On Deadly Ground

R

1994

1 hr. 41 min.

Action

List

14%

35 Reviews

Tomatometer

35%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Forrest Taft (Steven Seagal) is putting his considerable talents as a fighter and marksman to use as a hired gun for the sleazy oil tycoon Michael Jennings (Michael Caine). The latter's bottom-line tunnel vision has him destroying entire communities if it means a bigger profit for his business. While in Alaska taking care of some business for his amoral boss, however, Taft meets a native Eskimo woman (Joan Chen) who helps him to discover the error of his ways and pursue a more righteous path.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Mar 12

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Apple TV

Rent On Deadly Ground on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

isa e

Ham fisted eco message , piss poor Segall acting, Caine over acting, cliched , silly, stupid movie , poorly written How did this guy get to be a star?

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/14/24

Full Review

larrykohut L

On deadly ground is yet another action movie starring Steven seagul . He plays a fireman named Forrest taft . Everything seems normal at first till he learns about a Currupt oil company their leader is played by Micheal Caine . This is Michael Caine when he was younger . Eventually Stevens character decides to take down this currupt company however he gets this Chinese woman along the way who wants to help him and teaches him to do this the right way in a justice fashion instead of a revengeful way. Which he eventually agrees . Movie has light Christian quality but it's marred with too much foul language to warrant a view for Christians. Which is sad . The action scenes are what keeps you entertained but not the best Steven sequel movie ever made . Christian perspective/ parents guide Violence throughout the movie lots of fights scenes . Kicking and punching and scenes with guns and knives and lots of explosions. Language throughout the movie . It really earns it's r rating . Lots of gds and jcs words , f words, s words and hella and damn words . A few b words as well. Sex light sexual references in the movie. Nudity none Drug references smoking in a few scenes nothing major

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/01/23

Full Review

William D

One of the worst movies that was ever made and that I saw.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

11/27/23

Full Review

DanTheMan 2

I hate that this movie is actually kind of okay because it doesn't give any credibility to my theory that Steven Seagal is a talentless piece of wood who was only made famous by a bet. For some reason, it's decently shot by Seagal, in the only effort of his career, with good pyrotechnics that is weirdly sincere and kinda ballsy. But on the other hand, On Deadly Ground is a weird hybrid combination of an action movie and an environmental rights message with writing that is both utterly corny and unintentionally hilarious. What Seagal lacks in pretty much everything comes to fruition here, his inability to emote or deliver basic dialogue makes his vanity project parading as a social statement even more ridiculous than it already is. The seven-minute-long well-meaning lecture at the end, which was originally an even more unbearable 40 minutes (thank fucking god it wasn't), is a particular highlight for better or for worse. However, there are fleeting moments of goodness within it, the score by Basil Poledouris is actually quite good, the action is what you'd expect, R. Lee Ermey and John C. McGinley are campy fun; while Michael Caine attempts to give some level of life to his one-dimensional oil tycoon of a villain even if he is sporting one of the most undecipherable accents I've ever heard in movies. Given this film pretty much overtly confirms any underlying themes and motifs in Seagal's earlier and later works... You can't understand Seagal if you haven't seen On Deadly Ground.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/25/23

Full Review

Parker D

Steven seagals dull and tedious 1994 cinemetic train wreck On deadly ground is the Batman and robin of 90s action movies it is soo bad it's good but it is still a terrible movie notheless the action scenes are bland and forgettable I right away forgot about them the next day after I watched this dumpster fire Steven seagal proves he can't act or directed he did a terrible job with this mess what is Michael Caine doing here he is a great actor why did he sight up for this he looks bored in the film and acts like he is wondering why did he even bother being in this r lee ermey cashes paycheck by playing a mustache man just following orders and being under the influence of the villain he is a forgettable and dull villain in this and in fact all the villains here are dull empty and forgettable and what was even worse is that there was a women who even became bad and dies easily she was godawful what a pointless charachter and a pointless villain in the movie why did they even bother to have here there she sucked and as did the love interest of seagal she and Steven had no chemistry whatsoever and the love story in this movie is dull and unconvincing I managed to stay away while watching what was the most boring action film of all time hands down almost no competition this was apparently part of the 90s action era and this was arguably the worst of them all it represents how seagals career had already fallen and this is definetly the go to movie when talking about terrible action film deadly ground is one of the worst action films of all time 0/10

