Absolution [DVD + Digital]

Steven Seagal is finished. These are worthless films, the lowest of the not-very-high action genre. His first films were interesting as far as his Aikido and skill. These are films you'd find at Blockbuster or your local video store that would in the discount bin. No redeeming value. Forget the needless violence, overedited martial art choreography ruins it for MA fans. Seagal must come in for a day's shoot, collect his pay, and return to his couch; his physical condition seems to rule out hours in the dojo. Very disappointing, as he was one of my favorites. And what's with the weird get-up? He's starting to look like Count Dante, the deadliest man alive, from the back page of the comic books!

As a longtime Seagal fan, I've come to the realization that his glory days are long over and that I'll have to settle for whatever he puts out since he's been essentially banished to the direct-to-video market. It's had its ups and downs, with more downs than ups, but he's been able to generally maintain a consistent level of quality (for DTV) that's been on somewhat of an upswing in the past few years. I didn't exactly fawn over his last two films, but they were decent enough that I was anticipating what he'd do next. ABSOLUTION is that "next" project, and despite being a slight step back from his previous effort, it was at least watchable and has some elements to recommend it to fans. The plot, as if it really mattered, is quite simple: Seagal is given an assignment to take out an Afghan playboy who might sell weapons to Iran. However, things don't quite go as planned and he ends up rescuing a young woman from human traffickers who decide that they want their "property" back and come after him. First, the good. There were some decently staged and filmed fight scenes that weren't overly edited, even though there were several moments that were most likely stunt doubles. Byron Mann, a semi-frequent Seagal collaborator, plays his partner and actually gets most of the good, longer fights although the climactic fight scene in a club was mostly worth the time spent getting to it and Seagal gets to vary his style a little more than he had previously. I also noticed a few callbacks to previous films, like ABOVE THE LAW and MARKED FOR DEATH. If you're familiar with Seagal's filmography, you'll know when you see them. I also thought that addressing human trafficking in a low-budget B action movie was pretty cool, although it isn't really treated with much depth. The bad stuff is mostly complaints one could draw from any number of Seagal films. The plot really doesn't make much sense and serves as the glue that holds together several action set-pieces. I also thought the dialogue was particularly bad this time around, and most of the actors delivering it didn't do a great job. The standouts were Steven Seagal and Vinnie Jones, who plays the big bad boss. Speaking of Vinnie Jones, he has quite a charismatic screen presence and despite his limitations, he does well given the right material. Having a little more of him (he's only in a few scenes) would have made the film considerably more enjoyable. Lastly, as expected there isn't much character development to speak of, but what little there was felt like padding. There was a scene where Byron Mann and Steven Seagal reminisce about the past and how they came to be friends, which was nice, but all they end up using from that scene is a single piece of dialogue towards the end. It had no bearing whatsoever on the plot. There was also several flashbacks to Seagal and what appeared to be his wife. Again, divorced of context this had absolutely no bearing on the story and just served to extend the running time. Overall, I'd place this quite low in the pantheon of Seagal films. It isn't so bad as to be unwatchable, like ATTACK FORCE, but it doesn't quite have the charm of something like INTO THE SUN. Still, even though occupying a middle ground as far as Seagal's DTV output, fans will probably watch this no matter what.

This is a typical Steven Seagal movie. Nothing flashy. Seagal does a decent job here, and the production values are actually quite good. Bryon Mann is a standout as his partner. This movie is pretty good by DTV standards. Is this as good as the early Seagal classics? Of course not. This movie knows what it is and it delivers. One of Seagal's better more recent efforts.

It is an action flick. I expected it to be very cheesy, but it wasn't. These classic action and hand to hand combat stars are fading out (Van Damme, Segal, Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Norris.) Action movies aren't the same as when I was a kid. But I still enjoyed this. A pretty female co-star and a sort of gripping story kept me watching. Segal's partner carried his weight too. Enjoy!

Burton is Burton, which is a synonym for superb. The rest of the movie is adequate. If it did not have Burton in it, it would probably long ago have turned to dust. Nevertheless, it does have Richard Burton, and he carries the rest of the movie, making it very watchable. The story is predictable and a bit trite. It is the setting that makes it interesting. It reminds me of a morality play, which is not a bad thing. If it had been set in the sixteenth century with a better supporting cast and more variety in the plot it might have been a classic.

Nothing to dislike...I am happy with my purchase....Thank you for everything.

A Richard Burton fan, I was delighted to come across this movie that I had not heard of before. Playing a priest in a Roman Catholic priest boys' school, in one class he teaches he talks about the absolute confidentiality of a priest hearing a confession. A prized pupil gets the idea to "confess" to Burton that he killed a transient, but it's a joke which angers Burton. He then confesses again that he really did kill the drifter, and then a classmate driving Burton to the edge of insanity. An interesting, entertaining film.

"Absolution" (1978) another gem by the great, Anthony Shaffer, ( Deathtrap, Sleuth, etc), starring Richard Burton, David Bradley, Billy Connolly.This is a great film--Although, Amazon could have a better copy as the video as well as the audio are not of the best quality. Though the movie is so good, that-- you will almost not notice--( if you raise the treble on your speakers a little , the audio will be easier to decipher)That said, if you want to see Burton acting out of his usual character and you like unusual plots and endings we recommend this film highly.

not to bad

je ne peux pas mettre une note car je n'ai pas pu le regarder celui ci était incompatible dans ma région (eure 27) d'habitude on l'indique cela m'aurait éviter de l'acheter. maintenant je vais prendre beaucoup de précaution avant de commander les dvd

Ok

Good Movie!

Love his movies. Always good!