Mike's Toybox

I’m kind of a Steven Seagal fan, but that doesn’t mean I like every movie he’s ever done. Here’s a list of all the Seagal movies I enjoy for one reason or another.

Also, read Seagalogy by Vern if you haven’t yet. It’s really insightful and funny as hell.

(Note: threw this list together real quick for a friend on discord, so please forgive the poor grammar/capitalization/etc)

ABOVE THE LAW – Not his best, but worth seeing just cos its his first film. Most action stars weren’t made overnight like he was. Also fun to watch this back to back with Code of Silence cos its almost the same cast and crew for both films, to see the difference between a Chuck Norris movie and a Steven Seagal movie.

MARKED FOR DEATH – awesome action movie where he fights over the top jamaican gangsters. really showcases aikido in this one, in a lot of great fight scenes. final battle goes a bit overboard in my opinion, but its still one of his best flicks.

OUT FOR JUSTICE – a lot of people consider this the quisessential Seagal movie. its a really gritty urban thriller with a scary performance by William Forsythe as a crackhead gangster with a death wish. also has the best title sequence of his entire filmography.

UNDER SIEGE – needs no introduction

ON DEADLY GROUND – worth seeing just for how INSANE it is. this is what happens when you let Seagal direct, and give him total creative freedom. even after you see it, you still can’t believe it. also has great martial arts.

UNDER SIEGE 2 – not as good as the first, but has a LOT more hand-to-hand stuff, and the train setting is well-utilized.

THE GLIMMER MAN – not a great one, but the scene where he beats up a restaurant full of goons is the highlight of the movie.

FIRE DOWN BELOW – a less crazy version of On Deadly Ground, and cast almost entirely with country western singers. has some pretty good fights in it.

THE PATRIOT – soooo this is an odd one, because it’s more like Steven Seagal’s “Outbreak”, where he mostly fights off an out of control pathogen released by a dumbass hillbilly militia. action is limited, but it’s still really interesting to watch due to it being different from his usual MO.

THE FOREIGNER – this somehow feels like a DTV spy thriller version of the good the bad and the ugly. it’s objectively a terrible movie, but it has enough going for it to keep it interesting. it’s delightfully odd and one of my favorites.

OUT OF REACH – no other action star would sign on to do a movie about an ex-cia current-wildlife preservation recluse kicking ass to save his underage penpal from a sex trafficking ring. it has a cool sword duel with the villain at the end.

INTO THE SUN – a really colorful one set entirely in Japan, with Seagal fighting the next generation of yakuza. tons of swordplay in this one.

SUBMERGED – terrible, terrible movie. I just like it for the dynamic between Seagal, Vinnie Jones, and the other mercenaries in his unit.

MERCENARY FOR JUSTICE – an okay one with some cool Mission: Impossible stuff in it.

SHADOW MAN – This one has some cool martial arts stuff reminiscent of his early films, and one of the only DTV era Seagal films with a memorable theme as well. There’s a great scene where he MacGuyver’s an arsenal, and I wish that was his gimmick throughout the whole movie (to the point where I made it a gimmick for my own novel protagonist). Also features an old school martial arts movie style move: the Exploding Watermelon Fist!

URBAN JUSTICE – really badass urban thriller with lots of gunplay and martial arts. Seagal comes to town to kill the man who killed his son, and beats up pretty much every ethnicity on the block. Eddie Griffin steals the show as the villain.

PISTOL WHIPPED – Seagal gets to act more than usual here, playing a washed-up alcoholic gambling addict who tries to get back on his feet and mend his relationship with his daughter. While also killing lots of people.

DRIVEN TO KILL – a cool Russian revenge story with Seagal playing a Russki gangster kicking lots of Russki ass.

BORN TO RAISE HELL – an interesting combination of Seagal’s usual action movie schtick and Seagal’s experience as an actual cop/SWAT team guy.