Exit Wounds

Starring: Steven Seagal, DMX, Isaiah Washington, Anthony Anderson, Eva Mendes, Tom Arnold, Michael Jai White, Jill Hennessy, Bruce McGill
Directed by: Andrzej Bartkowiak
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime
2001

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A rebellious cop (Steven Seagal) fights to bring a drug dealer (DMX) to justice while battling police corruption in Detroit.

Review:

Tim: Exit Wounds is about what you would expect- an average action thriller that does a few things right, and a lot of things wrong. It's not necessarily an awful movie, but it's far from good. It does too many things we've seen multiple times before, and is far too forgettable. I did not care for this movie much at all.

Steven Seagal usually does not make great movies, and this one aligns with those lowered expectations. It's your usual, run-of-the-mill corrupt cop movie. True, there are a few unexpected twists and turns, but those only add a bit to the overall feel of the movie. Even with those, this film disappoints.


The supporting cast is fine. DMX was a terrible choice to act opposite Seagal. Now, DMX certainly puts effort in, but he's obviously, clearly not an actor. That shows up throughout the entire film, in every scene he's in. His performance is so bland and so dull that it's almost impossible to enjoy anything he does. His casting was a very poor choice and the film suffers as a result. Isaiah Washington is a nice addition and gives a good performance. I liked watching Washington and Seagal interact. Anthony Anderson is average with his typical motor-mouthed performance. Tom Arnold added very little, which is pretty typical for him. Seeing Eva Mendes was great, but her role is so small and insignificant that she adds almost nothing to the movie. The rest of the supporting cast is fine, but no one really does anything exciting.

The story is fine, but it's a bit too redundant. There is nothing here that hasn't been done numerous times before. Besides a few legitimately good twists, the movie is a bit too predictable. It plays out exactly as you'd expect a Steven Seagal movie to play out. We get a few good fight scenes. Unfortunately, we get far too many ridiculous ones. At one point, Seagal literally jumps over a moving car (true, it's shorter than most). Seagal is obviously a strong martial artist, but I promise you, his vertical leap isn't anywhere near enough to jump over a fast-moving car. It's these awful scenes that really ruin the movie (there's also an absurd, inexplicable sword-fight scene that doesn't make any sense). This is a film that certainly has a few good ideas, but it fails in too many ways on the execution.

The biggest reason this film fails is because of director Andrzej Bartkowiak. Bartkowiak simply doesn't show enough talent for being a solid, respectable director. I understand that this is only his second feature film, but in many young directors, there's something that you see to suggest while they still need to hone their craft, that they will eventually break through and become someone whose films are must-sees. I did not get that sense with Bartkowiak here. The only sense I got was that he was not the right man behind the camera. This film is bad, but it could have been better. I blame Bartkowiak the most for this failure.

Exit Wounds is not as bad as some movies, but there's very, very little to like here. Action fans may find enough to keep them mildly interested, but this is certainly not a film I would ever recommend to anyone. It's a poorly made movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 4.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Fire Down Below, Under Siege