Hard to Kill From:Steven Seagal , Kelly LeBrock , William Sadler , Frederick Coffin , Bonnie Burroughs , Warner Brothers , Bruce Malmuth , Warner Home Video ,
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Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Warner Brothers
EAN: 9780790734149
Format: Anamorphic
Format: Closed-captioned
Format: Color
Format: Dolby
Format: DVD-Video
Format: Full Screen
Format: Widescreen
Format: NTSC
ISBN: 6304779178
Label: Warner Home Video
Audio Format: Dolby Digital 5.1
Audio Format: Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Audio Format: Dolby Digital 1.0
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
Number Of Items: 1
Packaged Height: 60 hundredths-inches
Packaged Length: 750 hundredths-inches
Packaged Weight: 20 hundredths-pounds
Packaged Width: 540 hundredths-inches
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen
Picture Format: Pan & Scan
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 1998-01-28
Running Time: 96 minutes
Studio: Warner Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: 1990-02-09
Product Description:
Steven seagal unleashes new screen fury as a detective who awakes from an extended coma and seeks revenge on the corrupt politician who murdered his family. Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 12/07/2004 Starring: Steven Seagal Branscombe Richmond Run time: 95 minutes Rating: R Director: Bruce Malmuth
Customer Reviews:
 Seven Years In 96 Minutes, 2008-10-05
I'm conflicted about "Hard to Kill" (alternatively known as "The Seven Year Storm" - a better title, if you ask me): on one hand, it displays Steven Seagal's strengths to near-perfection, but on the other, it's just about the dumbest follow-up that Seagal could do after his smarter-than-average debut, "Above the Law". Rest assured, it's not a bad movie, and certainly belongs on any of Seagal's "best of" lists...but for many folks, that's not saying much.
In the film, Seagal is Mason Storm - a lone wolf policeman who's just made a breakthrough regarding a plot to assassinate a US senator. Before he can deliver the evidence, however, an attack on his home by the crooks leaves his wife dead, his son missing, and Storm himself in a coma. Protected by his friend and colleague Kevin O'Malley (Frederick Coffin, "View from the Top"), Storm lies unconscious for seven years until awakening to renewed assassination attempts and a thirst for revenge.
For the record, being put into a coma is the most harm that has ever befallen the usually-invincible Seagal. That doesn't stop him, however, from managing to outrun an assassin while still in his hospital bed, mere minutes after he woke up. Throw in the beard he grew during his coma and the taking off of his shirt, and you've got a respectable list of things you see in none other of his films.
I suppose that's where the film's main appeal lies: he's put into situations you usually don't see him in, but the fact that he handles all of them in his superhuman way puts a bit of a damper on the thought that his character might be but a man.
The action is hit-and-miss: the scene in the convenience store is one of the best examples of seeing real aikido in use, but it's nothing more than Seagal taking out the garbage as usual. A couple of similar scenes don't supply much of a rush, either. However, the shootout in the doctor's house is one of the finest that Seagal has ever been filmed in: brilliant mix of gunplay and hand-to-hand fighting, and even a grotesquely-snapped arm thrown in for good measure.
The inclusion of Kelly LeBrock ("The Woman in Red") - Seagal's then-wife - is a two-edged blade: while she gives little more than an acceptable performance, her interaction with Seagal seems to give the martial artist a confidence that he tends to lack in his acting, and supplies him with a surprising flair that chooses to express itself during quieter scenes - I mean, when's the last time you've seen Seagal guffaw convincingly? Then again, since she was his real-life spouse, it's inevitable that they begin a relationship in the movie, and this doesn't gel at all with the approach of a man who, in his mind, has lost his wife only weeks ago.
However, when the bad guys get theirs, it's some of the most satisfying scenes that our hero has ever uttered harsh language in: you really don't know how good you can feel for a guy until William Sadler ("Roswell") is standing with a gun barrel in his mouth, being told what's going to happen to him in prison. The ability to instill this marvelous feel for vengeance earns late director Bruce Malmuth ("Nighthawks") some kudos...but eventually, it feels like just another run-of-the-mill action vehicle for Steven.
While it's more interesting than most of the films Seagal's been involved in, it really doesn't top an old-fashioned, to-the-point Seagalian bloodbath like "Out for Justice" or "Under Siege". Fans should definitely pick it up, and 80s-action freaks should get a fix out of this one...but everybody else, rent it first.
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