Half Past Dead

Amazon.com

Despite critical roasting and a blink-and-you-missed it theatrical release, Half Past Dead is surprisingly not half bad. Once you recognize this bastard child's recent action-flick heritage (The Rock being the most obvious of a dozen pilfered plot lines), you can kick back and enjoy the unexpected perks that arise when a deep-cover FBI sleuth (Steven Seagal) accompanies a convicted crook (rapper Ja Rule) into "New Alcatraz" prison. A death-row killer (Bruce Weitz) sits on a $200 million goldmine, keeping his secret as a bargaining chip when criminal commandos (led by the ever-cool Morris Chestnut) drop in for a lethally greedy raid. After cutting his teeth on trashy, short-lived TV series, director Don Michael Paul can't do much to help the puffy, career-tanking Seagal, but he's got lively allies in Ja Rule and alleged "has-been" Nia Peeples (forget Lara Croft, this babe rocks), and even legendary action-TV producer Stephen J. Cannell drops in for a cameo. Derivative from the get-go, but fun just the same. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

[2.5] i feel like it's title now.......2007-09-08

If I were paying complete attention while watching this movie, I probably would have enjoyed it less. Its a great film to have on for some background noise. Between tons of guns and explosions and the hip-hop soundtrack, its an audio-filled time. Fortunately, there is so little to this film, I was able to know exactly what was going on when I wasn't even completely watching. All I can say is, here's another Seagal film, where Seagal is just put to waste.

Mr. Seagal had his time, and that was long before this movie was released. Looking tired and worn out, he surely doesn't provide the convincing Akido hero we all love, but he's earned his name, and no matter how badly he performs on screen, movies will continue to be pumped out of production and watched by many, just as in the case of Half Past Dead. The plot is simple and uninteresting, I won't even explain. This movie is all about tons and tons of action, nothing more. Character development is unintersting too, and while there was some possibilities for some great things to unfold between people, I guess the creators just didn't feel like doing anything special.

It all comes down to the guns and fights. There are several fight scenes, but it seems that guns are the weapons of choice in this film, not fists. Of the couple of fight scenes there were, they looking tiring and uninspiring. Some either end too quickly, and some you just want to end before they look any more ridiculous. Its obvious the creators were trying, but it just didn't work in the end.

Like I said, great movie for some background noise...yes its fun to listen to, but I guess that's really what cds are for. A forgettable movie...stick with Seagal's earlier films.

Steven Seagal 7th dan Aikido.......2007-08-11

To all you ignorant critics of Steven Seagal's fighting/acting skills, take a look at this.

[...]
"Steven Seagal Sensei is a 7th dan Shihan in Aikikai. He is also a Shinto priest in the Omoto Kyo sect as well. The exact same as (O'Sensei) Morihei Ueshiba. Not an easy task and the only Gaijin to do so, as far as I know."

About his movies, they are what they are: nothing complicated, just pure fun for people who love to see the scum of this earth get kicked around, because in real life they get treated much too soft.

So, please, next time do your homework before sending in crappy reviews...

Not a thing here to write home about, dense, corny and a complete drag..........2007-06-27

Sadly when I first saw this train wreck of a movie I must have been drunk because the next day I vaguely remembered it being cool, cool enough to buy and then a week or two later, watching my new glossy DVD sober as can be I realized that this is a mess of a film with rarely a redeeming factor. The acting is atrocious, enough to make me want to hire hit men to take these so called actors out. The action, which should be the biggest draw, is nothing more than laughable. The film rips from so many previous films that did this so much better and the pairing of Seagal and Ja Rule is so humanly wrong that I can't believe I rented the film the first time. Steven Seagal is a mystery to me. How he became famous in the first place just about blows my mind, and why anyone figured Ja Rule could act when he can't even rap is just plain bad executive skills.

The plot is mumbled and pure Hollywood stupidity, and while there are plenty of good films that rely of plots improbably, some even impossible, just about every other one does it ten times better than this flop. Seagal is an undercover FBI agent who gets himself incarcerated with a felon, played by Ja Rule, in order to stop a group of criminals from preventing an execution in order to gain a large fortune; at least I think that's what it was about. It lost my interest and it seemed to confuse itself quite a bit so I could be wrong there. The criminals, led by Morris Chestnut, are the only redeeming factor. Chestnut is effective despite the lack of depth in his role, and at least Nia Peeples is hot and can kick amble behind. They may be a redeeming factor, but that redemption is very short lived and is no where near enough to make this worth watching.

