That was an excellent one.

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Absolutely Fantastic

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It's definitely not a movie for Seagal fans as he barely shows of his sweet Aikido moves in this. It's just a boring attempt at drama by Seagal who might actually think people take his movies seriously. Well I like Seagal movies and 80s/90s action flicks, they're fun guilty pleasures but this is not one of them. This movie doesn't qualify as an action movie as there's barely any action in it, it's another movie from Seagal used to show his spiritual side, I think Steve forgot what his movies are meant to do. Seagal does play a doctor in this which made me laugh and he does have a few good lines and shows a couple of cool moves but it is not worth watching just for those few moments.

Steven Seagal, though not the greatest actor, has appeared in many good movies such as Above the Law (1988), Hard to Kill (1990), Marked for Death (1990), Out for Justice (1991), and Under Siege (1992). His career took a hit with the preachy and vanity project On Deadly Ground (1994) which was also his directorial debut. He had mixed results with Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995), Executive Decision (1996), The Glimmer Man (1996), and Fire Down Below (1997). The Patriot (1998) was wisely seen as distributors as a direct to video release, and it proves to be a very good decision. Without question this movie movie was terrible. The Patriot also marked the beginning of the end of Steven Seagal's career in which his box office appeal has all but disappeared and a majority of his movies released direct to video where he is a shadow of his former self.The Patriot (not to be confused with the Mel Gibson/Heath Ledger blockbuster released in 2000) is about a respected small town doctor and immunologist Wesley McLaren (Steven Seagal) who must race against time to cure a virus unleashed onto the town by an unstable militia extremist leader Floyd Chislom (Gailard Sartain) who has also infected himself with the same virus. Floyd Chislom and his militia have taken over the hospital where Dr McLaren works in order to find a cure but conveniently, Dr McLaren effortlessly dispatches the militia members with his martial arts skills (how convenient) and Dr McLaren is able to escape along with his daughter Holly (Camilla Belle). From there, Dr McLaren is predictably able to find a cure in the most unconventional way which will leave many viewers groaning with disbelief. I'm still shocked at the pathetic solution and ending years later.Steven Seagal seemed to have taken a different direction in his career with this rubbish all the while preaching peace amongst humanity and the nature is our friend. If I wanted to hear that I would have gone to attend a health retreat (no disrespect intended to those that enjoy the naturalistic lifestyle). But for crying out loud, for a Steven Seagal movie this is terrible. This is also notable for the only Steven Seagal movie with minimal action scenes and less violence.Gailard Sartain as the unstable militia leader Floyd Chislom serves no purpose nor does he have any strong intentions for unleashing the virus apart from the fact he is hating life as well as the US Government.Director Dean Semler (who also directed the 1998 box office flop Firestorm) must have got the hint that he should stick with cinematography (Mad Max 2, Dances with Wolves, We Were Soldiers) as he has had bad luck as a director. He has not directed a movie since The Patriot.The Patriot is one of the worst movies for Steven Seagal which has since seen him stuck in direct to video hell since. Although he did reappear with cinematic releases such as Exit Wounds (2001), Half Past Dead (2002) and Machete (2010). Unable to recapture his former glory, all of his movies since have not seen the light of day in the cinemas nor does it look he will ever make a triumphant return to the cinemas unlike Sylvester Stallone and Mickey Rourke. If that ever happens, that would be a miracle.Unless you are a loyal Steven Seagal fan which I was once, avoid this movie like a virus.1/10.

Steven Seagal's intent is to be commended, and his acting in this film is equal to that in many of his others, if you ignore the fact that he is supposedly portraying a brilliant scientist. The problem I had was with two items of the plot, which stretched my suspension of disbelief beyond the breaking point.First, how is it that a carefully engineered variation on a nasty germ, whose antidote must be just as carefully researched and engineered by a big lab, is cured by drinking tea from a flower growing high in the mountains? and that Grandpa's family seem to be about the only people who know anything about this?Second, and this one really takes the cake: Having gathered up enough of the cure to fix a whole town, wouldn't you expect the army to land the helicopter and start rushing bags of flowers to all the homes in this small town? No, they instead decide to sprinkle the flowers all over the town and force the sick people to go out and gather them up all over again. Just plain silly, unless under Native belief the power in the drug somehow depends on one's having gone out and gathered the flowers oneself.Add in the cardboard nature of the villains and the unsuitability of the title, and you might think my vote on this movie is actually high.

I must say, as the practitioner of an earth-based religion, that I was so totally enthralled with this movie, I was moved to tears at the end.Steven Seagal's acting style has changed over the years. He's gone from tough and ready hard core action to take an environmentally political stand on issues in which he believes. He is quoted here, at IMDb for having said the following..."Hollywood is a mercurial place where people are sort of (in the film business) a victim of their environment and how the environment changes. Movies that would be timely now, ten years from now would be passé and nobody would be interested in the subjects. All the movies that I have done I have not been in control of. Sometimes there is a contractual situation where you go to the studio and they kind of tell you which ones they want you to do. Be that as it may I have also been lucky in the sense that I have been able to make environmentally conscientious movies as well as politically conscientious movies. ABOVE THE LAW was a politically conscientious movie. ON DEADLY GROUND was environmentally conscientious so I want to keep making movies like that which are more geared with a certain entertainment value but also bring people forward into contemplation."Well, Mr. Seagal, you succeeded in accomplishing both, with "The Patriot." The action is fast enough to keep you involved in the plot. The plot is simple and easy to follow, concerning a "good old boy" with what seems like noble aspirations, until he releases a biological weapon deadly enough to kill off the entire US populace. Now, it's up to Dr. Wesley McClaren (Steven Seagal) to clean up the mess. Will he find the cure in time to save everyone he loves from annihilation?Watch it and see.Nice action and beautiful cinematography. Excellent footage of the mountains of the central northwest US. Strong acting ability demonstrated here through superb directing and some good fast-paced fight scenes. But beneath all that, you get the sense that Seagal's character loves the Earth and all Her greatness. He gives you the feeling that he respects Her and cherishes all that She is, and has to give. As a Pagan, I cannot help but feel a kinship of sorts with the lead character in this movie. "Kith and kin" means more than mere blood relations, you know. As this movie well demonstrates.It gets a 8.2/10 from....the Fiend :.