“Force of Execution” Japanese DVD Cover
Director: Keoni Waxman
Cast: Steven Seagal, Bren Foster, Ving Rhames, Danny Trejo, Jenny Gabrielle, Marlon Lewis, David House, Gillie Da Kid, Andy Brooks, Ivan G’Vera
Running Time: 99 min.Â
By Paul Bramhall
If he wasnât already, then the 2024 Australian martial arts movie Life After Fighting successfully put Bren Foster on the radar of most martial arts cinema fans, in which he both starred and directed, culminating in a final reel tour de force of fists and feet. However the movie that should have made him a DTV action star on the same level as the likes of Scott Adkins was 2013âs Force of Execution, a vehicle which feels like it was clearly crafted for him to be the main character. However, heâs not. In fact he doesnât even appear on the official poster, which instead chooses to place the trio of Steven Seagal, Ving Rhames, and Danny Trejo front and centre. It may not offer much consolation, but at least his name is displayed.
So instead, his starring turn takes place in the shadow of Steven Seagal, who in 2013 was clinging on to the last of his DTV marketability. In fairness Seagal did put a modicum more effort into his 2010âs performances when compared to his heavily doubled (both physically and vocally!), barely there snoozefests of the mid-2000âs. Starting with 2012âs Maximum Conviction and ending with 2016âs Contract to Kill, the era was defined by Seagal adorned in orange sunglasses, a black bandana, and superfluous neck scarf fashion accessory. Gone were the 2000âs characters with a murky CIA related past, and now we were introduced to characters who come with a murky military background, usually in some kind of special ops scenario that canât be discussed in much detail.
Force of Execution opens with a rambling unintelligible voiceover from Seagal, one that I rewound 3 times and still couldnât be confident I caught everything he was mumbling. For some reason heâs opted to attempt a deep south accent for this outing, with lines like âMan if thatâs true, you might could have a jobâ representing the sort of nonsense the audience has to suffer through. I was able to catch enough to understand that during his military days he learnt how do a lot of âbad stuffâ, and now heâs out of the military heâs become a respected and powerful underworld figure who uses his skills to do âbad stuff to bad people.â By his side stands his loyal right-hand man, played by Foster, however after he botches a hit Seagal outcasts him from the organisation, giving the thumbs up for the guys who sanctioned the hit to give Foster a beating that leaves his hands permanently crippled.
When the gang leader who was responsible for Foster botching the hit is released, played by Ving Rhames (Mission: Impossible â Fallout, Undisputed), he and his gang look to usurp the status quo that Seagalâs influence helps maintain, threatening all out gang warfare spilling onto the streets. Force of Execution comes courtesy of the late 2000âs â mid 2010âs joined at the hip pairing of Seagal and director Keoni Waxman, who together cranked out a total of 9 features (and 1 TV series in the form of True Justice!) between 2009 and 2016 before parting ways. During these years Waxman worked exclusively with Seagal (although the arrangement wasnât mutual!), with this production representing their 4th movie together. Significantly, their pairing also saw Seagal finally get his very own trilogy, as Force of Execution was followed up with a prequel in 2014 titled A Good Man, and a 2015 sequel titled Mercenary: Absolution!
Amusingly, Waxman also chose to cast Rollinâ 60s Neighbourhood Crips gang leader Big U as one of the, you guessed it, members of Rhameâs gang, suitably called the 6-0. In the âMaking Ofâ (yes, Force of Execution comes from an era when even DTV flicks got âMaking Ofâ featurettes) Rhames gushes about how Big U brought a level of authenticity to the production thanks to being a real gang member whoâs served time, while behind the scenes photos show cast members busting out blurred out gang gestures. Classy! Thankfully the gang talk is evenly balanced with Rhames extolling his application of the Stanislavski method of acting, a school that Seagal definitely didnât enrol in, but as much as we donât clock into a Seagal flick to be in awe of his acting, so we also donât clock into a Rhames flick to see his fighting prowess.
Get to see it we do though, and itâs really the only regrettable fight scene in Force of Execution, with his clumsy brawling and woeful attempt at a kick almost enough to be classed as a form of visual abuse on the eyes. Luckily fight choreographer Lauro Chartrand (an established director himself, having made his debut with the 2010 Seagal vehicle Born to Raise Hell) has a much easier job on his hands with Seagal, who does his usual aikido schtick, and Foster. This was really the Australian martial artists breakout role, having been a mainstay on the daytime TV soap opera Days of Our Lives, before getting to work with Waxman, Seagal, and Chartrand on 2012âs Maximum Conviction, which offered a blink and youâll miss it glimpse of his talents.
The experience on Maximum Conviction was obviously enough to convince Waxman of Fosterâs talents though, so on Force of Execution we get several opportunities to see the Aussie bootmaster let loose at his peak. A highlight sees him taking out a number of a number of assailants in a corridor during the prison hit, including a particularly gnarly spinning head kick (discussed at length in the episode of Scott Adkins Art of Action that he appears in). The crippling of his hands feels a little like the character is riffing on Chow Yun Fatâs fall from grace in A Better Tomorrow filtered through King Boxer, becoming an alcoholic bum shacked up in a dilapidated room above a diner run by Danny Trejo (which surely makes him the only actor to appear alongside Seagal across 3 separate decades, following 1990âs Marked for Death, 2007âs Renegade Justice, and 2010âs Machete ).
The old-school kung-fu movie tropes feel even more intentional by the time Trejo reveals himself to be a Mexican witch doctor out of the blue, and proceeds to tie Fosterâs hands down to planks of wood and subject them to scorpion stings! Thereâs a lot of talk about meridian points and how the scorpions poison will heal his injuries, which apparently can only take place after the bones have been broken again so that they can reset âtwice as strongâ, all of which is so left of field that it only works in Force of Executionâs favour. Events culminate in Seagal and Foster teaming up to take down the bad guys (apparently thereâs no hard feelings between the pair, despite it being Seagal that gave the green light for him to be crippled in the first place!), of which Iâve no doubt the highlight for some will be to see Seagal getting changed into his orange glasses, black bandana, and superfluous neck scarf getup.
The action finale is serviceable, mainly consisting of Seagal and his cohorts shimmying around his mansion picking off Rhames and his lackeys in a hail of bullets. Itâs a shame that Foster gets somewhat pushed to the background for the final reel (I could have swore at one point we were going to get a motorbike being ridden through a window scene, but alas it never happens), especially since his character is the one who gets a real story arc, however itâs also not too much of a surprise that Seagal didnât want to be outshone by some new upstart.
It seemed like during the mid-2000âs to mid-2010âs Seagalâs best DTV flicks where these slices of gangland turf war nonsense, with efforts like 2007âs Renegade Justice and 2009âs Driven to Kill offering up similar entertainment levels. What canât be denied is the juxtaposition between Foster spinning through the air and delivering flying knees to the head, compared to Seagalâs statue like demeanour while he effortlessly ploughs heads through walls and flips bodies into tables, proves to be a surprisingly pleasant diversion for 100 minutes. Whether thatâs enough to convince me to check out the next 2 (Foster-less) instalments is another question.
Paul Bramhall’s Rating: 6/10
