The thirteenth entry in Steven Seagal's direct-to-video canon elaborates on his snuff-wish in ways only an incompetent filmmaker can, but the noteworthy frenetic execution propels it to cult status.
I think it's safe to assume you will watch this in a state of disbelief. Consider an early scene where Billy Joe, one of Seagal's enemies, is kicked out of a window and the shot is repeated five times over. This is really just the tip of the iceberg. The layers of mistakes and deliberate editing choices are what steal the show from the get-go and it's a beautiful ballet of dissonance bathed in self-seriousness, making this the ultimate Steven Seagal movie. Every cinematic tool is abused, mysteries put aside to indulge in bar fights that reach an unthinkable climax of choreographed silliness, with editing that serves the absurd and experimentalism. The violence is extremely phony and the body double reveals, the abundance of cheap sound effects, and a misinterpreted use of the JUMP CUT technique only add to the delicious frenzy.
Seagal with his trademark uninvolved voice (though the southern accent he adopts is hilarious) and his catchphrase "Lord Have Mercy" is on par with the screenplay's lack of emotional resonance, basic coherence and the senseless urge to kick the living __it out of generic antagonists.
That urge is what makes Kill Switch his greatest film to date, that viewers affectionate of irony must absolutely see and see to believe. It wouldn't be a post-millennium Seagal flick if the stunt doubles didn't do the fighting and the music didn't do the acting but in Kill Switch this phenomenon seems almost celebrated.
I think it's safe to assume you will watch this in a state of disbelief. Consider an early scene where Billy Joe, one of Seagal's enemies, is kicked out of a window and the shot is repeated five times over. This is really just the tip of the iceberg. The layers of mistakes and deliberate editing choices are what steal the show from the get-go and it's a beautiful ballet of dissonance bathed in self-seriousness, making this the ultimate Steven Seagal movie. Every cinematic tool is abused, mysteries put aside to indulge in bar fights that reach an unthinkable climax of choreographed silliness, with editing that serves the absurd and experimentalism. The violence is extremely phony and the body double reveals, the abundance of cheap sound effects, and a misinterpreted use of the JUMP CUT technique only add to the delicious frenzy.
Seagal with his trademark uninvolved voice (though the southern accent he adopts is hilarious) and his catchphrase "Lord Have Mercy" is on par with the screenplay's lack of emotional resonance, basic coherence and the senseless urge to kick the living __it out of generic antagonists.
That urge is what makes Kill Switch his greatest film to date, that viewers affectionate of irony must absolutely see and see to believe. It wouldn't be a post-millennium Seagal flick if the stunt doubles didn't do the fighting and the music didn't do the acting but in Kill Switch this phenomenon seems almost celebrated.