Kill Switch (2008)

How sad is this?

A different way of telling a story

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Hi there,As it has been said before me in other reviews, this is as bad as a film can be made, plot written and acted. Including or rather especially the renown Seagal. Every action seems like ten times as long, because of all the repeated shots, being cut and pasted one after the other. In order to try and make it more... 'action' I guess. I suppose Seagal had a really bad hernia or something alike, because you don't get to see him moving in any fighting scene. Just some shots of his face here and there and some grunting. You can only feel sorry for the time you actually sat there, waiting for it all to improve. And honestly, it won't! I would recommend to watch this film only to see how a once famous actor can deteriorate in the deep and bare winter of his career. But then again, everyone has to pay his mortgage at the end of the month, can't think of any other reason this being released.Kind regards,

Oh my. Seagal had his share of duds, but this movie is just too much. Seagal plays this cop that sees things that other don't, behaves like a professional even over focused on his job (and with a mumbled accent) - and on the other side he is the worst in action sequences ever seen (and he has an obvious unlimited supply of handgun clips).He not only hunts down one serial killer, but suddenly there is a side plot with a second one, which sometimes becomes the first one. Plus there is a female FBI agent that probes his "over aggressive" cases. And his "wife" that feels unattained. Did I mention the same flashback about something in youth that is probably played 10 times? The plot goes in so many places that you wonder what is really going on. Then the action scenes: they drag on, as if (just for example) someone falls down five stairs hard one after the next - and still has the power to fight for minutes. I also wonder where this city/place is where this movie is located: it looks and feels like a grim place without hope and every second guy is a sick madman; with a police force thats is clearly clueless and useless.Seagal gives his usual wooden performance and the others just drag by. Isaac Hayes is a nice touch, but wasted. The most embarrassing thing about this movie is: Seagal wrote it himself.3 of 10. If you really need to watch a direct-to-video movie from Seagal, grab one of the newer Keoni Waxman. They make - at least - sense and are way less confusing.

The plot (written by Steven Seagal himself) is hectic, with strange turns and flashbacks; fights and chases are too long and lopsided, acting leaves a lot to be desired (with the exception perhaps Isaac Hayes as coroner). Clichés become annoying soon and there are several ridiculous and unreasoned scenes and depictions, i.e. a maniac in strings... And the very ending, oh - probably the silliest Seagal ever had! Political correctness together with the attempts to widen audience did not give any fresh look either.Thus, Kill Switch is rather bad, but not so bad that it could be just "enjoyed" and mocked in a bigger company in front of TV. And, having seen his 2 latest movies, I cannot agree with those thinking that Seagal must be totally written off - Born to Raise Hell and Maximum Conviction are significantly better played and written. So avoid this one and see something else of him :)

Steven Seagal is a Memphis homicide detective dealing with a serial killer obsessed with astrology. Also, a psycho bomber is released from prison practically unscathed despite after being tossed out the window of an apartment building, crashing hard into a street. In fact, this guy seems good as new, where most people thrown out a window from such a height, with such brute force, would never walk again..but, not this maniac. Anyway, Seagal must contend with a FBI agent sent down to observe and assist in the investigation regarding the astrology murders.One of the least Seagal pictures I have seen and his fight scenes are beyond pitiful. It's never more clear than in this movie how uninvolved he is in those scenes where his Jacob King is dueling with bar scum and killers. How a loser like Lazerus(..played by Michael Filipowich), the astrology psychopath, can go on and on and on with King for not one but two fight sequences(..not to mention shootouts where neither man could hit the broad side of a barn)shows how puny Kill Switch is. The serial killer story is generic and familiar, reminiscent of many films that have been done countless times before after Se7en(..the Zodiac influence has contributed to many films of this type over the years). The editing, camera speed, photography, fight choreography, gun fights, are all sub-par and disappointing. And, to top it all off, I don't think Seagal has ever looked as bored as he does here, more so than usual if that could be possible. Mark Collie, as King's ultimate nemesis, Billy Joel Hill, is an effective creep, but Kill Switch has to underwrite his story because of the ongoing Lazerus debacle. After Billy Joel Hill kills his lawyer and two others just after being released(!)he picks up where he left off, with little heat directed his way, due to Lazerus' activity. Isaac Hayes is the Shelby County coroner, Holly Dignard the female FBI agent no one wants around, Chris Thomas King as Seagal's partner, and Karyn Michelle Baltzer who portrays Celine, Jacob's beat cop love-interest eventually kidnapped by Billy Joel. The film also establishes how Jacob is haunted by the murder of his twin brother on their birthday, at an early age, and how this has motivated him as a detective.