Ticker

• Directed by Albert Pyun
• November 13, 2001

When a San Francisco detective’s partner is murdered by Northern Irish terrorists, he joins the bomb squad in order to bring them to justice.

Albert Pyun may have been a B-movie director but he could hit the spot. There was often a certain magic about what he did that made things enjoyable. His participation gave me hope for Ticker where his skill was paired with the lack thereof from Steven Seagal whose character’s participation is often tangential to the story.

Ticker opens with the super awesome Frank Glass (Steven Seagal) trying to defuse a bomb during a hostage situation where the FBI team eventually sprays bullets at the residence in which the hostages are being held. Seriously. They fire with no regard to the safety of those inside. I’m not sure who’s at fault for such a thing in this case-Seagal or Pyun. Pyun was the director, but Seagal had some star power around this time to throw his weight around.

The cast of the movie is random in a way that promises something weirdly interesting. Aside from Seagal we have Tom Sizemore as Detective Ray Nettles, Dennis Hopper as Irish terrorist Alex Swan, rapper Nas as Detective Art “Fuzzy” Rice, Jaime Pressly as Claire Manning, Ice-T as terrorist commander Vincent Cruichshank, and TLC member Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas as the completely unimportant Lilly McCutcheon. Some of them are obviously slumming it by taking the work they can get.

Seagal pops in and out just enough to remind the viewer that he’s in the movie but it’s largely carried by Tom Sizemore and Dennis Hopper. The movie really works well when Seagal ISN’T on the screen. His minimal time does little to enhance the story. Sizemore is good as he always was with Dennis Hopper being Dennis Hopper adding some flare.

Dennis Hopper is supposed to be Irish. He speaks with an Irish accent, no accent, and an accent of indeterminate origin. Sometimes in the same scene. Hopper was one of the greats and I think this issue falls on some behind-the-camera issues. Funding got pulled before completion which I am guessing meant no retakes for continuity.

There are some corners clearly cut for cost reasons but it’s not so bad that Ticker looks like it had no money. Footage from other Nu Image films was reportedly used. I don’t think that quite explains everything though.

Calling this a Steven Seagal movie is a bit laughable. It’s about as Steven Seagal as Executive Decision is. He spends very little time or screen so that’s to the benefit of the viewer. When he is on he’s spouting armchair Zen philosophy to help Nettles get over his emotional pain. Glass goes from being barely present to suddenly being integral as a helping hand to Nettles in the climax.

For the era Ticker manages a nice twist. Jaime Pressly as Claire Manning starts out as the widow of man that looks to now be in over her head before the reveal that she is the brains behind everything that is going on in the film. Nice subversion of expectations for the time. Pyun set it up but didn’t make it obvious.

Aside from that the story stumbles along a little bit but not so terribly that you lose interest. Tom Sizemore is okay as the main character with some emotional baggage. He just didn’t feel like he was trying too hard. This felt like it was aiming for an edgy or complex thriller but one cast member (whose identity should be obvious) prevents it from getting close. Casting is important and that one decision brought everything down.

Ticker isn’t bad. Not a great film but not a bad film despite the presence of Steven Seagal. When he comes in, he hurts it. If you can handle his presence, I think you’ll be mostly satisfied. Mostly.