Half Past Dead (2002)

User Rating:

4.0/10   

Director:

Don Michael Paul

Writer (WGA):

Don Michael Paul (written by)

Release Date:

15 November 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

The Good. The Bad. And the Deadly.

Plot:

This movie tells the story of a man who goes undercover in a hi-tech prison to find out information to help prosecute those who killed his wife. While there he stumbles onto a plot involving a death-row inmate and his $200 million stash of gold.

Plot Keywords:

Prison | FBI | Alcatraz | Death Row | Electric Chair

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Steven Seagal	...	Sasha Petrosevitch
Morris Chestnut	...	49er One / Donald Robert Johnson
Ja Rule	...	Nicolas 'Nick' Frazier
Nia Peeples	...	49er Six
Tony Plana	...	Warden El Fuego
Kurupt	...	Twitch
Michael Taliferro	...	Little Joe (as Michael 'Bear' Taliferro)
Claudia Christian	...	Special Agent Ellen Williams
Linda Thorson	...	Judge Jane McPherson
Bruce Weitz	...	Lester McKenna
Michael McGrady	...	Guard Damon J. Kestner
Richard Bremmer	...	Sonny Eckvall
Hannes Jaenicke	...	Agent Hartmann
Matt Battaglia	...	49er Three
Wiliam T. Bowers	...	Alcatraz Guard
Stephen J. Cannell	...	Frank Hubbard
Ross King	...	FBI Agent
Yasmina Filali	...	Sophia (as Yasmina Filall)
Alexandra Kamp-Groeneveld	...	Reporter (as Alexandra Kamp)
Jed Sutton	...	Air 49er
Kelly Lange	...	Herself
Mo'Nique	...	Twitch's Girl (as Mo'Nique)
Eva-Maria Schönecker	...	Priest
Alister Mazzotti	...	49er Seven
Michael Bornhütter	...	49er Eight
Rainer Werner	...	49er Nine
Ralf Häger	...	49er Ten (as Ralf Haeger)
Art Camacho	...	49er Eleven
Wolfgang Lindner	...	49er Twelve
Volkhard Buff	...	Hooded Figure (as Volkhart Buff)
Mike Möller	...	Inmate #1
Christian Gneisel	...	Inmate #2
Lutz Vogel	...	Inmate #3
Stefan Langel	...	Gunner
Ralph Günthler	...	Gunner (as Ralph Guthler)
Jogi Blumenthal	...	Entrance Guard
Thorsten Gliewe	...	Entrance Guard
Micha Bornhütter	...	Entrance Guard
Marc Logan-Black	...	Control Center Guard (as Mark Logan-Black)
Mike Brun	...	Tower Guard
Georg Ebinal	...	Tower Guard / Truck Driver
Wanja Götz	...	Nick's Crew
Norman Ernst	...	Nick's Crew
Asuka Tovazzi	...	FBI Chop Shop
Jason Oettle	...	FBI Chop Shop
René Bellmann	...	Forklift Driver
Eddie Geber	...	Inmate
Sascha Magerl	...	Inmate
Chi Man Wong	...	Chinese Tier Guard
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joe Cook	...	William T. Bowers (uncredited)
Kris Deskins	...	Lawyer (uncredited)
Don Michael Paul	...	SWAT Captain (uncredited)

Directed by
Don Michael Paul

Writing credits (WGA)
Don Michael Paul		(written by)

Produced by
Christopher Eberts	....	executive producer
Randall Emmett	....	co-executive producer
Richard L. Fox	....	associate producer
George Furla	....	co-executive producer
Phillip B. Goldfine	....	co-producer (as Phil Goldfine)
James A. Holt	....	co-producer (as James Holt)
Elie Samaha	....	producer
Uwe Schott	....	executive producer
Steven Seagal	....	producer
Alison Semenza	....	line producer
William B. Steakley	....	line producer
Andrew Stevens	....	producer
Mac Yasuda	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Tyler Bates

