Starring: Steven Seagal, Steve Austin, Bren Foster

You may like this if you liked: Anything involving the Shakespearean thespians mentioned above as well as Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme etc.

Everyone’s favourite action granddad stars as Cross an ex CIA tactical genius (obviously) who along with partner Manning (Austin) are given the job of closing down a high security prison. However, after having to put two new female convicts in the soon to be closed prison they are forced to stay the night as the guards would get scared without them. Surprisingly enough, groups of mercenaries turn up to take these mysterious women who contain secret and potentially lethal information away. It is now up to…… oh I think you can figure out the rest.

Well, this is a Seagal film, so it is therefore pointless reviewing this film by normal standards but to review it by Seagal’s lofty standards.  Firstly, it is actually nice for Seagal to be in a proper feature film (though of course a straight to DVD one) as for last couple of years all he has been releasing is two episodes of his True Justice TV series stuck together to make a film. Though this is never the standards of some his 90s masterpieces that defined the action genre (!), this is not a bad effort by his standards of the last ten years.

The casting of Steve Austin was a great move; of course he is a terrible actor, but it least he looks the part. This partly helps us forget that Seagal is way too fat, old and slow to fight a corpse. The plot is of course generic and predictable, but was it ever not going to be? Of course not. The action is half decent as most fight scenes are left to people who can actually move without the camera having to be sped up. Though of course, as producer of the film, Seagal gets the big fights without even bleeding. There is actually a good chemistry between Seagal and Austin and there are some quite witty one liners for Austin to get his teeth into and it is very obvious he takes great relish from saying them!

In summary, Seagal’s best for ages and therefore for a Seagal film Maximum Conviction is actually very entertaining and good fun, for a Seagal film. As long as you know Seagal and what he does, then you will not be disappointed, of course the usual compliment of alcoholic beverages and brain being switched off are as ever recommended.

5/10