Attrition 2018

"The suchness of luminosity unborn and undying."

Yeah, if you understand that statement, there's a chance you'll understand this entire movie. But it's doubtful. I honestly have no idea what this film was about; I think it was about Seagal's character atoning for his wicked past but don't hold me to that. On the plus side, this was much more an action film than almost anything Seagal did after Under Siege 2: Dark Territory and the fight scenes weren't half bad. Of course, Fan Siu-Wong (the bully "Jin" in Donnie Yen's Ip Man ) gets much of the credit for the fight scenes; this guy is unbelievable and after seeing him here in Attrition and Ip Man I may actually check out some of his other Chinese films (providing they have English subs, of course). The storyline is incredibly simple but Steven Seagal's story-writing makes it much more complex than it really is. Bad guy getting long in the tooth starts to realize his evil deeds and wants to make atonement; local townsfolk come and seek his help in rescuing a damsel in distress and he kicks in all the doors and becomes the local hero. Of course, there are numerous other acts of "attrition" along the journey...along with a host of Buddhist/Zen/Wherever Else He Can Drag Them From wise sayings of wisdom. Throw in a couple of groveling "Please make me your disciple" scenes for good measure and voila! You have this film. As has become my mantra for almost all things Seagal has been in since the aforementioned Under Siege 2: Dark Territory , this wasn't his best but it wasn't his worst, either. It's worth watching for the Seagal fans; most others probably won't get it and will feel like it was a wasted hour-and-a-half.

PS: Either Seagal is actually starting to realize his age or his Viagra prescription expired; this was the first of his movies that hasn't included at least one scene of him groping some young chick who's about half his age. I was expecting it all the way through the movie and was pleasantly surprised when it DIDN'T happen.