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HugeReviews.com Reviews:
Marked
for Death
by Scott Neufville
Solid
The 1990 action film Marked for Death starring
martial arts icon Steven Seagal is a typical B-movie farce that is high
on action but typically low on overall film quality, but for me it has
one redeeming value that makes it worth watching.
In
the film, Seagal portrays an undercover narcotics cop named John Hatcher
who retires to his Chicago hometown only to find it overrun by a
ruthless drug dealing Jamaican gang known in real life as a “Shower
Posse.”
Seagal
typically pops kneecaps and dislocates arms through his way to the head
of the posse known as “Screwface,” played by Basil Wallace (Caught
Up) in an interesting and shocking twist to the final confrontation.
But this in of itself in no way redeems the film.
Although
the action on Seagal's part is as usual entertaining to watch (unless
you're squeamish of violence), the film was infested with too many
B-movie action film clichés like car chases, club shootouts, and over
dressed stereotypical villains...In this case, every Jamaican in the
film looked like a circus clown with dreadlocks.
But I may recant my harsh use of the word “farce” considering
the film makes good use of some real Jamaican actors mixed in with
African-American performers who can do a pretty good accent.
I'd never before seen this done in an American-made film with
Jamaican characters involved. But
this still is not enough to redeem the film.
In
further defense of Marked for Death, John Hatcher and his friend
Max played by Keith David (There's Something About Mary, Crooklyn)
actually travel to Jamaica not only to typically seek out the villain
Screwface, but also to emphasize a theme that I thought would be absent
from such a film, that not all Jamaicans are criminals, and all
Jamaicans are certainly not circus clowns with dreadlocks.
Even reggae legend Jimmy Cliff (The Harder They Come, Club
Paradise) made a special guest appearance in the film.
For this, maybe Marked for Death is not your typical
B-movie farce. I have to
give Seagal and the film's makers some credit besides, I wouldn't want
to become yet another Jamaican to get his arms broken or knee caps
popped! But then again, I
am no circus clown with dreadlocks any way.
DVD
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