24 reviews
I really thought that the inclusion of MJW would hopefully lift this slightly higher than expected. Sadly he is unseen but for a fleeting scene in which his role could have been played by any random crackhead.
The whole thing is so poorly acted and scripted not to mention directed that it really comes down to a D grade action flick built around Sensei Seagal playing patty cake in his pj's (yet again) and delivering even worst dialogue than usual. Even giving him the opportunity of playing a bad guy for a change seems too much like hard work for the Sensei who dials in one of the lamest performances from him yet. Maybe his lethargy is a result of being squeezed too tightly into his Spanx.
Perhaps the worst offender in this mess is Director (and I use that term very loosely) Daniel Zirilli. He continues his rise towards mediocrity with another typical example of his very obvious limitations.
Watch only if you absolutely must, but don't say you weren't warned.
The whole thing is so poorly acted and scripted not to mention directed that it really comes down to a D grade action flick built around Sensei Seagal playing patty cake in his pj's (yet again) and delivering even worst dialogue than usual. Even giving him the opportunity of playing a bad guy for a change seems too much like hard work for the Sensei who dials in one of the lamest performances from him yet. Maybe his lethargy is a result of being squeezed too tightly into his Spanx.
Perhaps the worst offender in this mess is Director (and I use that term very loosely) Daniel Zirilli. He continues his rise towards mediocrity with another typical example of his very obvious limitations.
Watch only if you absolutely must, but don't say you weren't warned.
Not so much a review, but a warning to not waste your time! I watch so many movies and TV shows-very addicted-who has time to review them as well? But I have to warn you, fellow 'basers'! I honestly thought "Against the Dark" was the bottom of his 'barrel'. But the man has ?bravely? kept on going. Cameos are one thing and I realize that these movies are going straight to DVD, but where is your pride? Stay in the business producing, directing, whatever, but Steven, please, for we, your loyal fans, get thee behind the camera! You'll be eligible for Social Security next year! From a 56 year old lady who has watched all your films since "Above the Law" in 1988-but I couldn't even wait til Michael Jai White hit the screen in this one!
- nogodnomasters
- Dec 9, 2017
- Permalink
- FlashCallahan
- May 25, 2016
- Permalink
First of all, I turned the film off. I simply could not watch the entire fiasco. The acting was so amateurish that it was laughable. How old was Jack's girlfriend? All of seventeen? Where do they find the actors for these disasters? But to make matters worse, the three minute segments with Steven Seagal who is way too old and out of shape to be in all these action films he so call stars in. I watch these films to see just how much worse they can get. This one certainly met my expectations.
The Asian Connection (2016)
1/2 (out of 4)
Jack (John Edward Lee) and his buddy are in Asia where they rob a bank. Jack plans to use the money on his girlfriend (Pim Bubear) who he loves very much. However, what he doesn't know is that he is actually robbing from Asian crime lord Sirankiri (Steven Seagal). Soon Jack is forced into robbing even more banks and now the police are after him as well as Sirankiri.
This is the first Seagal movie I've seen since his 1997 film FIRE DOWN BELOW. I knew that the actor had gone into the direct-to-video craze but I honestly just wasn't big enough of a fan to check out all of these movies. THE Asian CONNECTION grabbed my attention because I read some really negative reviews on it so I decided to check it out myself.
There's no question that the awful reviews were right on the mark because this is a pretty darn bad movie no matter how you look at it. Obviously it was done on a very low-budget but the problem is that it's so poorly made that you just get bored by all of it. The direction by Daniel Zirilli is certainly a major issue because the action scenes all look horrible and there's not a single moment where the film contains any energy or excitement.
Another problem is that you certainly don't care about any of the main characters. The love story subplot between Jack and his girlfriend is laughable at times and even everything with Seagal is pretty bland and boring. John Edward Lee's performance is also quite bad and it appears Seagal is just picking up a paycheck as he does very little with his role.
