Fire Down Below

• Directed by Félix Enríquez Alcalá (Directorial Debut)
• September 5, 1997

An EPA agent investigates a Kentucky mine and helps locals stand up for their ecological rights.

At one point Steven Seagal was a bankable action star. While he had one certifiable classic in Under Siege, his old movies in general are a guilty pleasure. I often consider his old films cinematic frozen burritos. You enjoy them, feel bad afterwards, and when that bad feeling goes away you check them out again. Such is the case with Fire Down Below. Perhaps it’s because it has a budget. Perhaps it’s because Seagal is supported in this by some by a talented cast. Whatever it is, it’s still enjoyable. I can’t explain it.

The movie opens with a flashback. You get to see Steven Seagal enjoying a single engine plane ride to the middle of nowhere flashing back to the death of his friend inside of another flashback to how he got the case that greatly implies he should be investigating but also leaves you with a feeling he is supposed to investigate the murder.

This is Seagal’s ode to the environment and screed against evil corporations. Heavy on environmental themes and anti-big corporations with hints of how the little guy gets stomped on and needs a mildly overweight (at this point) white savior with fake hair to come in and save the day. A company run by a former local (Kris Kristofferson) is dumping generic toxic chemicals in an abandoned mine where a fire has been burning for years. An abandoned mine is a good idea. One that is on fire not so much. Eventually that fire will reach the chemicals and the result will expose everything.

This is Steven Seagal’s environmental magnum opus. What I’m saying is with Steven Seagal starring in it as well as having a hand in producing it becomes really bad. Somehow this guy with a spray tan and fake ponytail dressing in black leather in the hottest weather wins over these country folk and restores balance to nature.

I’m also a little confused. Is Seagal’s character of EPA Agent Jack Taggert tasked with investigating the possible pollution in the area or is he investigating his friend’s murder? Or both? He is just kinda sent in and allowed to do his thing.

His cover is that of a man doing charity carpentry work for the impoverished and from the looks of it incapable locals. My carpentry experience is limited. I do know it takes more than a few short hours to replace a porch or do extensive roof work on your own but then again none of us are half the man Steven Seagal is. He clearly can work wonders with the most basic of tools.

Compared to what he does now the action scenes are actually quite good. It’s not just that silly slap fighting thing. There’s some movement and he actually uses punches when necessary. And given there is a budget behind this the inevitable shoot outs are choreographed well enough that you don’t notice his poor shooting style.

The story just kind of lumbers around. With a lack of understanding of how people react it comes off as almost written by a fifth grader whose limited knowledge he garnered from his time in school and at home is applied to the world at large.

Marg Helgenberger plays Seagal’s love interest Sarah Kellogg who spent some time in jail for killing her dad. Stephen Lang plays her brother Earl and was particularly icky. Not only was he working for the polluters, but he was also raping his sister and killed pops to cover it up. Were they trying to somehow justify his ultimate demise? Isn’t it enough that he was helping the villain and wanted Steven Seagal dead because he was paid to do it? I don’t know.

Nothing that is supposed to matter actually does. For example Cotton Harry (Harry Dean Stanton) who sent the letter that started it all barely factors into things and is largely forgotten by the end. He does not need to be a main character but he should be a driver of things yet not so much other than getting beat up once.

Fire Down Below is nothing you wouldn’t expect from Steven Seagal. Just a better budget and some polish. It has a heavy message but being that the movie is of the frozen burrito variety you’ll enjoy yourself and probably come back to it again.