I've always a slightly negative opinion when it comes to films starring Steven Seagal, because the only credible film he has done is Under Siege, every single other film I've seen of his have been dull, adequate or rubbish, I didn't have my hopes high for this film, his Razzie winning directorial debut. Basically Forrest Taft (Razzie nominated Steven Seagal) is a former government operative who works for the Aegis Oil Company in Alaska. Aegis Oil is headed by ruthless CEO Michael Jennings (Sir Michael Caine),he is the kind of person who doesn't care whether or not oil spills into the ocean or onto the land, as long as he is making money from it. He even makes television commercials that make him look like someone who cares about the environment. Jennings is close to finishing the construction of his new state-of-the art oil rig: AEGIS-1, but his problem is that if he doesn't finish building the rig in thirteen days, the land rights will be returned to the Eskimos and the Alaskan government. Taft's best friend Hugh Palmer (Men in Black's Richard Hamilton) has a computer disk that contains information about defective equipment on AEGIS-1, Jennings finds out about this and sends his men to murder Palmer. Taft finds out about Jennings' dodgy dealings and tries to interfere, so the corrupt businessman tries to have him killed as well, sending him inside a building loaded with explosives. Taft survives the explosion set for him, he is rescued by an Eskimo woman named Masu (Razzie nominated Joan Chen),and also meets Silook (Chief Irvin Brink),her father, and the chief of her tribe. With Masue's help, Taft treks through the beautiful Alaskan wilderness, heading straight for AEGIS-1 and to destroy it before it destroys the forest. A group of New Orleans-based mercenaries led by Stone (R. Lee Ermey) are hunting for Taft, who is able to collect a number of weapons and explosive devices to set traps for and kills the various goons, including chief of security MacGruder (John C. McGinley) and henchman Homer Carlton (Billy Bob Thornton). Taft and Masu confront Jennings, string him up, and drop him into a pool of oil, he drowns in his own wealth, they then escape as a series of explosions destroy the oil rig. In the end, Taft avoids the charges of sabotage and multiple murders (self-defence),he delivers a speech at the Alaska State Capitol about the dangers of oil pollution, and the companies that are endangering the ecosystem. Also starring Shari Shattuck as Liles, Mike Starr as Big Mike, Irvin Kershner as Walters, The Mask's Nils Allen Stewart as Oil Worker and One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest's Louise Fletcher as Bartender. Seagal does his usual limited performance, making it up from his martial arts skills, he isn't much of a director either, and Caine with his weird black hairdo is amusingly hammy and over-the-top as the villain, this isn't the sort of film you may be expecting, it does pack a punch in the fight and explosive sequences, but it is slowed down and made boring by it's environmental message, otherwise it is just another predictable and slightly naff action adventure. It was nominated the Razzies for Worst Picture, Worst Screenplay and Worst Original Song for "Under the Same Sun". Okay!

I'm certainly not an authority when it comes to the filmography of Steven Seagal. In fact, I don't think I've seen a single film of his made after the year 2000. And yet, me thinks it's safe to state that Seagal's best period was between 1992 and 1996, thanks to the really good "Under Siege" movies and "Executive Decision". During this brief period, Seagal apparently also was confident enough to make his directorial debut! I enjoyed "On Deadly Ground", but for all the wrong reasons. The film is nothing but a mediocre action vehicle, but Seagal takes it much too seriously. The plot is beyond preposterous, the environmental messages are shoved down our throats, and the characters are pure stereotypes and caricatures. Michael Caine is terrible as the mean and greedy oil tycoon, and John C. McGinley is even worse as his bodyguard/goon. Joan Chen is utterly redundant as the native love-interest, Shari Shattuck is pitiable as the supposedly heartless female businesswoman, and R. Lee Ermey depicts his umpteenth hard-shouting platoon leader role. Worst of all, though, Seagal grabs every possible opportunity to let literally ALL the other characters repeat how fantastic he - Forrest Taft - is. "Damn, this guy is good", "We are not dealing with a student here, we're dealing with the Professor", blah blah blah. How full of yourself are you, when you are the director who makes actors say these sorts of lines, about a characters that you depict yourself; - ha.

What drew me to On Deadly Ground was that it had a few new ideas in its locker that I hadn't come across in many other action movies. The setting was Alaska, which sounded intriguing. The action was backed up by an environmental message, which also sounded intriguing. The hero was played by a wooden martial arts "actor", while the villain was played by a prolific, Oscar-winning superstar, which sounded like an irresistible pairing (just for the novelty value of seeing them on screen together). Add to that the fact that the music was by Basil Poledouris (whose scores for Conan the Barbarian and The Hunt For Red October are all-time great pieces of film music). On Deadly Ground seemed to have the promise and the potential to be something pretty interesting. Alas, the film fulfils very little of its potential. It's a particularly inept action flick.

Troubleshooter Forrest Taft (Steven Seagal) works for an oil company in Alaska fronted by the unpleasant Michael Jennings (Michael Caine, not in his worst ever film but certainly providing his worst ever performance). Taft gradually begins to realize that the company he works for is responsible for appalling environmental damage, but he can't get them to approach their business with a more environmentally-friendly outlook.... so he does the next best thing - he kicks some butt! Taft goes on a worthy crusade against his callous, single-minded bosses. Hired mercenaries are brought in to stop him, but Taft either evades or kills them in the Alaskan wilderness, and ruthlessly closes in on Jennings.

Seagal made a major mistake in directing the film himself. He lacks fluency as a director and has little grasp of how to link scenes correctly. Nor does he seem capable of coaxing decent performances from his surprisingly good cast. The film stumbles with near-random carelessness from one badly-acted scene to the next, diverting occasionally for the odd expensive-but-totally-soulless set piece. There are flashes of pretty cinematography, and in parts the action is crisply and competently choreographed, but generally the film is a disappointment. After the roasting that it received, Seagal's box office appeal took a permanent dip and Michael Caine stopped prostituting his talents in every film that was offered to him and actually started looking for scripts worthy of his ability.