CIA agent Travis Hunter(Steven Seagal)must thwart the efforts of young Yakuza(who have abandoned the "principles" of their ancestors in favor of monetary wealth and prestige)who have aligned themselves with Chinese Tongs in not only trafficking heroine, but monopolizing the trade. Kuroda(Takao Ôsawa)is the young Yakuza who wants to rest all the power from aging boss Ishikawa(Shôji Oki)and his second-in-command Kojima(Eve Masatoh). Travis purposely ignites a turf war in the hopes that Kuroda will be conquered before he gains too much control which could be dangerous for not only Japan, but America as well. But, ultimately, Travis will have a bone to pick with Kuroda after his lady love Nayako(Kanako Yamaguchi)and FBI partner Sean Mack(Matthew Davis)are targeted by the Yakuza and his thugs. While strong on plot, INTO THE SUN lacks enough real action which, I think, will not satiate the appropriate audience this is geared towards. It does have the bloody finale as Travis goes after Kuroda in his Tachikawa Village, with plenty of Yakuza scum for him to slice and dice with his Samurai sword. Davis is the partner who follows leads which implicate Kuroda, but at a heavy cost. William Atherton is Seagal's boss, stationed in Tokyo, his agent Block always trying to keep up with Hunter's whereabouts. There are only two scenes with Seagal engaged in hand-to-hand combat(including a market fight with a few hapless street punks)and one major shootout(at the beginning, which shows Seagal and former Tennessee running back Eddie George in a village with a job to take out some sort of shady character; this is puzzling in that it has nothing to do with anything else in the movie). The ending in Kuroda's village really is the only true action sequence of any true worth. Very mediocre when it could've been far more entertaining..a film which has plenty of Yakuza to kill, you'd think such a plot would provide Seagal with ample opportunities to carve up a body count. Alas, such is not the case..
Review of Into the Sun
