Steven Seagal Movie:

Editorial Review:
Here's a movie that only a Steven Seagal fan could love. It's not nearly as good as Under Siege (the movie destined to remain Seagal's high-water mark), but not any worse than Above the Law. This time ol' Steve is an agent of the Environmental Protection Agency who's busting heads in Kentucky. He's on good terms with the local yokels (including Marg Helgenberger and Harry Dean Stanton), but locks horns with a slimy mogul (Kris Kristofferson) who's using abandoned mines to dump toxic waste. Along with an ecological message, Seagal serves up several broken limbs, cracked skulls, and bloody noses, and he even finds time to do some guitar picking with country boys such as Travis Tritt and Randy Travis. Once you've heard Seagal crooning a country tune, you'll be eager to see him go back to whuppin' the bad guys. --Jeff Shannon

Fire Down Below [Region 2] Reviews:
Steven Seagal: The Unstoppable Good Guy!
2009-07-31 - This 105 minute Warner Brothers film starring Steven Seagal will keep you glued to your television as the action and drama runs steady through the whole movie.

EPA Federal agent `Jack Taggert' played by Steven Seagal is assigned to a case in a small rural area with suspicions of illegally dumping toxic waste.

During the coarse of his investigation he makes some close friends, does some community service, and has his share of run-ins with the people he will end up arresting or hurting.

One man cleans up a illegal rural toxic dump site. That man is Jack Taggert. If he has to bust some chops or break some legs to get the job done, ... he will!

I have this DVD in my personal movie collection. It's a keeper!

Reporter Joseph Toth
Washington Micro Bank BBS


John in San Diego
2009-05-02 - As usual, Amazon. Com and it's associated vendors provided outstanding, prompt service. I received this feature under the stated shipping arrival time, and the product quality was outstanding. Bing a Segal fan, I had to have this one for my collection. It's one of Segal's best.

The Good & Bad Of 'Fire Down Below
2009-02-12 - You CSI fans: want to see Marg Helgenberger without all the makeup? Well, here she is in this film as just a plain poor girl from the sticks.
Anyway, the movie was a typical Steven Seagal (not Marg) film in that he's the likable hero, fighting despicable villains who were easy to hate, and every action scene is Rambo-like in which Seagal never misses injuring his foes.

One big difference in this film from his earlier efforts: an emphasis an aesthetic cinematography. This had some beautiful rural scenes of Kentucky and in particular, a church on a top of a hill, in which a number of scenes take place. Not only is the country scenery nice but there are some good country songs in here and better yet - blues guitar music in the background throughout the movie. All of this was different for a Seagal film.

Of course, the nice scenery was probably due to the fact Seagal played an Environmental Protection Agent ("Jack Taggart").

Also different was the fact that Helgenberger ("Sarah Kellogg") was not the typical gorgeous young sexpot normally paraded out in these martial arts films, but was rather plain with, as mentioned, no makeup. She wore conservative clothing and showed no skin. Then again, Appalachia being the setting for this story, her dress and manner was appropriate and realistic.

Language-wise, most of the hard profanity comes from Kris Kristofferson's villain character, "Orrin Hammer, Sr.," in the first hour. How they treated "religion" in this film was bizarre. Good, bad, good, bad - like watching a tennis match.

Overall, the story is interesting and pure Seagal nonsense....but entertaining. I still like the blues guitar and the Kentucky scenery the best.


One Of The Best Films On Protecting the Environment Ever Made!
2009-02-12 - And, by protecting the environment from the illegal dumping of a mind-boggling array of toxic wastes, one also protects the heath of the people living in the surrounding communities! What a profound message Fire Down Below gives its audience: Fight For Your Rights!!

There are many conflicts in this powerful film: Government agency (the EPA, in this case) against a huge corporation. One heroic man against an array of thugs & one very powerful man pulling all the strings. Father versus son. Brother versus sister. Contaminated water versus clean drinking water. Corrupt government officials versus honest ones. A church divided. A small Eastern Kentucky town versus a very powerful corporation. Trust versus betrayal! Love versus hate! Fear versus courage! This film covers just about every aspect of American society, possible!

