Code of Honor (2016)

Code of Honor is a 2016 American action thriller film written, produced, edited, and directed by Michael Winnick. The film stars Steven Seagal and Craig Sheffer and was released to video on demand on May 6, 2016.

Plot:

Colonel Robert Sikes is a stealthy, one-man assault team who takes on a city’s street gangs, mobsters and politicians until his mission is complete. His former protégé, William Porter, teams up with the local police department to bring his former commander to justice and prevent him from further vigilantism. In Code of Honor, Segal is a retired military colonel who has gone rogue and is now waging war against local drug dealers and mobsters. The cops have no idea how to stop him, but as luck would have it, his former protégé, Craig Sheffer, is in town and he knows what they need to do to catch him. When a dancer at a local club witnesses one of Segal’s attacks, Schaeffer agrees to help her, and protecting her and her son proves to be the chance for redemption he needs. And the criminals continue to die. What does Schaeffer know about his former mentor that could help him win? It turns out that they are connected much deeper than just Schaeffer’s attempt to stop him.

Production:

Writer-director Michael Winnik said he wanted to make “First Blood meets Death Wish.” Seagal liked the script and an earlier film of Winnik’s. The film was shot in Utah in March 2015 on a budget of $8 million. The shooting schedule was 20 days. Winnik said of Seagal, “he’s definitely the real deal… he really knows his guns, his Aikido, his martial arts, his fighting skills. You know, he’s teaching you weapons, he’s teaching you moves. He’s been around a long time, but his arms, his hands, they’re still lightning fast.” In the movie, Seagal’s character dies. Winnik says the actor was not pleased with this and “if you ask him, he didn’t [die]. He escaped. That said, the implication, the way the film is structured, is that he does. Obviously you can interpret it as you wish, but yes, he does go down. And that’s kind of what he’s been saying throughout the film. ‘Would you give your life to save the world if no one knew you did it?’ is the question he keeps posing. He’s completed his mission and he’s even made the other character take the fall for it.”

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Reception:

The film received negative reviews from critics. In a review for the Los Angeles Times, Robert Abele called it “dreadful” and “laughably awful”. Frank Scheck wrote in The Hollywood Reporter that the film includes almost every B-action cliché, and stated that “the latest effort from the bloated, aging star is… as bland as its title.”

Cast:

Steven Seagal as Colonel Robert Sikes
Craig Sheffer as Major William Porter
Helena Mattsson as Keri Green, Stripper
Louis Mandylor as Detective James Peterson
James Russo as Romano, Mobster
Griff Furst as Jerry Simon, Reporter
Rafael Petardi as Carlos, Romano’s Ally
Michael Flynn as Captain Connely
R.D. Call as Mayor Randolf
Scott Takeda as Johnny Ito