Fire Down Below (1997)

Just perfect...

Good concept, poorly executed.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

As has already been said, this is one of his best and it is well written and well acted. The production values are also very good. The movie also avoids stereotypes that happen in a lot of these movies. Also, he made it clear to the guys running the pot field that he had no issue with them so that is an element showing that he was focused on his mission. A good Steven Seagal movie all the way around.A interesting thing other bad guys who make the mistake of taking on Steven Seagal, never start a shootout in storage area full of drums of toxic waste. It never ends well.Granted that this movie was made 20 years ago and I am still after all of these years a fan of Steven Seagal. I hope that he can get himself back in the shape he was in. In his later movies, he seems to be carrying excess weight and seems to not be able to move like he did. Granted that age is a factor but I hope that he understands that his fans love him and only wish the best for him.

The director of this movie got it. If you have Steven Seagal, what do you do? You give him guns? You make him chase people? Do you make him a hostage negotiator? No, you set up an endless row of big mouthed thugs to get a crash course on Aikido. Do not let your brains get in the way and analyze the goofy plot. Enjoy the beating given to well written henchmen, experts in the art of having it coming. Plus, Kristofersson is great and leading lady Helgeberger does a very solid job. Just like in species, a movie that should have been awful but had a great casting.If you have an eye for violence and kicking the other cheek, you'll enjoy it.

Here's another attempt from Seagal to send a important message to the world – be careful with the environment . And it's just as wonderful as "On deadly ground" . It's not a bad thing when you're trying to say something important. It's bad when you fail to both entertain and send a message.The message here seems sincere , but it's too preachy just like in "ODG" . What is more important is for an action movie "FDB" sucks . The shootouts and car chases are badly edited. You can't see a thing ! Same goes for fight scenes . There is one fight scene at the beginning of the movie – Seagal fights with few opponents . He beats down one of them , then he defeats second one , then he punches the guy THAT WAS DEFEATED AS FIRST AND LYING UNCONSCIOUS ON GROUND , then he defeats the third one . Talk about bad montage… The movie also tries to put Seagal in believable romantic story , but it fails just as always. The only thing good here is the guitar music . Anyway , this is a really bad movie . Second in Seagal's "save the environment trilogy " ( The trilogy includes "On deadly ground" , "Fire down below" and "The Patriot" ). I give it 1/10.

I watched "Fire Down Below" on a twelve-hours coach trip to Paris, in double bill with "The Sixth Sense" (go figure). Despite Steven Seagal's colourful jackets, this is actually a very entertaining action film. In my humble opinion, two things make it recommendable. The first is the heroine, excellently played by Marg Helbenberg, who brings lots of humanity to her character. It is a pity she did not have a more expressive actor to react to her (although Seagal is good in the action bits which, after all, are his thing). The second (and foremost) is the last scene, the one with Harry Dean Stanton singing and dancing in his newly built porch. Stanton (especially remembered for "Paris, Texas")is one of those actors who have been there for ages but never became a star, whose face is familiar but whose name escapes us. The scene reminds me of that character in "The Searchers", who only wanted "a rocking chair in a porch" in his old age. It is an homage to a veteran actor, a secondary in hundreds of classic westerns and also an accomplished musician. Watching him play "Kentucky Waltz" made me wish the credits rolled forever. A 6 for the film and a 10 for this scene.