Star: Sharon Stone

Above The Law (1988) – Steven Seagal

Not a bad attempt for Steven Seagal‘s first movie, but it lacks some of the uncompromising vibe that his later movies had, such as The Glimmer Man. In filming Above The Law, Seagal seemed more willing to do whatever he were told to do even if it didn’t suit his style that was yet to fully come out.

This was his first real role in a movie, although he did previously assist some movie stars with their martial arts training about 5 years earlier – initially The Challenge (1982) and then Never Say Never Again (1983) where he was training Sean Connery and ended up breaking Sean’s wrist. No wonder he disappeared for 5 years before coming back into the movie industry. Still, he came back with a bang – Above The Law is a respectable movie, it gets a bit slow & dry at times but it still had a good bit of action and we see a good amount of the Steven Seagal we’ve come to know & love. Seagal’s performance was decent here, but a bit more compromising & awkward, like a normal actor, compared to his later movies where he seemed to be calling the shots more and his style was more naturally suited to him without bits that don’t match that vibe.

Supporting cast members include a young Sharon Stone who plays the role of Seagal’s wife! She looks a bit more ‘real’ here – a bit chunkier and less ‘made up’, but still a smart & attractive lead female that Seagal must have been honoured to have in his first movie, although it’s equally possible he didn’t think much of it, since Sharon Stone didn’t become very famous until the 90s. In fact her most famous performance (due to controversy) was Basic Instinct in 1992, the same year as Seagal’s biggest movie, when he did Under Siege in 1992. Some would say Sharon Stone’s breakout movie was Total Recall in 1990 with Arnie. Either way, she was a relatively small player at the time of Above The Law in 1988, but she puts plenty of effort into this minor role – if anything, she’s over-dramatic.

Pam Grier also does a decent job as the lead female in this movie – she plays Seagal’s partner police officer.

The Specialist (1994) – Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone

Not a bad movie, starring Sylvester Stallone a CIA explosives expert turned mercenary for hire on the free market, and Sharon Stone as the woman who hires him. They both put on fine performances as expected, although the plot is a bit thin and steamy. Supporting actors include James Woods and Eric Roberts who both do decent jobs as the two main bad guys in this movie, both reporting to the mafia boss played by Rod Steiger who does an average job with a terribly fake sounding accent.

The movie’s mood is slow but captivating, and the action is intermittent but of a fairly high standard – overall it kind of works. With grand musical effects it has vibes of an old Bond movie just without the fancy plot – this one’s very one-dimensional but still an enjoyable watch if you’re not too busy and haven’t seen this movie in the last decade or so.

Catwoman (2004) – Halle Berry

Stylistically, Catwoman (2004) is like a cross between Batman (in core concept) and Dark Angel (down to the same kinds of superpowered stunts and musical effects).

Halle Berry stars as the Catwoman superhero in this movie. She’s in her late 30s here – somewhat past her prime physically, but still only a couple of years since she played the role of a Bond girl alongside Pierce Brosnan in Die Another Day (2002). Her acting is pretty good here too. She makes a convincing feline furry.

The supporting cast is pretty good too.

Sharon Stone stars as the main supervillain after killing her husband and framing it on Catwoman towards the back end of the movie. Sharon’s in her mid 40s here – far from being in her physical prime but she does a good job of acting nevertheless.

Lambert Wilson does alright as the main antagonist through most of the movie, until he gets out-done by his estranged wife played by Sharon Stone.

Benjamin Bratt plays the detective who unwittingly gets romantically involved with Catwoman before eventually arresting her. He does a good job in his role here. He has a bit of a Mark Dacascos vibe.

It’s also good to see Byron Mann playing a minor role as a security guard (with half a conscience) for the baddies – his face gets around a lot in action hero movies of this era. His colleague Michael Massee (the guy who shot & killed Brandon Lee (Bruce Lee’s only son) on the set of The Crow with a real gun & bullet and pretended it was an accident) performed adequately as a security guard for the baddies here too. Brandon was killed because he was finally persuaded to investigate his father’s murder (which was also officially ruled an accident) – of course Hollywood couldn’t allow that.

Overall, considering the density of adrenaline-packed creative scenes vs the less entertaining slower drama scenes, and considering the general quality of cast, plot, script & action at work here, I rate Catwoman (2004) to be a Decent movie – a level better than just OK. Not quite on a par with the very best female-led action hero movies out there, like Wonder Woman, Colombiana and Ghost In The Shell, but it’s only one level shy of those movies, from the perspective of a smooth action hero movie connoisseur who isn’t so fond of slow or gritty drama.