Marked for Death

By Colin Moore

‘Marked for Death” is an action/martial arts film that reunites Steven Seagal with wicked men and his own cool-headed methods of handling them. The film follows ”Above the Law” and ”Hard to Kill” in genre, mood and the use of terse three-word titles that naturally flow from the words “Steven Seagal is…”.

In this adventure, Seagal is John Hatcher, a D.E.A. agent who retires after his partner is killed on assignment in Colombia. Back in Chicago, matters aren’t much improved, and after arresting a foot soldier of a wild-eyed Jamaican drug lord named Screwface (Basil Wallace), Hatcher and his sister’s family find themselves in the crosshairs. Nothing a license to kill won’t solve. Hatcher comes out of retirement to protect his own with the help of a Jamaican cop and friend Max (Keith David), a high school football coach.

Seagal is a 7th dan black belt in aikido and the Japanese art is featured prominently in the film’s fight scenes, as is a small degree of swordplay. The variety should appeal to the fan base. Sometimes translated as “Way of the harmonious spirit,” aikido serves to defend the practitioner while safeguarding the attacker from injury. A few slip through the cracks in ”Marked”, including the overcooked end of the one called Screwface’s Brother. But could the technique be too effective? Like the previous films, Marked’s missing link is the absence of any real challenge to Hatcher. Toe to toe he’s untouchable and the ceremonial breaking of the sweat all seems to come before the battle. Might explain why he’s so cool doing it.

Blu-Ray Details and Extras

The transfer is good enough – but there’s still a fair wad of grain. I understand that’s unavoidable for a title of this age, but I’m also here to tell you that if you own the DVD then there’s no real need to upgrade to the Blu-Ray. Maybe if there were some extra features, which there isn’t, it might’ve been worth the double-dip. Maybe.