An action thriller set in Poland. The premise is quite good - a pen pal who has lost touch with a young girl from an orphanage who has become a missing person. Seagal plays a former covert agent turned survivalist, tracking the human trafficking ring into which the young girl has entered. It has some similarities to Taken but it's a low budget production. Unfortunately, some of the supporting acting is poor, and the story is directed in a style that resembles a fable rather than a feature film in parts and so it is inconsistent. As a result tension is reduced somewhat and detective work becomes the main interest for the viewer. It is also badly dubbed in places and editing is poor. There is a memorable sword fight-off scene at the end between protagonist and antagonist which has an ironic subtext about purity in its setting in a white palace. It's prey vs predator in the end. This sequence is well directed and choreographed. For all its faults, and there are many in the storytelling, there is a heart to the film and an important subject.

OUT OF REACH is yet another straight-to-video release marking Steven Seagal's descent from once-upon-a-time greatness to obscurity and inanity. This is a film that bears little resemblance to the Seagal we know and love of old. Although there have been some mildly entertaining flicks from the action star in the last few years, this isn't one of them; it's a painfully silly, utterly unappealing Polish take on COMMANDO, although dispelling all the humour and action that made that film a classic.Seagal is portly and out of breath here and even a simple action, like a forward roll, has to be undertaken by his stunt double. What's worse, his voice is even doubled for some segments here as apparently Seagal's always too busy to do any post production dubbing. The story is muddled and cheap and there are some very poor child actors hanging around who are sometimes an embarrassment. Matt Schulze is a frankly weak villain whose posturing and humour are derivative in the extreme and the only appealing cast member is female lead Agnieszka Wagner, and that's only because she's pretty.The (minimal) action scenes are poorly choreographed and utterly boring and as a whole this is a waste of both time and money. It's a shame, as director Po-Chih Leong was once promising, a creative force behind the likes of HONG KONG 1941 and now he squanders his time in cheapo Eastern European silliness.

I've watched this film many times now and somehow, despite it's many obvious shortcomings, I still very much enjoy it. This is one of those straight to DVD grade movies from Seagal's "Fat Steven" period. By this time he has become a huge whale, waddling from scene to scene, devoid of grace. Also he is unconvincingly overdubbed in many scenes throughout the film, for whatever reason. And yet for me, there is still plenty to enjoy. Firstly the director choreographs what action there is well, so that it is coherent, while still effectively disguising Seagals physical shortcomings, and in general I found the action scenes were shot with a pleasing artistic flourish. Secondly the locations are well chosen, providing the kind of exotic glamour that has been a mainstay of the James Bond franchise for decades. For example the industrial building where the children are taken is completely impractical and irrelevant for that purpose, but it makes for a fantastic B grade "Villain's lair". It's a huge hanger like shed and when the big doors rumble back it is impressive, unfortunately the villains abandon this promising location part way through, before any battle ensues. The wonderful white courtyard of the Politechnika Warszawska Main Building is not a credible residence for a human trafficker either, but to me, an indelibly memorable location. So wonderful in fact, that in my mind it makes up for any shortcomings in the climactic battle between the ponderous Seagal and the villain. The "Stalin building" used for the cocktail party scene and the University Library are further memorable locations to enjoy. Thirdly I also found the casting to be on the money, Matt Schulze is always an effective villain, the kids were appealing and the female police officer struck the right balance in projecting both attractive and competent. Many of the supporting actors didn't speak English well, maybe they don't act well either, but a Polish accent in a film set in Poland adds an authenticity that easily offsets that. The movie follows the Seagal tradition of presenting his character as a disillusioned servant of the military industrial complex, who has become a spiritual seeker, finding peace in communion with animals and nature. And also briefly introduces some facts around human trafficking, which is a real world issue, both are architypal Seagal traits, which I find endearing, provided they don't get out of hand and reach "On Deadly Ground" proportions… The script is not so great, but that is often not the deciding factor in the action movie genre. For me it is enough that the basic premise is sound, the vulnerable find a protector and are actually saved, rather than the hero just exacting empty revenge, as happens too often these days.

I am being very generous here giving it a 5.... It was not great, but at the same time it was not terrible either..... It did have some good action scenes that were done by Seagal himself.However the story line is typical, and the dubbing in his voice for added scenes (?) was just horrible and shows how low budget this movie is... I cant say much els about the movie, it was OK at best.... keep in mind I am basing this off his last few movies that were just horrible.... Foreigner, out for a kill etc etc... compared to those it was actually enjoyable. Its still not even close to his standard of movies like Out for Justice, Glimmer Man, Above the Law but we know what were getting from steven now and if this is all were getting then I thought it was actually OK.