After the successful `Exit Wounds' maybe Seagal thought any rapper would make him look good. The difference between DMX and Ja Rule is that DMX can act to a degree, can fight to a degree and is entertaining to a degree. Ja Rule is none of the above. This film is enough reason to swear off anything containing his and or Seagal's name ever again, although I did enjoy `Exit Wounds' quite a bit. There's just too much gone wrong in this action flick. It feels like a rushed summer popcorn filler, like the executives at the studio decided to throw an aged action star, a rapper and a hole riddled plot in the hands of an inexperienced director and say "make us some quick money". I don't think they succeeded too much at any end of the equation but then again I don't care too much either.

I encourage the reader here to walk away from this case at your local rental store. It will do nothing more than disappoint and any brief moments of entertainment are not enough o make up for the rest of this deadbeat waste of time and money. Not to beat a dead horse any longer I'll end this review on that note. I'm not one to bash a film, heck I always try and find something to write positive but I just couldn't, with sober eyes, find anything in this film I could praise and or use to justify multiple viewings. I don't think I can even justify the first viewing. Yes I can, I was drunk and that's justification enough.

Half past brain dead.......2007-02-02

In the late 1980s and early 1990's, it looked as though Steven Seagal would join the ranks of Hollywood's top action stars. You would hear his name in the same sentence with Arnie and Stallone, no small feat indeed. And to a large degree, Seagal's films deserved the comparison. "Under Siege" was a winner, as were "Hard to Kill" and "Above the Law." The actor's greatest appeal isn't hard to fathom; Seagal embraced a brutal form of martial arts that, at least onscreen, allowed him to slap down thugs, break bones, and wreak massive havoc without batting an eye. Literally, Seagal would stand in place and put down one goon after the other with an ease that looked not only realistic but also extremely painful. I still enjoy watching that pool room scene where Seagal's character used cues, billiard balls, and whatever else he could lay his hands on to put out the trash. Alas, how the mighty have fallen. The early 1990s may as well be ancient history as far as Steven Seagal is concerned. Although he's still capable of making a few entertaining films, like his comeback picture "Exit Wounds," far too often we're seeing movies like "The Foreigner" and "Half Past Dead".

Oh, the horror that is "Half Past Dead"! After watching this car wreck, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Seagal plays (yeah right) Sasha Petrosevich, an undercover FBI agent trying to bring down the chap that killed his wife. In the process of trying to take this guy down, Sasha and Nick Frazier (Ja Rule) end up in a newly reopened Alcatraz. Why is Seagal in prison? Because Nick works for the aforementioned crime boss, thinks Seagal is still a criminal, and has information that our hero needs to break the case. Got that? Good, cuz it's the last time any of it matters BECAUSE now that Seagal is in prison, a new caper unfolds that he must deal with. An inmate scheduled for execution knows the whereabouts of hundreds of millions of dollars in gold. Before he meets his maker, an outfit of black clad thugs led by Donny Johnson (Morris Chestnut) and his right hand gal, known as 49er Six (Nia Peeples), break into the prison and take everyone hostage. Oh, and they kill a bunch of people too. AND they take a Supreme Court justice, Jane McPherson (Linda Thorson), hostage as well. Warden El Fuego (Tony Plana), Special Agent Ellen Williams (Claudia Christian), and even Stephen J. Cannell all show up as well.

Obviously, it's up to the portly Seagal to swoop in and save the day. As the entire law enforcement community of the United States stands around outside the prison drinking coffee, our hero must overcome numerous obstacles to win the day, including but not limited to: turning the prison population into his own personal army, securing the weapons in the penitentiary's armory (which contains everything except nuclear warheads), finding out where that gold is, saving the hostages, repairing his relationship with Nick Frazier, and killing the requisite number of baddies. Whew! That's a tall order! But then again, we're talking about Seagal. He can do anything. And he does even when doing so defies the very laws of physics. Like the time he and Nick Frazier sit in a helicopter that has half crashed through glass panes in the ceiling of the prison and use the choppers arsenal to mow down the bad guys. Why are there glass panes in the ceiling of a newly rebuilt Alcatraz? How can they use one of the guns on the chopper to successfully shoot down an incoming rocket launched from about ten feet away? Who cares man, it's Seagal!

