Belly of the Beast (2003) (V)

User Rating:

4.4/10   

Director:

Siu-Tung Ching

Writer:

James Townsend (written by)

Release Date:

20 February 2004 (South Korea)

Genre:

Action

Tagline:

A Father's Rage Knows No Limit

Plot:

An ex-CIA agent's quest to find his kidnapped daughter leads him on a trail of political intrigue, corruption, danger and betrayal; he will stop at nothing to save her.

Plot Keywords:

CIA | Sweater | Transvestite | Arms Deal | Illegal Arms Trade

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Nov. 16

12:00 PM

SPIKETV

Cast

Steven Seagal	...	Jake Hopper
Byron Mann	...	Sunti
Monica Lo	...	Lulu
Tom Wu	...	General Jantapan
Sara Malakul Lane	...	Jessica Hopper
Patrick Robinson	...	Leon Washington
Vincent Riotta	...	Fitch McQuaid
Norman Veeratum	...	Suthep
Elidh MacQueen	...	Sara Winthorpe
Chau Siu Tung	...	Kong
Kevork Malikyan	...	Fernand Zadir
Pongpat Wachirabunjong	...	Mongkol
Alastair Vardy	...	Security Guard #1
Andy Adam	...	Security Guard #2
Shahkrit Yamnarm	...	Brice (as Shahkritt Yamnarm)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, language and brief nudity.

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

Canada | Hong Kong | UK

Language:

English | Thai

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Sweden:15 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:18 | Australia:MA | Germany:18 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | UK:15 | USA:R | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Bangkok, Thailand

Company:

Century Time (H.K.) Ltd.

Trivia:

Dedicated to 'Trevor Murray'.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Thai have as strong touch-taboo - that's why they use the "wai" as a greeting instead of shaking hands or similar. Our Hero would know this, expert as he is in matters Thai, so he would not have touched the monk's hands after speaking with him.

Quotes:

Bar Thug: Are you calling me a junior?
Jake Hopper: You look like a junior.

Movie Connections:

References The Matrix (1999)

Working his way back to stardom

Belly of the Beast, despite being Seagal's 3rd straight direct to video release, is a vast improvement over his last 2 outings, which have been awful (Out For A Kill & The Foreigner). Action filled, Seagal seems to have found his lacking energy for this outing, crisply shot, well produced, you even see Seagal smile once or twice. The actor seems to be getting back to what found him success some 10+ years ago, and if he can find a way to put the right pieces together perhaps a return to the theater's would be in order (NOT A Half Past Dead movie either, but an Exit Wounds effort). Not his greatest effort, certainly not his worst, I think it was just nice to see Seagal's energy in front of the camera-it was missing from his previous efforts (lethargic describes his acting prior to this) and he seems to have lost some weight, a more trim, mobile Seagal. Definitely a big step in perhaps a late-career comeback for the fading action icon.