90s Action Hero Turns Into Crime Lord On Streaming
Steven Seagal’s days of portraying the “damn he’s good” action hero may be well behind him, but the man who brought us Under Siege, On Deadly Ground, and Hard to Kill deserves credit where it’s due for actually pursuing roles that fall into morally gray territory. 2013’s direct-to-video Force of Execution is one such film in the sense that Seagal doesn’t play a highly-decorated war hero on the side of right with an axe to grind, but rather a cold-and-calculating crime lord named John Alexander who makes dirty deals behind closed doors with the end goal of leaving his life of crime behind.
While the usual Steven Seagal trappings can be found in Force of Execution, like his unbreakable moral code (albeit an evil one), the film ultimately falls flat because his ethics are trapped beneath his ruthlessness when he so clearly wants to be the good guy.
Force of Poor Execution
Force of Execution introduces us to Roman Hurst (Bren Foster), a freelance mercenary who carries a gun for protection despite the fact that we’re led to believe that his hands are lethal weapons in their own right. After a botched prison assassination attempt in which Roman takes out the wrong target under the guidance of an incarcerated gang leader named Ice Man (Ving Rhames), John Alexander (Steven Seagal) has no choice but to force Roman into early retirement by having his hands broken. In John’s mind, Roman has been a loyal employee for 15 years, but still needs to pay the price for his grave miscalculation, which hurt the reputation of every involved party.
Upon Ice Man’s release from prison, he immediately butts heads with John, and a developing gang war to gain control of Albuquerque, New Mexico’s underground crime circuit kicks into high gear. John makes a peace offering to Roman in the form of enough money to disappear and start a new life, while subtly hinting that he could use his help in mitigating the developing and ongoing tension between himself and Ice Man. Roman finds himself conflicted because he wants to resume working with John, but his hands are damaged beyond repair.
Danny Trejo Elevates The Premise
Roman has a few brief encounters with a deli owner named Oso who’s portrayed by Danny Trejo, which only makes you wonder how many minutes of runtime will transpire in Force of Execution before Danny Trejo does what he does best: die on screen. I’ll spare you any spoilers, but Oso does have a highly quotable scene in which he attacks Roman with poisonous scorpions and a hammer in a misguided attempt to repair his hands.
No Clear Good Or Bad Guy
Despite Steven Seagal’s best efforts to portray a villain of sorts in Force of Execution, he still can’t help himself and delivers his signature monologues about pride, his super secret past that vaguely explains how he accumulated his skills and fortune, and his personal code of ethics in order to justify his actions, no matter how ruthless and morally dubious they may be.
Streaming Force Of Execution
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This direct-to-video action film is a far cry from Steven Seagal’s blockbuster heyday in the ‘90s, but it’s not without its charm. At the very least, it’s refreshing to watch Force of Execution because Seagal tries to turn heel this late in his career by taking on a character who isn’t the front-and-center action hero with a heart of gold that we’re all familiar with. Force of Execution is a ramshackle affair at best, but effectively captures Seagal’s willingness to try new things even if he subconsciously tries to relive his glory days in each and every scene.
As of this writing, you can stream Force of Execution for free on Tubi.
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