"Half Past Dead" is half past brain dead. This is one sorry film, surpassed in true hideousness only by subsequent Steven Seagal efforts...you know, the ones he's been shooting in Eastern Europe the last couple of years. I mean, I knew I was in trouble when I witnessed Steven Seagal ambling into prison wearing a doo rag and spouting ebonics. That's just not right on so many levels. Then there's the choreography for the fight scenes, or rather the lack of choreography. Some of it works, I should say, but most of the scenes are so woodenly handled that it's obvious we're seeing stunt doubles doing the work that Lord Steven could have easily handled ten years ago. And speaking of Seagal (as, one should say, we must always do), he's certainly been hitting the puddin' pops hard in the last couple of years. Watching him toddle around "fighting" is like watching Orson Welles starring in "Enter the Dragon". It ain't happening anymore. He's far past his prime. Even his ponytail needs Lipitor at this point. But really, the most disappointing part of the movie is seeing Stephen Cannell here. That hurts in ways I can't really talk about. He should know better.

Supplements, and there are supplements, on the DVD include a commentary track from director and writer Don Michael Paul (who can now be seen scooping French fries at a Wendy's in Toledo, Ohio), a few deleted scenes that add absolutely nothing to the atrocity we've just witnessed, a making of featurette that's really sad, and a bunch of trailers for other films that are far better than this one (the trailers are "Half Past Dead," "XXX," "National Security," and "I Spy"). By the way, the movie gets its title from the fact that Seagal's character literally dies in the film, but is revived so he can save the day. Whatever. We'd all have been better off if the doctors had just let Sasha Petrosevich die on the operating table. Heck, that would've shaved off eighty minutes of the pure hell that is otherwise known as my viewing experience!

mr. seagals sad slow fall to the stright-to-video market.......2006-06-27

looking like he ate a whale,seagal waddles through this mess that never really makes it's case as anything but a vain atempted try at getting his movies back into the top of the boxoffice! the plot has so many holes that it fails to engage you and it dose what no action movie should do,gets boreing!!!! skip it!!!!!!!!

Average customer rating:

It's worth buying if you like Goldberg
Half Past Dead. Cup Half Empty.
Plot

Half Past Dead 2
Starring: Bill Goldberg , Kurupt , Robert Madrid , Angell Conwell , and Joe Perez (II)
Director: Art Camacho
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000NOIVSQ
Release Date: 2007-05-15

Product Description

Former WWE & WCW World Champion Bill Goldberg and hip-hop group Tha Dog Pound's Ricardo "Kurupt" Brown push life to the limit in this explosive sequel to the 2002 hit movie Half Past Dead.

Burk (Goldberg) and Twitch (Kurupt), are two inmates serving time at Craton Prison, a notoriously tough and violent penitentiary ruled by rival gangs. When a riot breaks out and the prison goes into lockdown, the two must form an unlikely alliance to stay alive. Together, they navigate the hostile gang territory under the watchful eye of unsympathetic prison guards, in order to learn the identity of the inmate responsible for the riot. Eventually Burk discovers that gang leader, Cortez, is behind the riot and find that he's taken two hostages: Cherise, Twitch's fiancee and Ellie, Burk's daughter. Twitch and Burk find they must work together in order to save their loved ones and bring Cortez down.

Customer Reviews:

It's worth buying if you like Goldberg.......2007-07-26

I'll admit I really didn't go into this with high expectations. But I love Bill Goldberg so I thought I'd give it a shot. The storyline is decent enough and there's enough action and excitement going on that it will hold your interest for 90 minutes. Not great but better than I thought. If you're a Goldberg fan like me, it's worth the purchase.

Half Past Dead. Cup Half Empty........2007-05-30

There was a time when Hollywood only made sequel's to movies that were good in the first place and actually warranted a follow up. Now, with the ever increasing direct-to-video market near critical mass with once action giants Seagal / Van Damme / Lundgren lugging it out on a digital landscape - it seems that all bets are off and any movie can have its own spin off or franchise potential. Forget the original's quality - let's just do a follow up, film it quickly and get some studio to release it!

