''Out for a Kill'' is a 2003
straight-to-video
Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...
action film
Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
directed by
Michael Oblowitz
Michael Oblowitz is a South African filmmaker.
Early life and education
Oblowitz was born in Cape Town where he grew up surfing in the 1970s. He is a Fine Arts and Philosophy graduate of the University of Cape Town. He received an M.F.A. in Fi ...
. It stars
Steven Seagal
Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...
.
Plot
Wong Dai (Chooi Kheng Beh), an influential
Chinese drug kingpin, sits at a long table in an old building in
Paris, France
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, going through the motions of a gigantic merger between himself and several other major Chinese drug dealers.
Sai Lo (Hon Ping Tang) controls shipments in the French
heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
market in Paris, using laundromats all over Paris as a front.
Tang "The Bird" Zhili (Bruce Wang) controls the entire New York drug conglomerate from the
Chinatown
A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...
section of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, and runs
Mahjong
Mahjong or mah-jongg (English pronunciation: ) is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is commonly played by four players (with some three-play ...
gambling rackets.
Yin Quinshi (Dave Wong) of
Sofia, Bulgaria
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
, controls an Eastern European
drug cartel
A drug cartel is any criminal organization with the intention of supplying drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when the ...
.
Li Bo (Tom Wu) controls drug exports in
Shanghai, China
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...
, and has a penchant for French restaurants.
Fang "The Barber" Lee (Ozzie Yue) controls a drug cartel in Paris, France, and he is known to hire unique assassins. And Mr. Chang (Chuke Chan) controls drug money in
London, England
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...
.
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
archaeology professor Robert Burns (
Steven Seagal
Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...
), who has just recently won the Winthrop Award for excellence in archaeology, stumbles onto the fact that his expedition to China, near the China / Kazakhstan border, is being used by Wong as a cover for a drug smuggling operation.
Realizing the danger of sticking around, Burns and his assistant, Luo Yi (
Elaine Tan
Elaine may refer to:
* Elaine (legend), name shared by several different female characters in Arthurian legend, especially:
** Elaine of Astolat
** Elaine of Corbenic
* "Elaine" (short story), 1945 short story by J. D. Salinger
* Elaine (singer), ...
), make a run for it, but in the resulting gunfight, Yi is killed.
When Burns reaches the border, he finds that Wong's smugglers have set him up for smuggling the drugs. Burns lands in a Chinese prison, framed for drug running.
Burns is questioned by Chinese narcotics cop Tommie Ling (
Michelle Goh
Michelle Goh (, born 9 September 1973), is a Singaporean actress and entrepreneur. She left MediaCorp in 1998 and has been staying in Canada for 10 years.
Acting career
Goh was approached by Eric Khoo while dancing at Zouk, a Singapore ni ...
) and DEA agent Ed Gray (
Corey Johnson), who want to release him and use him as bait to nail the drug smugglers.
Burns, referred to by the Chinese drug barons as the "
gweilo
''Gweilo'' or (, pronounced ) is a common Cantonese slang term for Westerners. In the absence of modifiers, it refers to white people and has a history of racially deprecatory and pejorative use. Cantonese speakers frequently use to refer to ...
Professor", is quickly released and sent to the USA, where he promises Yi's father Luo Dazhong (
Vincent Wong) that he will get revenge for Yi's murder, but Wong is not done with Burns yet.
Wong sends hitmen to Burns's house in
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
, to plant a bomb, which explodes and kills Burns's wife Maya (
Kata Dobó
Kata Dobó or Kata Dobo (born Katalin Kovács, Hungarian: Kovács Katalin, Dobó Kata, on 25 February 1974) is a Hungarian actress and filmmaker.
Life
Dobo was born in Győr, Hungary and moved to Los Angeles, USA in 1999 to her partner of the ...
).
With the two people closest to him dead at the hands of Wong and his minions, and with Tommie and Gray shadowing his every move, Burns is out for revenge.
As it turns out, Burns was not always a Professor. Burns was once a thief of Chinese
artefacts, who served time in prison and earned his archaeology degree while in prison. He changed his name and married Maya after he was released.
