Martial arts personality and actor Steven Seagal has been laying waste to bad guys on screen for well over thirty years now and, while his more modern movies don’t get much positive attention from critics, his numerous entries into the pantheon of machismo action movies have proven to be quite significant. With such a long career made up of so many movies, fans can be left wondering which entries are considered to be the best. So, with this mind, let’s take a look at the 10 highest-rated Steven Seagal movies according to review aggregate site Metacritic to paint a clearer picture of the actor’s filmography.
Out for Justice (38)
Out for Justice is a 1991 American neo-noir vigilante action thriller film directed by John Flynn and co-produced by and starring Steven Seagal as Gino Felino, a veteran police detective who sets out to avenge his partner Bobby’s murder by killing Richie, the trigger-happy, drug-addicted mafioso culprit. Out for Justice may not be one of the most loved of Segal’s earlier movies but remains one of the most remembered amongst fans.
Exit Wounds (39)
Exit Wounds is a 2001 American action film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, and starring Steven Seagal and DMX. The film is based on the book of the same name by John Westermann. The book takes place on Long Island, while the film is set in Detroit. Steven Seagal plays Orin Boyd, a police detective notorious for pushing the limits of the law in his quest for justice. Whilst still being a thorough Steven Seagal movie, Exit Wounds was a reunion for actors Anthony Anderson, DMX, and Isiah Washington with Polish director Andrzej Bartkowiak after their similarly martial-arts-themed movie Romeo Must Die but was not as big a hit with fans, critics or general audiences.
Fire Down Below (40)
Fire Down Below is a 1997 American action film starring Steven Seagal and directed by Félix EnrÃquez Alcalá in his directorial debut. Steven Seagal plays Jack Taggert, an EPA agent who investigates a Kentucky mine and helps locals stand up for their rights. The film was released in the United States on September 5, 1997. Along the way, Seagal’s character helps the locals rediscover their dignity and woos Marg Helgenberger’s local outcast.RELATED:
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Hard to Kill (41)
Hard to Kill is a 1990 American action thriller film directed by Bruce Malmuth and starring Steven Seagal, Kelly LeBrock, William Sadler and Frederick Coffin. Seagal as Mason Storm, a detective who falls into a coma after being shot during a shootout that killed his wife. Waking seven years later, Storm embarks on a journey to avenge his wife’s death and expose Senator Vernon Trent’s corruption. As only Seagal’s second film, Hard to Kill was still figuring out how best to portray Seagal and his fighting style on screen, and it delivered some of the actor’s most memorable ridiculously masculine lines.
Above the Law (45)
Above the Law is a 1988 American crime action film written, produced and directed by Andrew Davis. Seagal plays Nico Toscani, an ex-CIA agent, Aikido specialist and a Chicago policeman who discovers a conspiracy upon investigating the mysterious shipment of military explosives seized from a narcotics dealer. The film originated after a successful screen test, financed by Michael Ovitz, leading to Seagal being offered a contract by Warner Bros. It’s easy to see from that description alone that Above the Law would inform the vast majority of the stories in Seagal’s future movies and it does indeed create a clear roadmap for the rest of the actor’s career in movies.
Marked for Death (49)
Marked for Death is a 1990 American action film directed by Dwight H. Little. The film stars Steven Seagal as John Hatcher, a former DEA troubleshooter who returns to his Illinois hometown to find it taken over by a posse of vicious Jamaican drug dealers led by Screwface. Using a combination of fear and Obeah, a Jamaican syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin similar to Haitian vodou and SanterÃa, Screwface rules the drug trade in Hatcher’s Lincoln Heights. The movie no doubt earned extra points for being perhaps the closest that a Seagal movie has ever come to portraying the lead hero as vulnerable. It isn’t much but that, in conjunction with Basil Wallace’s memorable villain, helps it to stand out.RELATED:
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Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (52)
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory is a 1995 American action thriller film directed by Geoff Murphy, starring Steven Seagal as the ex-Navy SEAL, Casey Ryback. Set on board a train traveling through the Rocky Mountains from Denver to Los Angeles, it is the sequel to the 1992 film Under Siege also starring Seagal. The title refers to the railroading term that the subject train was travelling through dark territory, a section of railroad track that has no train signals and in which communications between train dispatchers and the railroad engineers were impossible. Actor Eric Bogosian also adds a lot to the movie as the story’s Hans Gruber-ish mastermind and, whilst not the success of the first movie, critics seem to agree that it’s one of Seagal’s more well-accomplished movies overall.
Under Siege (58)
Under Siege is a 1992 American action thriller film directed by Andrew Davis, written by J. F. Lawton, and starring Steven Seagal as a former Navy SEAL who must intercept a group of mercenaries, led by Tommy Lee Jones, after they commandeer the U.S. Navy battleship Missouri. Released on October 9, 1992, Under Siege was both a critical and commercial success, receiving two Academy Award nominations for sound production and grossing over $156 million at the global box office. It is often considered Steven Seagal’s best film to date.
Machete (60)
Machete is a 2010 American exploitation action film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis. Seagal makes a rare villain turn in Robert Rodrguez’s Mex-ploitation comedy adapted from a fake trailer for his double-bill project, Grindhouse, with Quentin Tarantino. He plays a criminal kingpin who wrongs the titular Federale at the beginning of the movie and sets up their violent revenge throughout the story.