Marked for Death (1990)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Dwight H. Little

Writers (WGA):

Michael Grais (written by) &
Mark Victor (written by)

Release Date:

5 October 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

He's a good cop. In a bad mood.

Plot:

Chicago DEA agent John Hatcher has just returned from Colombia, where his partner was killed in the...

Plot Keywords:

Drugs | Jamaica | Jamaican | Uncle Niece Relationship | Suburbia

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Nov. 14	5:10 PM	MAX
Thur. Nov. 19	5:00 PM	MAX

Cast

Steven Seagal	...	John Hatcher
Basil Wallace	...	Screwface
Keith David	...	Max
Tom Wright	...	Charles, Jamaican Cop
Joanna Pacula	...	Leslie
Elizabeth Gracen	...	Melissa
Bette Ford	...	Kate Hatcher
Danielle Harris	...	Tracey, John's Niece
Al Israel	...	Tito Barco, Columbian Drug Lord
Arlen Dean Snyder	...	Duvall
Victor Romero Evans	...	Nesta
Michael Ralph	...	Monkey
Jeffrey Anderson-Gunter	...	Nago
Tony DiBenedetto	...	Jimmy Fingers
Kevin Dunn	...	Lt. Sal Roselli

Also Known As:

Screwface (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

West Germany:18 (video premiere) (cut) | Germany:18 (video premiere) (cut) | Iceland:16 | UK:18 (DVD version) (cut) | Finland:K-18 (DVD version) (cut) | Finland:K-16 (VHS version) (cut) | Netherlands:12 (TV rating) | Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-18 (cut) (1991) | UK:18 (re-rating) (uncut) (2001) | South Korea:18 | Malaysia:18PL | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:R | Australia:M (cut) | Australia:R | France:-12 | Germany:18 (JK/SPIO) | Norway:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Carpinteria, California, USA

Company:

Victor & Grais

Trivia:

The villain Screwface was named after a Bob Marley song.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Screwface learns that Nesta and Jimmy Fingers are dead, he tilts the table where he was playing dominos, and one of the legs comes loose. He rips it out and uses it to hit one of his fellow Jamaicans. After his "I want Hatcher dead" speech, he throws the leg of the table to the ground (it can be heard), but in the next shot, the table has the leg again.

Quotes:

Charles, Jamaican Cop: [after a demo of the submachinegun] Massive cool! Forward Jamaica!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Wedlock (1991)

Soundtrack:

Rebel In Me

Cartoonish and silly but still enjoyable and lots of fun

This movie is really dumb but it's full of belly laughs. The silliest part is the fact that Seagal has a black sidekick, played by David Keith, which I guess was implemented to make the movie seem more politically correct since our hero mangles or kills countless Jamaicans. Later in the film the duo enlists the help of a Jamaican cop who's supposedly obsessed with nailing Screwface-the film's antagonist who is the ruthless leader of a drug dealing posse around which the plot is set. The action is silly and the fight scenes are funny. In this movie Seagal manages not only to shoot, but also to decapitate, to impale, to gouge the eyes of, to sever a hand of, and to break an arm and a leg of several different bad guys. I know that this sounds gruesome, but the villains always seem to be asking for it so you'll end up cheering or laughing.

Like all low-budget action flicks, this movie is plagued by some serious continuity errors. My favorite such error is in the car chase with the Ram Charger and the BMW that supposedly takes place in Chicago but was filmed in Los Angeles. To be exact, the scene where the BMW jumps on the sidewalk was filmed on the Chapman Plaza which is located on 6th Street between Alexandria and Kenmore, just North of the Equitable building. I lived in that area from 1990 to 1995 and recognized the site right away. What really gives it away though is the clearly evident tall palm trees that are all over Korea Town. I don't know, maybe it started snowing in Chicago or something and the producers did their best to avoid an in-your-face continuity error.

This movie is great if you like old-school 80's action (don't get me wrong, but 1990 is still the last year of the 80's decade). It thrills, it excites, and it will definitely make you want to sign up for martial arts lessons or go beat up your younger brother, despite your age. If you're looking for drama then watch the soaps, but if you want the best of Steven Seagal, then go rent this film.