THE Asian CONNECTION is a really bad movie that doesn't have a thing going for it.
1/2 (out of 4)
Jack (John Edward Lee) and his buddy are in Asia where they rob a bank. Jack plans to use the money on his girlfriend (Pim Bubear) who he loves very much. However, what he doesn't know is that he is actually robbing from Asian crime lord Sirankiri (Steven Seagal). Soon Jack is forced into robbing even more banks and now the police are after him as well as Sirankiri.
This is the first Seagal movie I've seen since his 1997 film FIRE DOWN BELOW. I knew that the actor had gone into the direct-to-video craze but I honestly just wasn't big enough of a fan to check out all of these movies. THE Asian CONNECTION grabbed my attention because I read some really negative reviews on it so I decided to check it out myself.
There's no question that the awful reviews were right on the mark because this is a pretty darn bad movie no matter how you look at it. Obviously it was done on a very low-budget but the problem is that it's so poorly made that you just get bored by all of it. The direction by Daniel Zirilli is certainly a major issue because the action scenes all look horrible and there's not a single moment where the film contains any energy or excitement.
Another problem is that you certainly don't care about any of the main characters. The love story subplot between Jack and his girlfriend is laughable at times and even everything with Seagal is pretty bland and boring. John Edward Lee's performance is also quite bad and it appears Seagal is just picking up a paycheck as he does very little with his role.
THE Asian CONNECTION is a really bad movie that doesn't have a thing going for it.
- Michael_Elliott
- Jul 2, 2016
- Permalink
'The Asian Connection' is An Okay Watch, despite a few arresting moments & a top-billed Steven Seagal. I liked the attempt, but the execution isn't foolproof.
'The Asian Connection' Synopsis: Two American expatriates, Jack and Sam, unwittingly steal a drug lord's money when they rob a series of banks in Southeast Asia and become the target of the gangster's vengeance.
'The Asian Connection' begins well, but the narrative falls short as its progresses. The characters appear lethargic, although the villain has his moments. Also, the pace is inconsistent. The Writing needed to be stronger, crisper. There was great potential here, but it only utilizes only half of it.
Daniel Zirilli's Direction is passable. Cinematography is standard. Editing lacks sharpness. Action-Sequences are very okay.
Performance-Wise: Steven Seagal is on a roll. 'The Asian Connection' is his 3rd release in a span of just a month, first Sniper: Special Ops, then Code of Honor & now this. He's seen in a negative role here & he does his best. Michael Jai White is wasted. John Edward Lee is a loose leading man. Byron Gibson is efficient. Sahajak Boonthanakit is ordinary.
On the whole, 'The Asian Connection' is fair.
'The Asian Connection' Synopsis: Two American expatriates, Jack and Sam, unwittingly steal a drug lord's money when they rob a series of banks in Southeast Asia and become the target of the gangster's vengeance.
'The Asian Connection' begins well, but the narrative falls short as its progresses. The characters appear lethargic, although the villain has his moments. Also, the pace is inconsistent. The Writing needed to be stronger, crisper. There was great potential here, but it only utilizes only half of it.
Daniel Zirilli's Direction is passable. Cinematography is standard. Editing lacks sharpness. Action-Sequences are very okay.
Performance-Wise: Steven Seagal is on a roll. 'The Asian Connection' is his 3rd release in a span of just a month, first Sniper: Special Ops, then Code of Honor & now this. He's seen in a negative role here & he does his best. Michael Jai White is wasted. John Edward Lee is a loose leading man. Byron Gibson is efficient. Sahajak Boonthanakit is ordinary.
On the whole, 'The Asian Connection' is fair.
Steven Seagal has done some good, or at least watchable, films. Particularly 'Under Siege'. He has also done a lot of mediocre and less films, indicative of laziness and that Seagal was well past his sell by date, and a good deal of them are even very bad.
