Allow me to share with you my genuine impressions about something that I was eagerly looking for – a Steven Seagal Blu-Ray box set containing some of his best flicks up to date.
It is always exciting to bump into something interesting when it comes to a quality movie collection of a favorite action hero.
The ponytailed aikido master is undoubtedly one of the most respected martial artists among the popular Hollywood action stars of the 90’s.
During the years Steven has participated in movies that shaped the action genre and strongly influenced the popularization of the aikido.
His unique acting and fighting style helped him build a loyal fanbase that keeps growing even nowadays when Seagal’s flicks are arriving directly on the straight-to-DVD market and present a quality which is a far cry from his glorious old-school movies.
Guess what? It is fortunate that the Blu-Ray that I’m going to explore deeper within this article epitomizes a collection of these very glorious old-school actioners that I’ve just mentioned.
In the below sentences, I’ll try to be as much thorough as possible in describing this Blu-Ray Box Set so that you can decide if it meets your needs.
As usual, I will point out the pros and cons, the technical specifications and the verified customer reviews.
Let’s begin by checking…
Contents
What Does This Steven Seagal Blu-Ray Box Set Contain
Here comes the best part.
To tell you the truth, it is difficult to find a rich movie collection, comprised of only legendary titles.
Despite that, this pack happens to include five of the best action films in Steven’s long career.
Let’s examine them one by one:
‘Above The Law’ (1988)
That’s right – Steven’s explosive motion picture debut comes in a high-quality format as part of this Blu-Ray collection.
There have been almost 30 years since Andrew Davis’ action-thriller hit the theaters but the character of Nico, so convincingly portrayed by Seagal continues to thrill.
Recently, it was even reported that Steven will once again reprise his iconic role in an upcoming sequel entitled ‘Above the Law 2’, expected to air in 2018.
For those of you that don’t remember, the plot of the successful action flick revolves around the wild-mannered cop and martial arts expert Nico Toscani who faces extreme violence while uncovering crime and corruption in Chicago underworld.
The movie also stars Pam Grier and the sexy Sharon Stone as Sara Toscani – Nico’s wife.
‘Above the Law’ is a typical action flick from the 90’s – it is old-schooled, it is fun, it contains many shootings, ridiculous one-liners, and a lot of the crazy martial arts fights, a trademark of Steven Seagal.
Check out my full review of ‘Above the Law’ and I’m sure that you will remember how entertaining it is.
‘Under Siege’ (1992)
This is the blockbuster which gained Steven international fame and solidified his action icon status in the 90’s.
His name was now proudly standing beside the names of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger and they were all referred as the most trending action stars at the time.
Steven once again used his charisma and spectacular martial arts skills to portray the sympathetic Navy cook Casey Ryback who does the impossible to save not only a submarine but the whole world from insane terrorists headed by Tommy Lee Jones.
Directed by Andrew Davis, the movie also stars the ‘Baywatch’s Erika Eleniak who leaves nothing to the imagination and shows off her big… ‘cough, acting skills, cough’.
‘Under Siege’ is considered as one of the biggest action blockbusters of the early 90’s and as you probably recall, delivers great roller-coaster experience.
It is visually very appealing (not only because of Erika Eleniak), fast-paced and action-packed.
It is interesting that only a bunch of folks know that the movie received two Oscar nominations – for best effects and for best sound.
Check out my entire review of ‘Under Siege’, which is also an open letter to Steven Seagal.
‘Under Siege 2: Dark Territory’ (1995)
To make a sequel to the utterly successful ‘Under Siege’ and to continue the exploits of the lovable character of Casey Ryback was a logical choice back in 1995.
According to the critics, though, the sequel which was set on a train failed to deliver and didn’t surpass the success of its predecessor.
The fans, however, loved this movie too. To be honest, I like the second installment even more.
This time the action kicks off after a group of merciless terrorists hijack a train for the purpose of using it as a mobile HQ in order to possess a top-secret US satellite, thus planning to destroy the Eastern Seaboard.
Their job becomes very difficult when the ex-Navy Casey Ryback who happens to travel on this very train with his niece learns their plans.
‘Under Siege 2’ is directed by Geoff Murphy (‘Young Guns 2’) and in the cast, we can see Katherine Heigl, Patrick Kilpatrick, and Eric Bogosian.
Despite its commercial failure, the flick still has everything that the first part did have – cheesy action, intense martial arts sequences, knife fights, cruel villain and heart-pounding finale.
Check out a complete review on RogerEbert.com.
‘Hard To Kill’ (1990)
Oh yeah, the good news continues.
Another remarkable flick in Steven Seagal’s early career, ‘Hard To Kill’ revolves around the L.A. Detective Mason Storm who goes on a revenge spree after his wife was killed in his house and he was left severely injured.
