''Today You Die'' is a 2005 American

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 and shot by Don E. FauntLeRoy. The film 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 ...

, who also producer with Randall Emmett, George Furla and Danny Lerner. It co-stars

Treach Anthony Criss (born December 2, 1970), better known by his stage name Treach, is an American rapper and actor. He is perhaps best known as the lead rapper of the hip hop group Naughty by Nature. Career With Naughty by Nature, Treach worked ...

Sarah Buxton Sarah Jane Buxton (born July 3, 1980) is an American country music singer, formerly signed to the independent Lyric Street Records. Between 2006 and 2008, she issued three singles from an extended play titled '' Almost My Record'', in addition t ...

Mari Morrow Mari Eulanda Morrow (born July 21, 1968) is an American film and television actress, model and realtor. Morrow is best known for her roles as Rachel Gannon on the ABC daytime soap opera ''One Life to Live'' (1994–96), Oneisha Savoy on the ABC/ ...

Nick Mancuso Nicodemo Antonio Massimo Mancuso (born May 29, 1948) is an Italian-Canadian actor, artist, playwright, and director. Beginning his career as a stage actor, he had his breakthrough role in the 1981 drama ''Ticket to Heaven'', for which he won the ...

and

Robert Miano Robert Miano (born September 25, 1942) is an American actor. Early life Robert Miano was born in New York City and raised in the Southeast Bronx neighborhood. He is of Italian descent. At the age of fifteen Robert Miano was discovered by a tale ...

. The film was released on

direct-to-DVD 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 ...

in the United States on September 13, 2005.

Plot

Harlan Banks (

) is a

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

-esque thief who has always picked his own jobs and tried to pull heists that would leave him room to help out others. The work keeps getting riskier, and at the urging of his girlfriend Jada (

), Banks has decided to pull one final job, going in with some men who are planning a $20 million robbery. After the heist goes bad, Banks heads to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, where Jada wants him to get a real job. On the way to town, Banks and Jada passed a children's hospital displaying a going out of business sign. Banks gets a job driving an armored car for a man, Max (

Kevin Tighe Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

). The job is not exactly legitimate, and Bruno (

), Banks' partner for the job, shoots a security guard, resulting in a chase through the

Las Vegas strip The Las Vegas Strip is a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas Boulevard South in Clark County, Nevada, that is known for its concentration of resort hotels and casinos. The Strip, as it is known, is about long, and is immediately south of ...

in the armored van. However, Banks is stopped and sent to prison, where he befriends an inmate known as "Ice Kool" (

). With Ice's help, Banks escapes, determined to hunt Max down. Along the way, Banks meets a federal agent named Saunders (

), and it turns out that Saunders, who is in league with Max, is the man behind the setup. So Banks sets out to take down both Saunders and Max with a job.

Cast

Legal troubles

The producers of ''Today You Die'' filed lawsuits against Seagal because of experiences during the filming. Producers at Nu Image and Kill Master Productions alleged that Seagal, while filming this and '' Mercenary for Justice'', arrived at the set late, left early, and re-wrote scripts without their permission, among other things. However, Seagal disputed the suit, and he countersued against producers, claiming fraud and breach of contract. , it appears the legal issues had not been resolved.

Home media

The DVD of the film was released in Region 1 in the United States on September 13, 2005, and also Region 2 in the United Kingdom on 10 July 2006. It was distributed by

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures lib ...

References

External links

* * {{amg title, 330815, Today You Die 2005 films 2005 action films 2005 direct-to-video films American films about revenge American action films Direct-to-video action films Films shot in Bulgaria Films shot in Nevada Films shot in the Las Vegas Valley MoviePass Films films Nu Image films Sony Pictures direct-to-video films Films directed by Don E. FauntLeRoy 2000s English-language films 2000s American films