Maximum Conviction 2012

Yeah, Seagal has put on some weight but the guy still has some skills; no denying that. This movie isn't the best display of his prowess, but he does have a few decent (very short) fight scenes here, demonstrating that he can still move. (Yes, it's undoubtedly all "muscle memory" from so many years of training, but still fun to watch.) As a story, it was decent; it was the transition from story to screen that suffered. Because most of this "prison shutdown" is done at night, much of the movie has very poor lighting. Some of the fight scenes are hard to follow because of the poor lighting, and others are hard to keep up with because the fight itself wasn't choreographed all that great. (And yes, I understand that in real life, you don't have those smooth fluid moves like Hollywood portrays, but come on: it's a movie, and we want fight scenes that are both violent AND easy to follow.) The most difficult part of this one (and this is the second time I've watched it, and surprisingly I enjoyed it much more this time) is watching/listening to Steven Seagal try to talk like a street hood. I cringed during the dialogues between Seagal and Austin…and I don't understand why Steve Austin talked like Steve Austin always talks, but Seagal felt obliged to throw in these awful "yo, bruh....kno'msay'nnnnnn...kick'n it bruh..." ebonics-type slanguage like he was "back in da hood" or whatever. His Brooklynese/Italian tough-guy persona was awesome in his earliest films (I'm thinking especially of Out for Justice) but here....ai yi yi....it just didn't work. Aside from that, though, this was a fun 90-minute action movie. Sure there were plot holes big enough to drive that garbage truck through, but if you just kick back and enjoy it as Hollywood tripe, it's enjoyable. No, it's not Academy Award-winning stuff…but come on, it's Steven Seagal and Steve Austin. That should tell you everything…both good AND bad. Enjoy it!