Which brings us to `Half Past Dead 2'. Where the original `Half Past Dead' had an amusingly awkward title that always raised a smile and filled its by-the-numbers running time with a sweaty lookin' Steven Seagal hooking up with a bevvy of rappers to protect Alcatraz from Morris Chestnut and his "Matrix-lite" team breaking in. It was hardly an oscar calibre production and easily ranked as a forerunner to where Seagal's mindset is regarding his recent video output. However, why let that little problem stop producer Andrew (yeah, he starred in Munchie!) Stevens from bankrolling a sequel and dumping it on an unsuspecting action video hungry public?

However, on this occasion - Stevens couldn't convince the Lord Seagal to return in orange jumpsuit/buddy rapper duties (he was obviously eyeing up another The Foreigner sequel) and had to find a replacement to fill the shoes of a non-acting hard man type. Well, there's plenty out there but lucky for him - step up Bill Goldberg. He, of WCW fame and Van Damme rival in dull sequel `Universal Soldier: The Return' turns up in the main lead role and although he looks the part in his wife beater and jeans, hardly injects his character with anything like, er . . . you know, character. Its like watching a piece of meat in a vest hitting people in the head with the odd expletive thrown in for good measure. You almost get the impression that the producers are dangling dollar bills infront of the camera prompting him to move from scene to scene. Granted, he looks the part - but, unfortunately the part is beyond him. Quite the opposite has to be said of Kurrupt - who delivers a bright and breezy performance and actually pushes the movie along. Without him, the movie would be devoid of any atmosphere whatsoever and thank goodness he returns from the original. Kudos too to Angell Conwell, who plays Kurrupts love interest - she brings a sassy attitude to the movies' more duller moments.

I won't bore you with the story (there isn't really one to speak of), except it features the usual assortment of prison fighting cliches, overlong riot sequences, dumb prison guards/wardens and the always classic canteen bust up! You can almost tick off the cliches rolled out, so keep a pen and paper handy.

Tony Plana also returns from the first movie in an extended cameo, and this kind of continuation is where this sequel succeeds to a certain point. Its good to have actual characters from a previous instalment turn up in this day and age and actually helps this movie. All-in-all, not the best movie around, but certainly not the worst. The cast are generally good (Goldberg needs a little more coaching in the acting department, but his physical presence is impressive and you believe he could seriously cause some damage) and Art Camacho directs what is obviously a low budget with a strong, assured hand. The picture quality isn't the best though, and most of the darker scenes lose some "dramatic" quality.

Its on par with most other direct-to-video releases of late, except it actually features a better cast and nicely handled fisticuffs. For a movie that doesn't need a sequel, this movie has turned out better than expected. However, that's hardly a recommendation... maybe worth renting before you buy.

Plot.......2007-04-25

WWE and WCW star Bill Goldberg brings his brawn from the ring to the screen in this sequel to the 2002 film HALF PAST DEAD. Joined by rapper Kurupt of Tha Dog Pound, Goldberg plays Burk, an inmate at a prison that brings new meaning to the phrase "maximum security." A riot erupts among the violent offenders, and Burk is forced to unite with fellow prisoner Twitch (Kurupt) in order to survive. They learn that Twitch's fiancée and Burke's daughter have been taken hostage by the man to blame for the riot, cementing their alliance as they try to take him down.

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Steven Seagal (4 PACK) Out for a Kill, Into the Sun, Half Past Dead, Ticker

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Steven Seagal (4 PACK) Out for a Kill, Into the Sun, Half Past Dead, Ticker

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Out for a Kill / Half Past Dead / The Foreigner

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Out for a Kill / Half Past Dead / The Foreigner
Starring: Steven Seagal
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00009ZPU0
Release Date: 2003-08-19

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Half Past Dead (Special Edition)

Manufacturer: Columbia Tri-Star
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000URNO9M

Product Description

a Story of a man who goes undercover in a hi-tech prison to find out information to help prosecute those who killed his wife. While there he stumbles onto a plot involving a death-row inmate and his $200 million stash of gold. Plot Synopsis: A criminal mastermind has set in motion a plan to infiltrate a high tech prison in order to persuade a death row inmate to reveal the whereabouts of $200 million worth of gold. It's up to an undercover FBI agent to stop him before it's too late... This DVD disc is for ALL REGIONS.