by Robert Scocchi
| Published
Steven Seagal's days of portraying the “he's so good” action hero may be over, but the man who brought us Under siege, On deadly groundand It's hard to kill He deserves credit when he is worthy of pursuing roles that fall into an ethical gray area. 2013 direct-to-video The strength of implementation is one of those films, in the sense that Seagal doesn't play a heavily decorated war hero on the right side with an ax to grind, but rather a cold, meticulous crime boss named Jason Alexander who makes dirty deals behind closed doors. With the ultimate goal of leaving his criminal life behind.
While the usual Steven Seagal motifs can be found implementation strength, Like his unbreakable (albeit evil) moral code, the film ultimately falls apart because his morality is trapped under his cruelty when he clearly wants to be the good guy.
Weak implementation strength
The strength of implementation The film introduces us to Roman Hirst (Brynn Foster), a freelance mercenary who carries a gun for protection despite the fact that we think his hands are deadly weapons in their own right. After a failed assassination attempt in prison, Roman kills the wrong target under the guidance of an imprisoned gang leader named Ice Man (Ving Rhames), John Alexander (Ving Rhames).Steven Seagal) He has no choice but to force Roman into early retirement by breaking his hands. In John's opinion, Roman had been a loyal employee for 15 years, but he still had to pay the price for his gross misjudgment, which damaged the reputation of every party involved.
When Ice Man is released from prison, he immediately quarrels with John, and a gang war develops for control of Albuquerque, New Mexico's underground crime precinct. John makes Roman a peace offering in the form of enough money to disappear and start a new life, while subtly hinting that he could use his help to ease the developing and ongoing tension between him and Iceman. Roman finds himself conflicted because he wants to resume working with John, but his hands are damaged beyond repair.
Danny Trejo elevates the premise
Roman has some brief encounters with a deli owner named Oso who he films Danny Trejowhich just makes you wonder how many minutes of runtime it will take The strength of implementation Before Danny Trejo did what he did best: die on screen. I'll spare you any spoilers, but Uso has a quotable scene where he attacks Roman with poisonous scorpions and a hammer in a misguided attempt to repair his hands.
There is no clear good or bad guy
Despite Steven Seagal's best efforts to portray a villain of some sort The strength of implementationstill unable to help himself and delivers his signature monologues about pride, his top-secret past that mysteriously explains how he amassed his skills and wealth, and his personal moral code in order to justify his actions, no matter how cruel and immoral they may be. Doubtful they might be.
Execution force flow
This live-action film is a far cry from Steven Seagal's 90s heyday, but it's not without its charm. At the very least, it's refreshing to watch The strength of implementation Because Seagal is trying to turn into a heel late in his career by taking on a character who isn't the front and center action hero with a heart of gold that we all know. The strength of implementation It's ramshackle at best, but it effectively captures Seagal's willingness to try new things even if he's subconsciously trying to relive his glory days in every scene.
As of this writing, you can stream The strength of implementation Free on Tubi.