Cinematography by
Michael Slovis

Film Editing by
Vanick Moradian

Casting by
Jeff Gerrard

Production Design by
Albrecht Konrad

Art Direction by
Andreas Olshausen

Set Decoration by
Ernestine Hipper

Costume Design by
Barbara Jäger

Makeup Department
David Atherton	....	hair stylist: Mr. Seagal
David Atherton	....	makeup artist: Mr. Segal
Sheila Evers	....	makeup artist
Björn Rehbein	....	hair designer
Björn Rehbein	....	makeup designer
Valeska Schitthelm	....	hair stylist
Valeska Schitthelm	....	makeup artist
Michelle Werner	....	key makeup artist: US Crew

Production Management
Markus Bensch	....	production manager
Thorne Mutert	....	unit manager
Maureen Norton	....	post-production supervisor
Andrew Stevens	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Art Camacho	....	second unit director
Richard L. Fox	....	first assistant director
Karen Fulham	....	first assistant director: second unit
Klaus Große Darrelmann	....	second assistant director
Juliane Heicken	....	assistant director
Eva-Maria Schönecker	....	first assistant director
Jonathan Southard	....	first assistant director: Los Angeles
A. Stevens	....	first assistant director

Art Department
Christoph Baumstieger	....	swing
Simon-Julien Boucherie	....	assistant set decorator
Klaus Eckmann	....	swing gang
Enzo Enzel	....	head painter
Michael Fechner	....	prop supervisor
Oliver Kuhlmann	....	property master
T. Brett Lindsey	....	scenic artist: reshoots
Joao Gonzaga Silveira	....	stand-by props
Otu Tetteh	....	painter
John Wong	....	storyboard artist

Sound Department
Kami Asgar	....	supervising sound editor
Ed Cantu	....	sound mixer
Vincent Guisetti	....	foley artist
Wayne Heitman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Takako Ishikawa	....	sound effects editor
Devin Joseph	....	dialogue editor
Pamela Kahn	....	foley artist
Marla McGuire	....	adr editor
Robert Nichols II	....	sound recordist
Kyle Rochlin	....	foley mixer
Tim Tuchrello	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Michael Apling	....	special effects: technical support
Norman Ernst	....	special effects technician
Sebastian Hanusch	....	special effects assistant
Till Hertrich	....	senior special effects technician
Stefan Knauer	....	special effects technician
Michael Luppino	....	special effects foreman
Armin Moritz	....	special effects technician
Uli Nefzer	....	special effects supervisor
Bernd Rautenberg	....	head of armour weapons
Marcus Schmidt	....	armourer
Jens Schmiedel	....	special effects senior technician
Thomas Thiele	....	special effects technician
Bernd Wildau	....	special effects: technical support
Adolf Wojtinek	....	special effects: technical support

Visual Effects by
Clay Dale	....	visual effects
Victor DiMichina	....	digital imaging supervisor
Chris Ervin	....	digital compositor
Patrick Flanagan	....	digital compositor
Tyler Foell	....	digital effects supervisor
Tyler Foell	....	visual effects producer
Mike Hardison	....	CG supervisor: Pixel Magic
James David Hattin	....	digital compositor/removal guy
Bonnie Kanner	....	executive producer: Pixel Magic
Kevin Kipper	....	digital artist
John R. McConnell	....	2D Compositor: Pixel Magic
Ray McIntyre Jr.	....	visual effects supervisor
Brad Moylan	....	lead digital compositor: Pixel Magic
Patrick Murphy	....	digital compositor
Josh Novak	....	lead compositor: main title sequence
Alfredo Ramirez	....	digital effects compositor: Pixel Magic
Michael Geordie Spradling	....	weather effects
Michael Stetson	....	digital artist: Pixel Magic
Mike Uguccioni	....	digital compositor
Juan Carlos Vargas	....	visual effects (as Juan Vargas)
Christopher Dusendschon	....	digital imaging: iO Film (uncredited)
Tony Magaletta	....	first assistant cameraman (uncredited)