With his determination to exterminate those who killed Maya, Burns tells Tommie and Gray to stay out of his way, as he cuts a bloody path through Chinatown and across Europe on his way to a confrontation with Wong.
Cast
*
Steven Seagal
Steven Frederic Seagal (; born April 10, 1952) is an American actor, screenwriter and martial artist. A 7th-dan black belt in aikido, he began his adult life as a martial arts instructor in Japan and eventually ended up running his father-in-l ...
as Professor Robert Burns
*
Corey Johnson as DEA Agent Ed Grey
*
Michelle Goh
Michelle Goh (, born 9 September 1973), is a Singaporean actress and entrepreneur. She left MediaCorp in 1998 and has been staying in Canada for 10 years.
Acting career
Goh was approached by Eric Khoo while dancing at Zouk, a Singapore ni ...
as Officer Tommie Ling
*
Tom Wu
Tom Wu (born 15 May 1972) is a Hong Kong-born British actor who grew up in Chinatown, London. He is a martial arts expert who has appeared in films such as ''Revolver'', ''Shanghai Knights'', '' Batman Begins'' and the Bollywood film '' Ra.One'' ...
as Li Bo
*
Ozzie Yue
Austin J. "Ozzie" Yue (born 12 August 1947) is a British actor and musician of Chinese heritage. His television roles include appearances in ''Father Ted'', ''All Quiet on the Preston Front'' and '' Coronation Street'' and roles in films includ ...
as Fang "The Barber" Lee
* Bruce Wang as Tang "The Bird" Zhili
* Chike Chan as Mr. Chang
* Hon Ping Tang as Sai Lo
* Dave Wong as Yin Quinshi
* Chooi Kheng-Beh as Wong Dai (credited as Chooi Kheng Beh)
*
Elaine Tan
Elaine may refer to:
* Elaine (legend), name shared by several different female characters in Arthurian legend, especially:
** Elaine of Astolat
** Elaine of Corbenic
* "Elaine" (short story), 1945 short story by J. D. Salinger
* Elaine (singer), ...
as Luo Yi
*
Michael J. Reynolds as Dean
*
Kata Dobó
Kata Dobó or Kata Dobo (born Katalin Kovács, Hungarian: Kovács Katalin, Dobó Kata, on 25 February 1974) is a Hungarian actress and filmmaker.
Life
Dobo was born in Győr, Hungary and moved to Los Angeles, USA in 1999 to her partner of the ...
as Maya Burns (credited as Kata Dobo)
* Vincent Wong as Luo Dazhong
* Ray Charleson as Harry "Crash" Kupper
* Ganbaatar Tsevegjav as Mr. Tan
Production
The film was one of two movies made by Seagal's own company, Luminosity Media, in association with Emmett/Furla Films Productions Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Family Room Entertainment Corporation. The other film was ''
Belly of the Beast
''Belly of the Beast'' is a 2003 American action film directed by Hong Kong film director Ching Siu-tung in his American directorial debut, and starring Steven Seagal, who also produced. The film co-stars Byron Mann, Monica Lo and Tom Wu. Se ...
''.
Filming began in Eastern Europe on 15 September.
Actor Rachel Grant later claimed Seagal assaulted her during rehearsals for the film.
Stuntman actor Sam Cam Lui was awarded £10,000 after he was injured in a fight scene with Seagal during filming.
Reception
''Den of Geek'' wrote that "the special effects are dreadful; bad ideas that look cheap and unconvincing. The story follows as though the script was tossed into the air and the pages put back together in the wrong order. Fortunately, the tone is light and the silliness passes as good fun. There are a couple of great fight scenes, too. My favourite part of the film sees Seagal fighting a guy who bizarrely develops the ability to crawl along walls, mid-brawl. Obviously, Seagal smashes him to pieces regardless. We also get lots of scenes set in strip club, because of course, and plenty of Seagal shooting."
References
External links
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* {{rotten-tomatoes, id=out_for_a_kill
2003 direct-to-video films
2003 films
2003 action films
American action films
American direct-to-video films
Nu Image films
MoviePass Films films
Films directed by Michael Oblowitz
Triad films
2000s English-language films
2000s American films
2000s Hong Kong films