Steven Seagal's direct-to-DVD efforts usually look like they are slapped together in about a week, with poorly redubbed dialogues, confusing editing and stunt doubles that vaguely look like him when seen from space. "The Keeper" however brings something entire new to the table: they can't even remember what Seagal's character is called. He starts the movie as Roland Sallinger, turns into Roland Ballinger for the second act, and then starts mixing it up towards the finale. Why even mention his name so many times throughout? It's almost like they were trying to see what they could get away with, how much abuse an audience can put up with. It has to be said though, this isn't the worst one by a long shot. There are too many exposition scenes and the parts where Seagal creates a bond with the girl he's bodyguarding are cringe-inducing, but they put together the gunfights rather well and the movie never really turns flat-out boring. Even Seagal's total lack of energy and interest isn't bothersome, I liked the very last shot of the movie where he just walks out of a house with a defeated look on his face and sighs: he's just saved the kidnapped girl, but he looks like the bad guys won and killed his entire unit as well. If that sort of thing can't entertain you, this certainly isn't the movie for you.

'The Keeper' is a decent entertainer, that works due to its fairly written Screenplay & Steven Seagal's butt-kicking performance. 'The Keeper' Synopsis: An LA cop, who after nearly being killed by his greedy partner, and eventually being forced to retire for medical reasons, flees to San Antonio, Texas. Until one day, when his old friend asks him to protect his daughter by serving as a bodyguard. 'The Keeper' works because both, the Screenplay & Seagal, don't disappoint. The Screenplay is entirely predictable & even loose at times, but luckily, the impressive action-sequences & a consistent pace, sail it through. Keoni Waxman's Direction is average. Seagal, despite having put-on a lot off weight, still is a bad-ass! He's still got the stuff. His butt-kicking act adds only as a plus for 'The Keeper'.On the whole, If you're a Seagal fan like me, then do watch 'The Keeper'.

I just saw the Keeper and I agree with may of the reviews here that this is one of Steve's better pictures of the last few years. Having said that, I must also observe that those who disparage the acting of Seagal and his co-stars would not know good acting if it walked up and bit them.......Granted he is not a great actor, maybe not even a good one, but he is a decent actor capable of displaying and selling humor when it is called for. THAT is a sign of an actor who knows what he is doing.....as the old actor said on his death bed "Dying is easy, it's comedy that's hard."....and truer words were never spoken. All of those in this picture who delivered lines did so on an acceptable level...Academy Award performances they are not, but if you think this is bad acting....you have not been around much.

I finally got the chance to see this last night, and to be honest, I wasn't expecting much, considering some of Seagal's more recent output. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The plot manages to move along at a nice pace and doesn't really ever get bogged down. Some things I liked were that the fight scenes were well edited and showed more (usually) than some utter pieces of crap like, say, Attack Force or Flight of Fury. There was also some (un)intentionally funny dialogue, none of which, unfortunately, is suitable for reproduction here. However, it did have it's downsides as well. Most of the supporting roles, Nikita's in particular, weren't well casted, and certainly not well-acted, even for a B-movie like this one. I also thought that the set-up for the film went by just a little too quick. There was also some really odd continuity errors, and a little of the dubbing of Seagal's voice which I (and probably many others) hate. I also noticed that they used a "hair" double for all of Seagal's rear shots. All in all, I felt it was a worthy addition to Seagal's DTV output, up there with Pistol Whipped and Urban Justice. It has just enough action and one-liners to satisfy fans, and better production values than most of his other DTV projects. Maybe some of this is being too harsh, considering that it isn't really a mainstream film with A-list actors, but for a Seagal movie, I wasn't disappointed.