EXIT WOUNDS

Detroit Detective Orin Boyd saves the life of the Vice President and his reward is a stint in the city's worst precinct. Why? Because he did it the Seagal way.  Steven Seagal plays his usual low-key self, either talking softly or kicking the McShit out of everyone. It's as entertaining as action movies get. From exploding helicopters, to bone cracking, to cheesy one-liners ("I got you covered!"), this movie is an hour and forty-one minutes of the Action Movie Essentials. The car chases, fights, and gunplay are great. There's even a motorcycle chase, and although Seagal is not Tom Cruise—here and there it's obvious he is doubled—there's still plenty of the real deal 'Seagalogy' (thanks Vern*), and even a Whiner! The impressive cast includes co-star DMX, as well as Anthony Anderson, Tom Arnold, Bill Duke, Jill Hennessy, Eva Mendes, Isaiah Washington, Michael Jai White, and . . . there is also an awesome stunt double who appears to go face first into a windshield.

I said co-star DMX because he's listed with Steven Seagal on the poster, but nobody gets above-the-line billing. According to Vern, "When Exit Wounds was a hit (it made about $51 million, almost three times as much as Fire Down Below) a lot of people gave the credit to DMX, instead of considering it a Seagal comeback. The Vanity Fair article incorrectly called Exit Wonders a 'DMX vehicle' with Seagal co-starring."  Vern reveals that the book that the movie was named for had a sequel that was optioned, but "despite the movie's success there [was never] talk of a sequel." He explains "As a comeback for Seagal, Exit Wounds was short-lived. Seagal was shown respect in the entertainment industry headlines during the opening weekend, but by the time of Half Past Dead (15 November 2002) they were treating his as a has-been again." He concludes "He needed to have the attempted big screen revival before he could dive full hog into the DTV Era." (pp.131-32 Updated and Expanded Edition, Seagalogy: A Study of Ass-Kicking Films of Steven Seagal)

This movie is ultimately incredibly satisfying as everyone gets what they deserve. Michael Jai White gets to show off his skills. There's even a few moves that I don't think I've ever seen anywhere else. Plus at least 3 awesome Gnarly Kills. I'm a simple girl. I must have said "Oh my God!" at least 3 times. This guy looks like he's just standing there but he's actually falling out of the van/hanging on for dear life, which ends as he meets the back of the parked car.  This movie's awesome. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

The only could have done without its for me are all the boobs, and the Moron #1 and Moron #2 exchange after the very end. Tom Arnold is better in smaller doses.

Hats off to the Second Unit Directors David Ellis (what a career!), and Dion Lam (listed as uncredited on Second Unit Director, and as Stunt Fight Coordinator).

I learned from Vern's Chapter on Exit Wounds that a stuntman subsequently died from a head injury after the upside down van scene. IMDb explains: "Chris Lamon died [on August 23, 2000] during the filming of Exit Wounds (2001) in Toronto. A van was being towed along a street upside-down as part of a chase scene; he was supposed to roll safely out, but apparently struck his head, and died six days later. Todd Schroeder was injured in the same incident." It's obvious when you watch it again that he landed wrong/on his head (compared to the guy before and after him). He died 6 days later. This article says he made an error with his footing (pushing off I guess). You can hear him say "Ow!" (if that's real). It certainly changes the movie for me and it would be a small consolation if he died doing what he loved (he was engaged at the time), but he was just 35. His IMDb bio shows his earliest gig was in 1996, so he had been doing stuntwork for only five years. The credits do say . . .

In Memory of
CHRIS LAMON

 

at the very end. I tried really hard to find a picture of him, I even watched Angel Eyes hoping to get a screenshot, but I have no idea which actor was "Policeman #1". I would have liked to add a photo to his profile on IMDb.

Here's the trailer, but if you haven't seen the movie yet (or in a while), just go ahead and watch the movie. You wont be disappointed.