Stunts
Volkhard Buff	....	stunt coordinator
Art Camacho	....	action coordinator
Norman Ernst	....	stunt rigger
Wolfgang Stegemann	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter Altmann	....	video operator
Klemens Becker	....	director of photography: second unit
Viviane Bendjus	....	clapper loader
Jan Brun	....	dolly grip
Brek Cooney	....	grip
Johnny Feurer	....	first assistant camera: "b" camera
Steve Garrett	....	best boy grip: second unit
Mario Grech	....	rigging spark
Birgit Gudjonsdottir	....	camera operator
David Hörnle	....	second assistant additional camera
Holger Joos	....	second assistant camera: "a" camera
Sebastian Meuschel	....	camera operator
Ronald Schwarz	....	gaffer
Sascha 'Sash' Seitz	....	second assistant camera
Marco Teuchert	....	best boy
Marco Teuchert	....	electrician

Casting Department
Josh Godfrey	....	casting assistant
Iris Müller	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Anna Isabell Logen	....	costumer: Steven Seagal
Meike Schlegel	....	costume supervisor
Carol Anne Wegner	....	key wardrobe (as Carol Turney)

Editorial Department
David Feldman	....	apprentice editor
Derek Herr	....	on-line editor
Mike Milliken	....	color timer
Chris Mistorni	....	first assistant editor
Joel T. Pashby	....	assistant editor
Aaron Rottinghaus	....	apprentice editor
Christine Seino	....	assistant on-line editor

Music Department
Jim Ervin	....	music consultant
Michael Lloyd	....	executive soundtrack producer
Michael Lloyd	....	music supervisor
Brian Richards	....	music editor
Mark Skillingberg	....	assistant music editor
Tim Williams	....	orchestrator (as Timothy Williams)

Transportation Department
Benjamin Dunker	....	driver: Steven Seagal
Michael Kraft	....	personal driver: Ja Rule
Daniel Mattig	....	transportation coordinator
Grit Menzzer	....	production driver
Alexander Stolle	....	driver: property

Other crew
Alan Abrams	....	production legal affairs
John 'JR' Craigmile	....	accountant
Ava DuVernay	....	publicist
Torrence Hall	....	armorer: USA
Charles Heaphy	....	production financing
Mary Jasionowski	....	post-production accountant
T. Sonny Klawitter	....	personal assistant: Steven Seagal
Christian Klempert	....	location manager
Silke Krüger	....	assistant location manager
Casey Leveque	....	photo retoucher
Peter Madamba	....	script researcher
Sabine Renger	....	assistant production coordinator
Marco Schenke	....	crowd marshall
Anna Schmigalla	....	accountant
Zoe Simijonovic	....	script supervisor: second unit
Imke Sommerkamp	....	production coordinator
Mark Stehli	....	location manager
Mike Tristano	....	armorer: USA
Jim Valdez	....	assistant: Andrew Stevens
Ian Watermeier	....	finance manager
Sabine Wührer	....	script supervisor
Xin Xin Xiong	....	fight choreographer
Sabine Zimmer	....	script supervisor: second unit
Brynne Chappell	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Thanks
Mick Partridge	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Franchise Pictures
• Half Dead Productions Inc.
• Modern Media Filmproduktion

Distributors

• Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) (2002) (USA) (theatrical)
• Screen Gems (2002) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films (2003) (France) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Entertainment (2003) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Film (2003) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Eagle Pictures (2003) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films de Argentina (2003) (Argentina) (all media)
• LK-TEL (2003) (Argentina) (DVD)
• LK-TEL (2003) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Cascade Film (2003) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Films AB (2003) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar (2003) (Brazil) (VHS) (DVD)
• RTL Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (TV) (broadcast premiere) (RTL7)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• Sony Pictures (2008) (Sweden) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc)
• Universal Pictures Nordic (2003) (Sweden) (DVD)

Special Effects

• Die Nefzers
• Pixel Magic

Other Companies

• Act One Script Clearance  script clearance and research
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• Law Offices of Alan Abrams  production legal
• Outsource Media  special thanks
• Picture Mill, The  titles

Also Known As:

Halbtot - Half Past Dead (Germany)
Lockdown (USA) (working title)
The Rock (USA) (original script title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for pervasive action violence, language and some sexual content.

Runtime:

99 min | Finland:95 min (25 fps) (short version) | Finland:106 min (25 fps) (long version)

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | Venezuela:PG-13 | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39349) | Australia:M | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 | Argentina:13 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | France:U | Germany:16 | Norway:15 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Franchise Pictures

Trivia:

All indoor prison scenes were shot in an old STASI prison in Berlin/Germany.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): 49er One calls out for a rifle as he jumps into the electric chair pit, but his team did not bring any rifles to the island -- only submachine guns.

