Fire Down Below (1997)

Fire Down Below (1997)- * * *

Directed by: Felix Enriquez Alcala

Starring: Steven Seagal, Marg Helgenberger, Stephen Lang, Brad Hunt, Levon Helm, Harry Dean Stanton, and Kris Kristofferson











Jack Taggart (Seagal) is an EPA agent with an attitude. In order to get to the truth about a large, illegal toxic waste-dumping scheme, he goes undercover as a handyman in rural Jackson, Kentucky, where the waste is said to be hidden. 

This toxic waste is causing the townsfolk to develop medical issues, and is even killing them. While Taggart finds friendly locals like Cotton (Stanton), Reverend Goodall (Helm), and Sarah Kellogg (Helgenberger), who he forges a relationship with, he does end up with a lot of opposition to his even being in their supposedly quiet little town. 

As it turns out, the sinister Orin Hanner (Kristofferson) is a corporate bigwig who is using the townspeople of Jackson as his own personal enforcers against Taggart so he can continue to make millions with his waste-dumping scheme. But Taggart vows to end this cycle of corruption and misery - by any means necessary. Will Taggart and his friends triumph over the forces of environmental evil? Find out today!

You know, it’s a funny thing...we’ve been so conditioned by Seagal’s latter-day efforts, that we assumed watching this older Seagal vehicle was going to be a crud-filled slog filled to the brim with mind-numbing stupidity. But we were very much refreshed and relieved to find out...wait for it...that Fire Down Below is actually a solid, worthwhile, and entertaining movie. Yes, that seems shocking, but that’s only based on the 2014 view of Seagal. 

Hark back to a time when he was a little thinner, his movies went to the theater, and the major studios ensured some level of professional quality. Seagal is as likable as Seagal gets, and he even smiles a few times. Plus his jackets are truly amazing fashion pieces. (Hence, we ventured a supposition that his full name in the movie was Jacket Taggart). This was in Seagal’s “Environmental” phase, where he wore buckskin coats and all his movies had to be about pollution or rainforests or something. Somehow his interest in that seems to have faded, as his latter-day DTV efforts seem to have him more as an unlikable thug.

If Hard Target was Van Damme’s “Bayou” movie, then Fire Down Below is Seagal’s answer to that. There’s plenty of banjo-pickin’ country music on the soundtrack (a lot of which is by Seagal himself, with none other than Todd Smallwood of Street Knight musical fame...what an amazing team-up!), and the first image of the movie is highly reminiscent of the cover of classic SNES game Phalanx. But the idea of a butt-kicking EPA agent who becomes “Undercover Handyman” is an enjoyable idea, but the whole “classic corrupt small town” feels very familiar.

But here’s the bottom line as we see it: Because this is a rural movie, which is very well-shot and has a nice atmosphere, and has a refreshing emphasis on actual characters, it seems the movie as a whole would have gotten more recognition and critical acclaim had it starred Billy Bob Thornton or Ed Harris instead of Steven Seagal. 

Take out some of the action scenes, and this could have worked well as a low-key drama like Chrystal (2004), Paris Trout (1991) or Sling Blade (1996).  But because this is a Seagal movie, it ran into a dilemma: As a drama, it’s not going to please drama fans, and as a straight-up action movie, it runs the risk of upsetting action buffs who have to have everything go at a breakneck pace with tons of brutal violence. 

We suppose the intended audience is...us, really, because we appreciate actual storytelling, atmosphere, and characters, as well as action. But we applaud Seagal and the rest of the cast for actually trying to make something respectable and not your average crud.

So set your newly-minted (and extremely warranted) modern-day Seagal prejudices aside and feel free to delve into the world of classic, pre-obese Seagal. We’re not afraid to say we thought Fire Down Below was a winner.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty 

The Dogfighters (1995)

The Dogfighters (1995)- * *1\2

Directed by: Barry Zetlin

Starring: Robert Davi, Alexander Godunov, Lara Harris, and Ben Gazzara










Rowdy Welles (Davi) is a badass named Rowdy Welles. He’s a flying ace that loves planes as much as he loves women, cigars, and being named Rowdy Welles. When a suit at the CIA named Althorp (Gazzara) frames Rowdy for murder, Rowdy has no choice but to do his bidding. (i.e. the “just do this one job for me” plot which may seem familiar.) 

His mission is to travel to Russia, and stop the nuclear ambitions of a baddie named Lothar Krasna (Godunov). His name is as evil-sounding as Rowdy’s is awesome. While there, he gets up to all sorts of intrigue and shenanigans, many of which involve the beautiful Mikaela (Harris). Will Rowdy stop the entire Russian nuclear program with only a toy car? Find out today!

1995 was an amazing year for the great Robert Davi. He starred in this, No Contest (1995), Showgirls (1995), and one of his career best, The Dangerous (1995), among even more film and TV appearances. It’s easy to forget these days that Davi was a big star, or at least poised to be one, in the DTV world. Regardless of his status, we remain staunch Davi fans, and while it was only natural not everything he did in ‘95 would be as good as The Dangerous, Davi still carries the movie, and looks cool smoking a cigar and/or shooting people in slow motion.

While some of the weirder elements kept The Dangerous afloat and made it memorable, The Dogfighters is merely a “guy in a foreign land beating up foreigners” movie that we’ve all seen before. But at least it’s not a plane slog like we thought it was going to be. Granted, the beginning-and-end brackets of flying scenes go on too long (as do many other scenes), but we do have one of the better exploding helicopters in recent memory, so there’s that. 

Plus, Godunov is just not that threatening in this movie. Yes, he does have the typical long blonde hair that alerts us that he is a typical Eurotrash baddie, but he’s busy dancing (they made sure to give him at least one unnecessary dance scene), and not putting Rowdy’s family at risk, or anything like that.

History-wise, The Dogfighters is a movie trapped between the 80’s and 90’s. For example, there are references to “finishing the job” with Saddam Hussein and the first Gulf War, and another beaming picture of Bill Clinton firmly placed on the wall (though not as prominent as it was in Terminal Rush), yet the Russians are still the villains, just like they were in the 80’s. 

Fascinatingly, Ben Gazzara makes a reference to having “enough explosives to take down the World Trade Center”. While the first WTC bombing had already occurred, still that should be enough to ban the airing of this movie on TV, along with the forbidden episodes of Seinfeld and The Simpsons.  (Interesting connection to that: Dan Castellaneta is credited with “additional voices” on this movie).

But really, this movie is just dumb, and loses energy a lot. It needed more action, and lacked a sense of urgency or danger. Plus Godunov looks like, and is about as threatening as, Gerard Depardieu. Also the music by the normally-great Jeff “Skunk” Baxter seems listless and noodly, not driving and action-oriented like it should be. 

The “not theater-ready” look to the project inevitably alienated potential renters, who were spoilt for choice during the height of the video store era. Thus, fairly or unfairly, The Dogfighters is sadly condemned to the lost video store shelf of history.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett