SummaryGoing undercover in rural Kentucky, an environmental agent (Steven Seagal) tries to prove the dumping of toxic waste in the local coal mines by ruthless industrialists.
Directed By:Félix Enríquez Alcalá
Written By:Jeb Stuart, Philip Morton
Fire Down Below
Metascore
Mixed or Average
40
User score
Mixed or Average
5.6
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
40
8% Positive
1 Review
1 Review
62% Mixed
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
31% Negative
4 Reviews
4 Reviews
70
A superior Seagal film, a smooth blend of action, character and noble environmental message. Credit is owed to the screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Philip Morton, which provides strong supporting roles; the photography, directed by Tom Houghton, which brings out the beauty of the landscape violated by the villains, and the lively country music, which is attributed to Nick Glennie-Smith. [6 Sept 1997, p.18]
50
There aren't many surprises in Fire Down Below, except for the presence of a few very good actors (Harry Dean Stanton, Kris Kristofferson, Levon Helm) and a slew of country stars in cameo appearances (including Loretta Lynn's twin daughters and singer Randy Travis, who looks to have a future as a movie heavy). [8 Sept 1997, p.C2]
50
The star hasn’t lost his gift for making sadism seem impish. After a while, however, you may notice that the film’s mayhem is accomplished almost entirely through editing.
50
Typical action fare for martial arts star Steven Seagal and, in his limited oeuvre, one of the more entertaining efforts. But the genre is pedestrian, and Seagal makes no new moves here in terms of screen personality or acting skill. What fun there is lies in the villains, some nifty stunts and a bouncy musical score rife with regional sounds.
40
The supporting cast is stocked with far better actors than Seagal -- Kristofferson, Harry Dean Stanton and Stephen Lang among them -- and country music personalities ranging from Mark Collie, Levon Helm, Randy Travis and Travis Tritt to Loretta Lynn's twin daughters Patsy and Peggy, to whom Seagal's character makes some vaguely suggestive remarks.
30
These thugs, needless to say, are pulverized as effortlessly as so many Easter chicks. This is a problem I've always had with Seagal's martial arts sequences; there's seldom a nanosecond of suspense, and the fight choreography has all the sophistication of Seventies drive-in fare such as Billy Jack and Walking Tall.
20
As an example of smash-mouth environmentalism, you'd be hard-pressed to surpass Fire Down Below. As an example of right-thinking American compassion and concern for our precious natural heritage and all the fuzzy fauna and fernyflora of the great outdoors, it's extremely forthright. And as a movie, it's a piece of drivel...Ugh! What a distasteful, silly, egomaniacal movie. [6 Sept 1997, p.D03]
User score
Mixed or Average
5.6
36% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
50% Mixed
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
14% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Jan 29, 2020
4
This movie is one of Stevens less loved works, the problem with the movie is it feels vary generic and unmotivated the antagonist is just terrible, we would like to see a better match that is more even to Steven, I know the movie is old and there is no fixing it now, but that is just one of the issues in the movie and many of his films, you never feel like Steven is human or capable of dying, that's one of the things he needs to work on in his current movies as well, viewers like to identify with characters that are relate-able and sometimes a movie is only as good as it's antagonist and in the case of fire down below I never felt like I was on the edge of my seat.
Mar 22, 2020
1
FIRE DOWN BELOW made in 1997 stars Steven Seagal, Marg Helgenberger, Harry Dean Stanton and Kris Kristofferson... It's an action thriller full of violence and Steven Seagal's impressive martial arts and second rate, cheap acting skills.. The story isn't that great and some of the scenes are laughably stupid and hilariously bad especially the fight scenes and acting. The characters and villains are horrible and laughable and it's not overall that exciting however fairly entertaining. Some of the acting is also fairly overacted with hilarious and stupid characters and Seagal being the "I'm the good guy, baddest dude on the planet" type character which at times is laughable. More of Seagal's awful acting and he even won a razzie award for worst actor making this movie which says it all and he got a stinker award. Fire Down Below is one of the stupidest, bad acted, camp and downright absolute crappest movies of all time and certainly one of Steven Seagal's worst but I'd say 99% of his films are rubbish to be honest. Terrible film with no redeeming features or likeable characters except Marg Helgenberger.
Production Company:
- Warner Bros.
- Seagal/Nasso Productions
Release Date:Sep 5, 1997
Duration:1 h 45 m
Rating:R
Tagline:One Man. One Secret. One Chance in Hell.
Awards
Razzie Awards
• 4 Nominations
Environmental Media Awards, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
The Stinkers Bad Movie Awards
• 1 Nomination
