Critique: Film> Reviews.

Surely with all this "Save the Planet" fixation in the media these days, it wouldn't be so criminal (as it seemed it once was) to watch Rob Cohen's 1997 "Eco-Thriller", which stars Steven Seagal. Despite its reputation, Fire Down Below really isn't that bad a film.

Seagal is Jack Taggart, an agent of the Environmental Protection Agency. A crooked businessman (Kris Kristofferson) soon becomes his target after it is discovered he has been using abandoned mines to dump toxic waste. In order to save the day and be respected, Taggart must arse-whip a number of dirty local town yokels and then deliver an ecological message within the church to let the innocent folks know that pissing with the environment is an absolute no-no.

O.K., so it may not sound like the most exciting synopsis ever, but at least Seagal shows a genuine affection for the issues that many of us choose to ignore. Surprisingly, he comes across as a nice guy really well here, and still manages to find the time to serve up several broken bones and bloody noses to keep things moderately entertaining to the action fans along the way.

The thing that humoured me about Fire Down Below was Seagal's elaborate choice of wardrobe. Sporting a number of long, brightly coloured leather trench coats to go with his similarly unique ponytail, Seagal seemed almost iconic. Add to that his whispering voice, bucolic personality and aikido mastery, and one might start to think he's a half-decent action hero (I never thought I'd ever be suggesting that).

Fire Down Below, on the whole, is certainly a lot better than the truly awful On Deadly Ground, which spat a similar message of pro-environmentalism. It's still not great, but it's not that terrible, either. The only real problem, in regards to its genre, is that most people won't ever bother to watch it.

(C) Andy Carrington, 2009.