Besides an incredibly well written story, great acting and terrific cinematography, Fire Down Below also teaches us how to be courageous! Sure, most of us don't have the fighting skills of Steven Seagal, but his most dangerous weapons are his intelligence and his passion to stop evil in its tracks. Something we all can strive to do in our own lives!

See:Toxic Nation: The Fight to Save Our Communities from Chemical Contamination and Whose Backyard, Whose Risk: Fear and Fairness in Toxic and Nuclear Waste Siting and The Law of Hazardous Wastes and Toxic Substances in a Nutshell (Nutshell Series)

Steven Seagal: Good Samaritan with a .45
2008-07-29 - By the time "Fire Down Below" rolled around, it was all too clear that things had taken a turn for the worse with ol' Steven Seagal: gone were the days when his antics were considered blockbuster material, and the only awards his films had a chance of winning were the dishonorable Raspberries that regularly highlighted him as a bad actor who was simply getting too old to kick butt anymore. Indeed, our favorite wrist-snapping aikido master was in the doldrums - stuck between his best work and his short-lived comeback, and just barely making back the budgets of his then-current offerings.
Still..."Fire Down Below" ain't all bad...

"Fire Down Below", for all non-canon purposes, is a follow-up to "On Deadly Ground": Seagal is Jack Taggart, an EPA agent dispatched to ascertain what's causing the toxic epidemic that's swept a small Kentucky town owned by a wealthy millionaire (Kris Kristofferson, The Blade Trilogy (Blade/ Blade II/ Blade: Trinity)) and operated/oppressed by his son (Brad Hunt, Cookers) and the local posse. After fending off several attacks by the proprietors' goons and getting affectionately involved with the town's beautiful outcast (Marg Helgenberger, "CSI"), Taggart realizes that the sicknesses arising around the town are not the result of some environmental accident, but of something purposely ruthless and dangerous...

Actually, the film is more akin to The Patriot, for it lacks the action of On Deadly Ground - it's kind of a middle ground: "Down Below" contains approximately one hand-to-hand brawl, one car chase involving a big rig, and two big shoot-outs; the rest are all one-hit knockout encounters. Admittedly, the rig chase is done very well and the brawl (a six-on-one affair) features Seagal wielding a wooden staff with surprising skill, but the amount of remaining film that is given up as thriller-material is likely a bit too lengthy for most of his fans' tastes. Then again, Seagal has very little reason to fight, for the film has probably the easiest-to-defeat villains that Steven has ever crossed paths with: never once do you get the impression that he's in legitimate trouble, because apparently the multi-millionaire baddie can't afford to hire anyone other than clueless yokels to do his dirty work for him.

Surprisingly enough, when it comes to acting, this is one of Seagal's better outings. No, he's not exploring different characters or broadening his range of emotions, but for once, his persona is actually pretty likable: his relationship with the townspeople and especially with the misjudged young woman allows him to show a soft side that he isn't usually quick to expose. While the latter relationship does seem a tiny bit forced, he does give the overall impression of being a gentle giant who really does care about those his job entitles him to interact with, and for once, his actions are fueled by generosity and personal duty rather than vengeance.
Oh, and in case you haven't guessed, the film does have a pretty strong environmental message. Decide for yourself whether or not this is something you want to see in an action flick.

The supporting cast generally pulls its weight well, and the editing (with the exception of the tired-looking opening montage) is solid, so the question to the view is whether one is willing to trade the rough & tumble Seagal for a friendly Seagal: a Seagal who would rather strum a guitar than shoot somebody in the face (which he eventually does, though), or use a hammer to fix peoples' homes rather than crack peoples' skulls. For myself, the transition was actually pretty smooth and easy to accept...but regardless of whether or not you enjoy the film, chances are that you'll be ready to pop in a more characteristic bloodbath of his by the time John Prine starts crooning.