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

10/13/22

Full Review

Audience Member

90's Male Studio Exec: "So let me get this straight: you want to direct a movie where you're a firefighter/ex-CIA agent/spiritual healing environmentalist/martial artist/philosopher/mercenary who takes on an evil oil corporation while rocking Native American fringe jackets?" Steven Seagal: *nods head* 90's Male Studio Exec: *snorts a line of coke* "Hell yeah! Let's do it!" Oh Steven, Steven, Steven. Where to begin with this masterpiece of unintentional comedy? From the culturally inappropriate jokes at the expense of an entire race to the hysterically bad camera work, this movie is a hoot from beginning to end. At the height of his popularity, someone allowed this man and his bloated ego to direct this atrocity and I have to say, it does not disappoint. When our "hero" isn't on screen, someone is constantly praising his manliness. R. Lee Ermey was basically flown in just to film an entire speech about how badass Steven Seagal is. It's amazing. Michael Caine, poor guy must've been hurting for a paycheck. I just picture him weeping in his trailer before having to film all his scenes. I still get a good laugh every time I watch it.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Steven Seagal

Director

Steven Seagal

Forrest Taft

Michael Caine

Michael Jennings

Joan Chen

Masu

John C. McGinley

MacGruder

R. Lee Ermey

Stone

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

14%

36%

Fire Down Below

27%

38%

Passenger 57

23%

53%

Out for Justice

11%

38%

The Glimmer Man

33%

51%

Showdown in Little Tokyo

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Rene Rodriguez

Miami Herald

[On Deadly Ground] has all the thrills and suspense of a rerun of Barney and Friends.

Rated: 1/4

Aug 17, 2021

Full Review

Carrie Rickey

Philadelphia Inquirer

What a Renaissance Man, that Steven Seagal. He lumbers, he sermonizes, he directs!

Rated: 1.5/4

Sep 5, 2014

Full Review

John Hartl

Seattle Times

Unfortunately Seagal, who also makes his directing debut with this script, is no match for Caine. His on-screen personality is petulant and humorless, his voice so grating you want to reach for a mute button.

Rated: 1.5/4

Sep 5, 2014

Full Review

Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

The pinnacle of spectacle from a sultan of shamelessness. Still the destructive train wreck it's always been. And yet it’s one of Steven Seagal’s best movies, however low the bar, and more satisfying (however perversely) than any of his first four films.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 23, 2024

Full Review

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

...grandstanding vanity which marked the apex of ambition and the zenith of achievement of Seagal's career to date...

Rated: 3/5

Mar 24, 2021

Full Review

Matthew Rozsa

matthewrozsa.com

It's a very interesting movie. Not good, mind you. But genuinely interesting.

Rated: 2/4

Dec 25, 2020

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Forrest Taft (Steven Seagal) is putting his considerable talents as a fighter and marksman to use as a hired gun for the sleazy oil tycoon Michael Jennings (Michael Caine). The latter's bottom-line tunnel vision has him destroying entire communities if it means a bigger profit for his business. While in Alaska taking care of some business for his amoral boss, however, Taft meets a native Eskimo woman (Joan Chen) who helps him to discover the error of his ways and pursue a more righteous path.

Director: Steven Seagal
Executive Producer: Jeff Robinov, Robert Watts
Screenwriter: Ed Horowitz, Robin U. Russin
Production Co: Warner Bros., Seagal/Nasso Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 2, 2009
Box Office (Gross USA): $36.0M
Sound Mix: Stereo, Surround

Most Popular at Home Now