Shortly after getting out of the coma he was put in, Mason Storm starts his vengeful plot.
On his way, the tough detective and brilliant aikido master encounters outrageous enemies and must face a powerful mob organization.
In the movie, we see Steven’s then-wife Kelly LeBrock and William Sadler as the vicious Senator Vernon Trent.
The director Bruce Malmuth managed to create a highly enjoyable crime actioner and the movie entirely relies on Seagal’s fight skills and on-screen charisma.
It is a fantastic funny action movie, full of all the must-haves for a vintage flick starring one of the rising action icons of the 90’s.
You will definitely want to check out my review of ‘Hard To Kill’ in order to remind yourself what deadly aikido means.
‘Executive Decision’ (1996)
By 1996 Steven Seagal was one of the most popular action stars as well as a highly demanded one.
Following the huge success of his previous films (included on this Blu-Ray), Steven was invited to participate next to huge stars such as Kurt Russel and Halle Berry in the big-budgeted action-thriller ‘Executive Decision’, directed by Stuart Baird (‘U.S. Marshals’).
In that way, Steven had already starred in actioners set on a submarine, on a train and now, on a plane.
When a team of highly-skilled terrorists takes over the control of a 747 with a sinister plot on their minds, it is the job of the Intelligence expert David Grant (Russel) and the commando Lt. Colonel Austin Travis to put a spoke in their wheel.
Featuring some unexpected plot twists and intense suspense, ‘Executive Decision’ is yet another roller-coaster action blockbuster glorifying Steven Seagal and his ability to break arms.
The movie is amusing to watch as it contains an adequate mix of action and mild humor along with very enjoyable, yet unrealistic plot.
Now that we examined the five action movies included in this Steven Seagal Blu-Ray box set, let’s head to its technical specifications.
Technical Specifications Of The Blu-Ray
I will quickly go through the most important stuff here:
- It is a one disc pack.
- The good thing is that it is an All Regions release meaning that the disc is playable on all Blu-Ray players.
- The language is English.
Let me now tell you what I like about this Blu-Ray set.
The Pros
There are several things to mention here starting with…
- …the fact that it contains five of the most iconic films in Steven Seagal’s career, including his early debut ‘Above The Law’(1988), which is very fun to watch nowadays.
- I really like that this is a region-free Blu-Ray which can play on all Blu-Ray players out there.
- It comes with a very nice package and the box is very appealing.
- The user commentaries about it are more than satisfying.
- The quality and the sound of the picture are perfect.
Hey, let’s try to hate that product a bit, shall we?
The Cons
Hopefully, there won’t be many things to say here but let’s see:
- Well, I really don’t like the lack of special features on the Blu-Ray. I believe that any fan would be curious to see some additional materials, related to the five movies included, no matter if it is behind the scenes feature or some director’s cut ending.
- Just my two cents here but I think that they could have replaced ‘Executive Decision’ with another movie in which Steven Seagal plays the leading role such as ‘Out for Justice’ for example. Not that ‘Executive Decision’ is a bad flick but I would prefer to see more of Seagal in a movie in which he is the main lead.
Let’s see who this explosive Box Set is destined for.
Who Is It For?
This Steven Seagal Blu-Ray Box Set would be a great joy for:
- The die-hard Steven Seagal fans.
- All action movie collectors who like perfect picture and quality of the sound.
- All the martial arts fans out there seeking to see well-choreographed aikido fights in a movie.
- Everyone enjoying cheesy, highly entertaining old-school actioners from the 90’s.
In order to understand better the quality of any kind of product, it is necessary to check out the opinions of the people who have already tried it.
Verified Customer Reviews About the Blu-Ray
This Steven Seagal movie collection featuring five of his best films ever continues to receive strongly positive reviews from Amazon verified buyers.
It has a perfect score of almost five out of five stars and here are some of the testimonials:
Feel free to check out all the user feedback regarding this Blu-Ray on Amazon.
Final Verdict
Let’s wrap it up – this Blu-Ray pack includes five awesome Steven Seagal movies from the 90’s in a high-quality format.
‘Above The Law’, ‘Under Siege’, ‘Under Siege 2’, ‘Executive Decision’, and ‘Marked for Death’ are true classics that every action fan enjoys rewatching over and over again.
The price is excellent for a five-movie pack, even though there aren’t any special features and a gift wrap.
The user feedback coming from verified buyers only regarding the overall quality of the disc, the package, and the shipment is fantastic.
That is why I consider this as a hot offer with a perfect ratio quality/price that is totally worth the buy.
I hope that I have been clear and I have helped you make a decision.
What do you think about this Blu-Ray pack? Leave a comment below!