TODAY YOU DIE (2005)

Directed by Don Faunt LeRoy. Starring Steven Seagal, Anthony Chris, Sarah Buxton, Maxi Morrow, Nick Mancuso, Kevin Tighe. Action/Drama. Synopsis: A modern day Robin Hood looking to go straight is framed for the robbery of 20 million dollars in the first night of his new job in Las Vegas. He goes to prison, but escapes to gain revenge on the ones who put him there.

I just couldn't resist it, really. I'm an action movie and Steven Seagal fan and, despite the horrid nature of most of his flicks since the turn of the new century, I just feel compelled to check them out, with the full expectation that I will probably be disappointed, to say the least. (See Shadow Man, Mercenary for Justice, Black Dawn) Well, after watching Today you Die, I'm happy to report that there does beat a pulse of desire inside Mr. Seagal and that there is no reason that he cannot still make a legitimate action movie.

Having said that, lets not get carried away here. This is no Under Siege, Above the Law, or Exit Wounds. But, it is a hell of a lot closer than anything else he has made in the last several years. Today you Die, like almost all Seagal/action flicks, has an unbelievably far fetched premise, but its not so bad as to make you giggle ( a la Mercenary for Justice)

In this one, Seagal plays a golden hearted, Robin Hood thief who robs from rich criminals to do good with the ill gotten gain. He and his girlfriend (Maxi Morrow) are looking to get out of that life and just enjoy each other when they relocate to Las Vegas. Seagal gets a-supposedly-legit job driving an armored truck from a "friend" (Kevin Tighe). As you might guess, things go awry right from the beginning as the initial run is actually an inside hold up job of 20 million bucks. But, things don't go as smoothly as everyone hoped and the gig is blown up, with Seagal getting caught and charged with the robbery he had nothing to do with. This is made even more interesting by the fact that no one knows where the 20 mil is, and Seagal is not telling...even as he goes to prison.

In prison, Seagal meets a sympathetic gang leader whom he can trust (Anthony "Treach" Chris) whose helps him to escape. From there, Seagal has to hunt down the bad guys, clear his name, get back with his girlfriend, and, of course, find something good to do with that 20 million.

Of course, no action movie would be complete without  the "bad cop" and in this one, Nick Mancuso fills that role very well, alongside "good" prosecutor Sarah Buxton. The best thing about this movie is that, first and foremost, Seagal does not seem bored, and his chemistry with the likable Treach works surprisingly well. The fight scenes will not make any Seagal fan forget Out for Justice or Marked for Death , but the man does seem to be doing most of his own stunts again, and the director smartly focuses on the blinding hand speed, the one aspect of the arsenal that has not suffered with the prodigious weight gain.

The plot is not bad, provided that you accept what you are looking at, and don't hold it to the All About Eve standard of cinematic drama. Chris and Buxton are good in their supporting roles, as is Morrow, although there is a big hole with her "visions" not being explained or sufficiently tied to the script.

Mancuso and Tighe stand out as the bad guys here, however, it seems like just yesterday that Tighe was the likable John Gage in Emergency , but he has certainly matured into a very good, suave, bad guy.

If you are a Seagal fan, and you have suffered through the dreck of his early 21st century films, you owe it to yourself to give this one a shot. Can I say its real good? Nah, not without stretching the truth, something I refuse to do on this blog. But, it's not real bad, either, or even slightly bad, since it will entertain you for a while. And, that's not a bad deal for a direct to video action flick, is it?