielle Harris, whom Little had directed in "Halloween 4", in a bit as Seagal's niece. Basil Wallace, an actor who should have broken bigger after this, has enough intensity and charisma to make for an effective villain. All in all, "Marked for Death" is good fun and builds to a really good finale as well as an amusing twist and resulting final one-liner. Seven out of 10.

This action packed story could have been told in about a half an hours.It goes back and forth between Colombia and Chicago, USA, where our hero, Mr. Hatchett, played with the usual vigor by Steven Seagal, is fighting drug lords. This one, Screwface, is as ugly as they come and a real misery to boot. Just looking at him can send shivers down your spine. With that Jamaican accent and enlarged-like eyes, Screwface presents a horrifying person. He is committed to selling his drugs and creating mayhem in order to destroy Seagal and his family.There is enough fighting, shooting and violence to last a life-time.The film is a frightening portrayal of these drug gangs and their potential to wreak havoc on society.