This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Right, well we all know exactly what we get when we sit down to watch an action movie starring the teddy bear of the action genre, Steven Seagal. And, of course, this is right up that alley, yet it was surprisingly good and quite entertaining.This movie stood out because Steven Seagal wasn't playing the usual goody two shoes roles that he usually does. Sure, once again he was portraying an ex-law enforcer, so what else is new, but this time with a darker side to the character. His character had a drinking and gambling problem, and was in massive debt. And the former police officer actually ended up as a hit-man. Yep, quite a refreshing turn of character for the action teddy bear.The movie really benefited from having Lance Henriksen on the cast list, as he brought his usual dark charms and wits to the screen. Just a shame that he didn't got more time on the screen.And you get the usual performance and action from Steven Seagal as you are accustomed to if you have been following his movie career. Lots of fighting and lots of gunfights, and of course with the one-man-against-impossible-odds setting."Pistol Whipped" stands out from the countless other generic Steven Seagal action movies, and it is well worth watching if you enjoy his movies or not. I was genuinely entertained by this 2008 movie, and it stands out as one of the better of all Steven Seagal movies.

Matt Conner (Seagal) was a good cop, but he got kicked off the force. Now a gambler and alcoholic, he still wants to be a good dad to his daughter Becky (Jordan). When a shadowy figure known only as "The Old Man" (Henriksen) offers to clear his gambling debts in exchange for a few "favors", i.e., killing some gangsters around town, Conner agrees. Now dealing with complicated alliances between The Old Man's henchman Blue (Calderon), Drea (Goldsberry), and fellow cop and husband to his ex-wife, Lt. Steve Shacter (Wilson), Conner has only his wits, propensity for violence, and considerable girth to help him through this mess.Connecticut is a small state and not a lot of movies (at least with high visibility) are shot here. So the good news is, they shot a movie in our lovely state. The bad news is...it's Pistol Whipped! Yes, Steven Seagal comes to the Nutmeg state, and, well, left with all the Nutmeg. While, oddly enough, the CT can boast having the movies Friday the 13th, I Spit on Your Grave, and Last House on the Left shot here, thus becoming a hub for twisted "video nasties" of the 80's, how far we've fallen when we now have to play host to a sullen Seagal.While shot in the towns of Bridgeport, Stamford and Norwalk (all fairly close to New York City), for some reason Matt Conner (or perhaps Seagal making an acting choice) has a Cajun accent. On top of that, he whispers most of his lines unintelligibly. You actually need the subtitles on the DVD. And when you read what he supposedly said, you say, "he said that? I didn't hear it." How did the subtitle people know he said that? And we watched it in surround sound! Dripping water was louder than Seagal's voice. Ot whoever's voice it was. You actually need the subtitles so you don't miss lines like "Clean as a Safeway chicken!", whatever that means. But the point is, it seems Seagal was trying to channel the coolness of Michael Madsen here. But Seagal is so low-energy, he makes Madsen look like Richard Simmons.But it's funny to watch not only his daughter, but the characters of Drea, and his ex-wife fall for his mumbly, unlikable charm. On top of struggling with the gangsters, he's also struggling with his weight issues, as his flowy bowling shirts prove. But we don't want to be mean and pile on with the "Seagal is fat" narrative (any more than we already have), because there's plenty of other things we can talk about. Such as his odd hair, for example.Now, for Seagal standards, this movie is okay, but because it is an action movie from the 2000's, it must have CGI silliness, fast motion, editing tricks, and green screen stuff. All of which, needless to say, detract from the movie. We suppose it was trying to be gritty, but the overall effect is more cheap and junky. Plus, the movie is repetitive and goes around in circles. And it's repetitive. It would have been cooler if Lance Henriksen played the Matt Conner part, and Seagal played "The Old Man". It was nice of Henriksen to show up for the few days he must have been there, but the movie could have used more of him.You probably have a decent idea of what to expect with Pistol Whipped (Spoiler alert: no one gets actually pistol whipped in the movie), so if you can convince a friend or two to spend some time with a newer Seagal (and a lot of alcohol), this might just be the pick for you. Go Connecticut! For more action insanity, drop by: www.comeuppancereviews.com

This isn't bad at all.In what's probably his best acting performance in a while, Seagal plays a former cop with a shady past (what else!) who's up to his neck in gambling debts, is way too fond of alcohol and a pretty lousy father to boot. A mysterious man (a cool Lance Henriksen) buys up his debts and wants Seagal to eliminate a few scumbags to work it off. So in fact; Seagal's his new whipping boy.The film's not without it's fair share of clichés, takes a few convenient shortcuts and some of the action scenes are a bit stiff but"Pistol Whipped", as another Steven Seagal direct-to-DVD flick, is really OK entertainment.Steve is actually pretty good in his role here, looking like he's actually trying to act and he comes out a winner. He's getting a bit puffy again but he looks solid enough in the action department. Others are so so with only old pro Henriksen making any kind of impression.Kudos to the script as well. As said, it's far from perfect but it does have a nice twist up it's sleeve and it gives our man a little better dialog than usual.For fans of Seagal this is a must. For others, "Pistol Whipped" is still an OK way to kill an hour and a half.

Steven Seagal has one of his more unflattering roles as an overweight, alcoholic ex cop, living a bleak existence where he owes mounting gambling debts, lost a beautiful wife to divorce, and is a bad father who can't even provide his girl one day a week without failing to make the grade. Hired as a contract killer, his gambling markers will be paid if he takes out specific targets arranged by an arcane benefactor(Lance Henriksen, often communicating from the shadows) with ambiguous, esoteric motives. Known as "The Old Man", Henriksen keeps Seagal's Matt Conlin honest by employing a mysterious gunsel to look after him, Blue(Paul Caldren), shadowing his every move, there in case a challenging situation develops, while also detailing the tasks he must perform. So Matt does so, eliminating two marks, but the third, his daughter's stepfather, detective Steve Shacter(Mark Elliot Wilson), will not be easy. Steve, it seems, is not the straight-arrow, virtuous cop Matt always thought so highly of, and his elimination will prove most difficult, particularly since his position has grown within the force. We see when Steve slits the throat of Matt's priest that he'll go to any lengths to keep his reputation inculpable. Renee Goldensberry is Matt's love interest, Drea, an actual member of The Old Man's entourage, herself a hit woman if needed. Decent actioner allows Seagal to knock some guys around while firing off rounds as well. The conclusion is a showdown between Matt, Drea, and Blue against Steve and his crooked police gang in a cemetery as headstones and bodies are torn apart by bullet-fire. The movie also provides a shootout as Steve and his cronies attempt to gun down Matt in the middle of a street with Blue coming to his aid, with an ensuing in a car chase resulting in vehicular damage. The director employs unnecessary camera techniques(..and he speeds up the film for no real reason whatsoever)and shoots at odd angles, sometimes ruining gun battles as they occur. As is often the case in these kinds of movies, Matt's daughter is used as leverage by Steve in the finale, her life in danger if he doesn't put down his weapon and surrender.