Quotes:

Nick: [after Sasha's confession, Nick needs the whole truth about his being in Alcatraz] Yo, you need to break a few things down to me.
Sasha: Yeah, what am I doing here? Maintaining my cover, earning your trust.
Nick: [dryly] You already screwed that up.
Sasha: The Bureau thought that if we did time together you might trust me with more sensitive information when we got back out on the streets.
Nick: [puzzled] Ya'll want Sonny that bad?
Sasha: [miserably] My wife's dead because of him. She died when one of his men jacked my car and put four bullets in her chest. You bet your life, I want him that bad.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Features Navy Seals (1990)

Soundtrack:

Bring It On

The jury decided; I presided.

For a man that is not feeling well, this was the perfect no brainer film to help me conquer those sweats and chills. There was unrealistic fighting, a Swiss cheese plot, and characters that we cared nothing for, which allowed me to doze off and still know what was happening. This was a Steven Seagal film, so I wasn't expecting much, but honestly, after several of his film you come to realize that they are all very similar and Seagal has not changed his fighting habits at all over the years. He is still using the same fist moves that made him popular in Above the Law. Why should he change? He is Steven Seagal.

So, take his old-school 1980s fighting techniques and combine it with a modern day rap artist like Ja-Rule (especially after his popularity with DMX in Exit Wounds), and you have the film Half Past Dead. So, let's begin. The fighting was laughable. I think that if a gust of wind hit Ja-Rule he would fly halfway across the room. Also, why did it become increasingly obvious that Ja-Rule was not doing his own fight sequences? Throughout his fighting with Nia Peeples, it is very clear that it is not Ja-Rule. How could a director allow such a blatant error happen in an action film? This is not the only case of action gone wrong. There are several scenes in which bullets defy their projected path and gravity. Also, let us not forget the flying fists of Seagal which had the sounds of some hard hits, but it was very obvious that he was mock fighting with most of the extras. This unrealistic fighting knocked this film from five stars to four stars.

So, let's move past the fighting. What is a good action film without the story to accompany the fighting? Sadly, director Don Michael Paul felt as if there was no story needed. Why bother the audience with a story when we have Ja-Rule and Steven Seagal fighting together on-screen? The plot was riddled with more holes that my high school underwear. It was as if we were not seeing the entire picture, and instead of showing us the director relied on words to tell us. Some examples of what I mean are how Sasha and Nick first met. I needed to see this. Without this story and seeing their trust be born, it became less emotional when it was broken. I didn't care, I needed to know more about them. The side-story about Seagal's wife was just filler. He has these visions of her that help him live after a gun battle, but that is all we know about her. When I first saw this scene, I thought it was going to be a major influence in the film. Sadly, I believe that was the last mention of the wife. The Prisoner's story with the gold was horrible. I didn't know enough about the guy to make me see the evil in his ways. This ultimately led to an unclimactic ending with this Prisoner. Does anyone really know who Morris Chestnut's character was? How did he get the money to finance this operation, and how did he become the inside man? I needed answers of which Don Michael Paul was not willing to provide. The lack of story and weakness of the main characters knocked this film from four stars to two.

Finally, I would like to comment on the title. What does it mean? Was it a reference to the time when Sasha almost died, or is it a reference to the lack of caring about life from Ja-Rule and the inmates (remember his line, 'Tonight is a good time to die'). I don't know. This led me to the ultimate conclusion about this film. The director just didn't care. He was happy to have Seagal and Ja-Rule signed on, so everything else became second fiddle. In the range of action films, this is pretty poor. Unrealistic fighting with an overabundance of clichéd lines only plummeted this film deeper into the world of action. To be brutally honest, Ja-Rule cannot act, and this became a problem in this film. He needed a smaller film to get his feet wet and see if he was ready for the cinema world. Half Past Dead was not the best role for him. This film is the perfect example of a movie made just to get rap artists some screen time and attempt to bring an overweight action start from the 80s into the new generation. Sadly, in Half Past Dead it didn't work.

Grade: * out of *****