On Deadly Ground

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On Deadly Ground

Directed by Steven Seagal

Steven Seagal
Produced by A. Kitman Ho
Julius R. Nasso
Ed Horowitz &
Written by
Robin U. Russin
Steven Seagal
Michael Caine
Joan Chen
R. Lee Ermey
Starring John C. McGinley
Billy Bob Thornton
Richard Hamilton
Mike Starr
Kenji Nakano
Music by Basil Poledouris
Cinematography Ric Waite
Don Brochu
Editing by
Robert A. Ferretti
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) February 18, 1994 (USA)
Running time 101 min
Language English, Inuktitut
Budget $50,000,000(estimated)
Gross revenue $38,590,500 (USA)

On Deadly Ground is a 1994 environmental action-adventure film, co-produced, directed by and

starring Steven Seagal, and co-starring in an all-star cast, Michael Caine, Joan Chen, John C.
McGinley, R. Lee Ermey, Kenji Nakano, and Billy Bob Thornton in one of his early
appearances. The film held a #1 position at the box office and exemplified the dangers of
pollution. It earned $38.6M during its theatrical run.[citation needed] In recent years, the film has
gained a cult following.[citation needed]

Contents
[hide]

 1 Synopsis
o 1.1 Forrest Taft's abilities
 2 Critical response
 3 References
 4 External links

[edit] Synopsis
Aegis Oil operates Aegis 1, an oil refinery and several oil rigs in Alaska. They purchased the oil
rights from the local Eskimos twenty years ago, but will lose them if the refinery isn’t on-line by
a certain deadline. With 13 days to go, and billions of dollars at stake, the company cuts corners
and uses faulty equipment. Hugh Palmer, a rig foreman, is aware of this; as he predicts, his rig
catches fire. It takes Forrest Taft (Seagal), a specialist in dealing with oil drilling-related fires, to
extinguish the fire. Taft refuses to believe Hugh’s story of faulty equipment, but discovers that
it’s true after accessing the company’s computer records. Michael Jennings (Michael Caine), the
ruthless CEO of Aegis, believes that Hugh's carelessness is to blame and arranges for him to be
‘dealt with’ by his henchmen MacGruder (John C. McGinley) and Otto (Sven-Ole Thorsen).
Jennings is alerted to Taft's activities and orders that Taft be also removed. MacGruder and Otto
torture and murder Palmer. Taft is set-up for a trap by investigating a supposedly damaged pump
station. He is badly wounded by an explosion, but survives and is rescued by Masu (Joan Chen),
the daughter of Silook, the chief of her tribe.

MacGruder and Otto are unable to locate Taft's body, and Jennings assumes that he is still alive.
Taft is being cared for by Silook's tribe. After unsuccessfully trying to leave, using a dogsled,
Silook has Taft undergo a vision quest in which he sees the truth. When made to choose between
two women, Seagal opts for the elderly, clothed grandmother, forgoing the erotically-charged
nude Eskimo seductress. The grandmother warns Taft that time is running out for those who
pollute the world. Taft realises that he has no choice but to see the refinery closed. He leaves,
with MacGruder and Otto hot on his trail.

At Silook's village, they demand to know where Taft is. Silook refuses to give the information
and is fatally shot by MacGruder. Jennings berates MacGruder for killing Silook. They bring in a
group of New Orleans based mercenaries led by Stone (R. Lee Ermey) to finish off Taft before
he can stop Aegis 1 from going on-line. They also have an FBI Anti-Terrorist Unit at the
refinery.

Accompanies by Masu, Taft (who is probably ex-CIA and an expert on sabotage and
demolition), collects weapons and explosives and manages to enter the refinery complex.
MacGruder, Otto and Jennings’ ruthlessly efficient female assistant Liles, are powerless to stop
him and are all killed in various gruesome ways.

Taft and Masu confront Jennings and string him up, dropping him into the oil, effectively
drowning him in his own wealth. A series of explosions destroy the rest of Aegis 1.

As an epilogue, Taft, far from being arrested for sabotage and multiple murders, is asked to
deliver a speech at the Alaska State Capitol about the dangers of oil pollution, and the companies
that are endangering the ecosystem. This speech is reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin's monologue
at the end of The Great Dictator. This speech at the end of the film is parodied in the South Park
episode Over Logging. During the speech they show a scene of one of the first commercial
hydrogen fuel cell systems developed by Perry Energy Systems.

[edit] Forrest Taft's abilities

Most of Seagal's films are in the genre of action films, especially in portraying the protagonist's
use of the classic combination of martial arts and proficiency in the use of firearms and
explosives.[citation needed] Aside from his inventory of skills in hand-to-hand combat, Forrest Taft is
also depicted as a skilled marksman and demolition specialist.

[edit] Critical response

At the time of its release Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel described the film as "Lugubrious"[1] , and
also included it in their "Worst of" list for 1994 under the category "Before you save the planet,
save the movie!".[1]
Ebert commented that although the film depicts Seagal blowing up an oil refinery, "Seagal
should have been setting fire to his dialogue" [1]. Ebert further criticised Seagal's concluding
speech as "endless" [1] and "one of many egotistical vanity scenes" [1] from the movie. He also
drew attention to the inaccuracy of the issues presented in the final scene and its suggestion that
Alaska law-makers would have rewarded Seagal's character with a medal for putting its
"number-one industry right out of business"[1]. Siskel also agreed with the sentiment that the
scene was unnecessary, commenting; "It came way out of left-field, it was like a bad Billy-Jack
movie. It was ridiculous."[1].

Similarly commenting about the vanity of the film, Variety magazine film critic Leonard Klady,
referred to the film as "a vanity production parading as a social statement"[2] and commented that
the film seemingly borrowed heavily from the earlier film, Billy Jack.[3] He also compared the
star of Billy Jack, Tom Laughlin, to Seagal and commented that Seagal lacked "acting technique
and the ability behind the camera to keep the story simple and direct" when comparing the two
stars in similar roles.[4] In describing Seagal's character, Klady described the following:

As Taft is of pure heart -- and graphically beats the crap out of bigots and bullies on
“ several occasions to make that point -- he shifts sides to the noble, if primitive Inuit,
who recognize him as a Spirit Warrior. It's later revealed that Taft is a former CIA
operative who dropped out to enjoy the purity of the last frontier. When that's
sullied, he gets mad and naturally inflicts the maximum retribution.[2] ”
His overall opinion of the movie was that it was "slick and hollow".[2] In discussing the final
scene, he also mentions rumours that in an original production of the movie the ending scene was
supposedly 10 minutes long before eventually it was reduced to a length of 4 minutes. The
official figure given from Warner Brothers, according to Washington Post staff writer Richard
Harrington was 15 minutes in length before they asked that it be cut down.[5]