INTO THE SUN was supposed to get a limited cinema release, i don't think it would have fared well on the big screen? The beginning is good, the ending is great, but the mid section (as with most recent SEAGAL movies) felt a little padded. SEAGAL (great as ever) plays TRAVIS HUNTER (great name) ex CIA Yakuza expert, sent to Tokyo, to solve the case of a murdered governor. SEAGAL meets up with his (soon to be) young bride, and makes his peace with his old sensei, but the Yakuza are on to Hunter (and his rookie partner) and plan to take them, out of the picture......BIG MISTAKE!!
On paper this sounds fine, but i just wish that the director had given SEAGAL more to do than spend an hour, questioning people, or driving around. When the fight scenes do come, they are very good (i've watched it slo-mo, and looks 100% genuine SEAGAL.......so why all the quick cutting?) and SEAGAL still has amazing hand-speed (the sword fights are awesome) and i quite liked some of the Yakuza scenes (but it's in this mid-section, that SEAGAL is rarely on screen, or even forgot about) but with more fight scenes, this movie could have been a classic. As it is, it's a million times better than the (rather dull) OUT OF REACH, but still nowhere near the giddy heights of BELLY OF THE BEAST (the perfect combination of SEAGALism and kick ass action) Director MINK (eh?) does a good job with the action scenes, and tries to inject the movie with flashy visuals, from time to time. I'll give them credit, however, for using music tracks from SEAGAL's album (SONGS FROM THE CRYSTAL CAVE) throughout this movie. The sword fighting scenes are quite bloody as well (take note QUENTIN!) and the movie has a more 'polished' look than previous SEAGAL epics. The bottom line is this, people expecting another UNDER SIEGE need not watch this, but fans of 70's Yakuza flicks will enjoy seeing the old cliché's on display.
It was rumoured that this picture was meant to be a remake of sorts to 1975's classic THE YAKUZA (with ROBERT MITCHUM) but the blood soaked climax aside, it bears little resemblance.
Final thoughts; Good movie, solid fight scenes (when they come) OK performances, crisp photography, great soundtrack (that i'll bet is never released anywhere) No voice doubles and some violent bloodletting, make INTO A SUN a (slow) step in the right direction for STEVEN SEAGAL, still the baddest man on the planet known as 'action' 8 OUT OF 10
On paper this sounds fine, but i just wish that the director had given SEAGAL more to do than spend an hour, questioning people, or driving around. When the fight scenes do come, they are very good (i've watched it slo-mo, and looks 100% genuine SEAGAL.......so why all the quick cutting?) and SEAGAL still has amazing hand-speed (the sword fights are awesome) and i quite liked some of the Yakuza scenes (but it's in this mid-section, that SEAGAL is rarely on screen, or even forgot about) but with more fight scenes, this movie could have been a classic. As it is, it's a million times better than the (rather dull) OUT OF REACH, but still nowhere near the giddy heights of BELLY OF THE BEAST (the perfect combination of SEAGALism and kick ass action) Director MINK (eh?) does a good job with the action scenes, and tries to inject the movie with flashy visuals, from time to time. I'll give them credit, however, for using music tracks from SEAGAL's album (SONGS FROM THE CRYSTAL CAVE) throughout this movie. The sword fighting scenes are quite bloody as well (take note QUENTIN!) and the movie has a more 'polished' look than previous SEAGAL epics. The bottom line is this, people expecting another UNDER SIEGE need not watch this, but fans of 70's Yakuza flicks will enjoy seeing the old cliché's on display.
It was rumoured that this picture was meant to be a remake of sorts to 1975's classic THE YAKUZA (with ROBERT MITCHUM) but the blood soaked climax aside, it bears little resemblance.
Final thoughts; Good movie, solid fight scenes (when they come) OK performances, crisp photography, great soundtrack (that i'll bet is never released anywhere) No voice doubles and some violent bloodletting, make INTO A SUN a (slow) step in the right direction for STEVEN SEAGAL, still the baddest man on the planet known as 'action' 8 OUT OF 10