Out of all the possible genres for a movie to use one of the most popular is the crime action thriller. Like the horror flick this is one type of movie that directors just love to try out. Unfortunately, there is another similarity between the two; all too many of them are so routine and hackney that there are no surprises at all. This is especially sad when the people involved in the action once were among the best around. A case in point is the films of Steven Seagal. At one point he had a strong hold the second tier action movies. While never as popular as the films of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone or Bruce Willis he did have some really fun flicks to his credit. The ‘Under Siege’ movies were very good as was ‘On Deadly Ground’. Lately, however, it seems that he has been making the same movie over and over again. Perhaps he should have taken a page from the playbooks of the other action heroes. Schwarzenegger would break things up by doing a comedy every so often like ‘Kindergarten Cop’ or ‘Twins’. They were silly fun and showed he had a great sense of humor about himself. Stallone branched out into dramas like ‘Copland’ and Willis took on many independent films often at a greatly reduced pay scale just to keep his acting talents honed. Seagal is almost always the tough cop, elite soldier or ‘regular’ guy who takes a more Zen like approach to breaking bones and kicking his enemies around. Okay, he did do at least one comedy that I can remember but it was not enough to keep his image fresh. The latest in his growing list of direct to DVD flicks is ‘Kill Switch’ from First Look Studios. This is his first movie with First Look after moving over from his association with Sony. It is the kind of flick that you might enjoy with some friends when the game is cancelled. This is a beer and pizza movie if ever there was one.

The script for this flick comes from its star, Steven Seagal. He has been penning his own vehicles for a few years now and has fallen into somewhat of a rut. This story is a return for Seagal to the rouge cop role he has mastered over the year. In some ways his previous military themed scripts were more straightforward in nature a better suited to Seagal’s niche in the action flick world. Here he tries to infuse the psychological detective motif into the story combining it with some down home character traits. The script just fails to gel in any fashion. It is a string of hackney clichés and corny phrases that are placed between the overly staged, stunt double filled fight scenes. There are also a bunch of flashbacks that I suppose are to give some depth to Seagal’s character but does little more that obfuscate what story there is here. There is very little in the way of motivation for any of the characters here. Most times in a screenplay that has a serial killer, or two as is the case here, there is a chance to delve into the reason why they are so twisted and murderous. The killers just exist almost in a vacuum with no real explanation for their actions. There are video games that offer up more in the way of plot then are present here.

Making his directorial debut in feature films is Jeff King. He has previously directed a couple of family oriented television series which provided no experience in a film like this. There is a huge difference between setting a scene with children and stage a screen fight. King has an ability to keep a movie moving along at a good clip pacing it well but in this particular flick there is little for King to do to showcase his talents. He does use the setting to good advantage and shows Memphis to be a visually fascinating city. Too bad this is not a travelogue and the cast has to show up. With nothing in the script to provide for character development and such a flimsy plot King has nothing to hold onto and actual direct. There are far too many plot lines that are complete and obvious red herrings to allow King to flow with. Just has be begins to build up one aspect of the story it switches gear leaving the previous plot in limbo never too be satisfactorily resolved. Another problem in this belabored flick is the editing. Jamie Alain tries too hard to be hip and modern relying on the overused technique of repeating a few seconds of the action. This only serves to distract from the continuity of the fight scene. The bar has been set incredibly high by action films produced in Asia so little gaffs like this are all to noticeable.

The film begins with a flashback as demonstrated by the push in the color palette. A young Jacob King (Riley Jang) and his twin brother Daniel (Connor Jang) are having their birthday party. The kids are playing hide and go seek with Jacob as ‘it’. Just s their mother is ready to sever the cake all the children outside start screaming. The adults run outside to find Daniel dead and Jacob standing next to his body, his throat has been cut. The scene shifts to a woman lying on the ground, bleeding. She has a bomb strapped to her ample chest and leaning over her is the adult Jacob (Seagal) who assures her in the worse Cajun accent possible that he can disarm the device. Jacob goes into a nearby apartment house and immediately finds the mad bomber. He tries to put up a fight but Jacob beats him into submission. Of course the case will get thrown out due to the use of excessive force. Jacob is not just a well seasoned detective in the Memphis police department he is a former army medic with an expertise in weapons and explosives. I guess if Seagal could play a Navy Seal-cook this is not that much of a stretch. Jacob winds up on the trail of two different serial killers. Since it is a requirement for all action flicks to have one beautiful woman we eventually meet FBI Agent Frankie Miller (Holly Dignard) who has great distain for the kill now ask questions later methods of Jacob. One of the killers likes to leave zodiac themed clues at the scene of his dastardly work while the other is a ‘Deliverance’ like sadist who is a few chromosomes sort of a genome and just likes torturing and killing.

Seagal plots along here barely moving as the stunt man he connects with flies across the room. The acting here is a little below the typical community college theater group. Overall this film is not one of his best at all. If you make this a beer and pizza movie make sure you have a designated driver around. First look Studios has been releasing a lot of little independent flicks. While this is not a great choice they do have a lot of little hidden gems in their collection.