A dirty cop, turns on his own partner, Roland (Steven Seagal),shooting him for not agreeing to take some drug money during a bust, not knowing that the bullet to the chest wouldn't in fact kill him, returns to the hospital to finish the job and isn't successful. With help from his girlfriend Regina, Roland will have to recover from his injuries. Forced into a police mandated retirement, an old friend, Conner Wells(Stephan Duvall) from his past(both were cop partners in Texas) calls on Roland to protect his daughter, Nikita(Liezl Carstens) from a rival, Jason Cross(Luce Rains)who is after his land's rich uranium. Cross attempted once before to kidnap Nikita, failing after she narrowly escapes so Conner calls upon Roland's services to help keep her safe. When, after much in the way of security fails, Nikita is finally captured by Cross, Roland will go after all of them, with a little help by chauffeur driver Manuello(Johnny Hector)and his two cousins. Detective Simon Pacheco(Kevin Wiggins)hopes Roland will allow him to do his job and finally put away Cross for good..it's all the dead bodies Roland leaves around that bothers Cross.

While not exactly the most original or imaginative storyline for an action film, there seemed to be more budget for THE KEEPER in that we get plenty of blood shed, shootouts, and an entertaining car chase with plenty of gunfire involved. And, Seagal does have two instances where he engages in hand-to-hand fisticuffs with Cross' men, not to mention he shoots a hell of a lot of people..plenty of squibs put to good use in THE KEEPER. While I'm not sure if the opening twenty or so minutes was really needed(seems like a slight rehash of HARD TO KILL),with a wasted Trine Christensen as Roland's confident, Regina, there to provide comfort and support after his being injured by his SWAT partner, THE KEEPER does show Seagal in a different kind of role, as a security bodyguard, albeit with special training in combat techniques. Carstens is a knockout as the daughter Roland must protect. Arron Shiver is the slimy boxer, Mason, boyfriend to Nikita, and actually working for Cross behind trainer Conner's back. It's too bad Roland couldn't kick Mason's ass at the end for his betrayal of Conner.

And so Steven Seagal continues his prolific career in straight-to-video product with THE KEEPER, another film completely indistinguishable from the dozens he's made since evacuating our cinema screens back in the 1990s. It's a completely serviceable movie that plays out as a string of action sequences well executed but completely unmemorable; there are scenes of Seagal fighting in hand-to-hand combat with bad guys, disarming bad guys and engaging in shoot-outs with bad guys. The plot is weak and the script limited; essentially, this is one of those action-star-as-bodyguard movies featuring our hero risking his life to save a young woman from the clutches of kidnappers.

The good things? The film is ably directed and the fight sequences short, snappy and well-handled. Seagal is pretty poor, it has to be said, and there's still far too much distraction from his copious use of doubles (not content with a mere body double in the fight sequences, he now employs a hair double for back-of-the-head shots). Thankfully his voice is only dubbed in the opening scene, which is something. The unfamiliar supporting cast is very bland with the notable exception of Liezl Carstens, who I found quite smouldering as the sultry young damsel-in-distress; if ever an actress could pull off the unconvincing romantic scenes involving her and Seagal's character, it would be her.

If you have seen on Seagal film, you have basically seen them all. Steven Seagal, a student of the Arnold Schwarzenegger school of bad acting, plays a typical Steven Seagal in a picture with no plot twists and nothing to make us think. Early in film Seagal is double crossed by his partner (cop) who shoots Seagal. Forced into medical retirement he takes a job guarding the beautiful daughter of a wealthy business man and former police buddy.

Bad guys want to kidnap said daughter. They succeed and Seagal goes "walking tall" to go get her back. No plot twists. Nothing unexpected. Just a plain action flick of one "superhero" ex-cop beating up the bad guys. The movie was in serious need of a writer, not only for plot, but a few clever lines.

F-bombs, silicon nudity