'The Asian Connection' for me is down there with Seagal's worst. Did not expect much, but watched it because Seagal has shown signs that he can be halfway decent and as said not all his films are bad. Also do appreciate the action genre and there are good films out there in the genre, classics even. 'The Asian Connection' is far from that, more closer to a waste of time that shows little signs of trying.
Seagal, in a role smaller than the advertising lets on, himself gives another lazy and wooden performance that shows that he was not interested and wanted to be somewhere else. His reading-from-an-autocue-like and robotic line delivery in particular betrays that. The rest of the cast are just as poor though in all fairness have little to work with and over-compensate.
The characters are ones we know very little about and don't care what happens to happen, so unengaging and one-dimensional they are. The dialogue is risible, with a lot of cheesiness, awkwardness and far too much talk delivered with little emotion or momentum and bordering on the near-incomprehensible.
Its excessively talky nature affects severely the pacing, which never comes to life. There is no urgency, let alone tension, intrigue or suspense. The action doesn't feature enough in comparison and suffer from pedestrian choreography and laughably bad editing. The story is by-the-numbers, dull and not always easy to follow.
Direction is flat and ill-at ease, while the sound/soundtrack are one-note and obvious as well as poorly recorded and the whole film looks cheap. And it's not just the editing, the slapdash effects and drab photography also. The only okay asset here is the backdrop sadly wasted by the rest of the production values being awful.
Overall, a mess. 1/10 Bethany Cox
'The Asian Connection' for me is down there with Seagal's worst. Did not expect much, but watched it because Seagal has shown signs that he can be halfway decent and as said not all his films are bad. Also do appreciate the action genre and there are good films out there in the genre, classics even. 'The Asian Connection' is far from that, more closer to a waste of time that shows little signs of trying.
Seagal, in a role smaller than the advertising lets on, himself gives another lazy and wooden performance that shows that he was not interested and wanted to be somewhere else. His reading-from-an-autocue-like and robotic line delivery in particular betrays that. The rest of the cast are just as poor though in all fairness have little to work with and over-compensate.
The characters are ones we know very little about and don't care what happens to happen, so unengaging and one-dimensional they are. The dialogue is risible, with a lot of cheesiness, awkwardness and far too much talk delivered with little emotion or momentum and bordering on the near-incomprehensible.
Its excessively talky nature affects severely the pacing, which never comes to life. There is no urgency, let alone tension, intrigue or suspense. The action doesn't feature enough in comparison and suffer from pedestrian choreography and laughably bad editing. The story is by-the-numbers, dull and not always easy to follow.
Direction is flat and ill-at ease, while the sound/soundtrack are one-note and obvious as well as poorly recorded and the whole film looks cheap. And it's not just the editing, the slapdash effects and drab photography also. The only okay asset here is the backdrop sadly wasted by the rest of the production values being awful.
Overall, a mess. 1/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- Sep 19, 2018
- Permalink
This will be a cult classic purely on how bad it actually is.
Some of the worst acting you'll ever see. John Edward Lee; first off, who the hell is he? I've never seen a stiffer, unnatural and generic actor who thinks overacting will hide the fact he cannot act and has no natural bond with any of the other stiff actors. Pim Bubear is so cliche in her role, her lines and her overall performance, it's not worth talking about.
Seagal was just brilliant. Obese, old, slow and stupid, yet has the respect and fear of all those around him. His fight scenes are a thing of beauty, if you ignore that you never see below his shoulders where a fat, bloated body is hardly moving and cannot keep up with basic choreography. His comedic timing was on point where he was able to knock a professional MMA fighter out with a kick with so little power that it wouldn't score a goal from the goal line, and Seagal's physical inability to lift his leg higher than 1" off the ground. Or there was when Seagal flipped a table over in anger using so little power, you could clearly see if was inflated... but that's the joke, right?
If neither of those make you laugh, then the tacky one-liners after an action scene will give you stomach muscles a good workout. "Guess playing all those video games paid off?" "The fish is the most sentient of animals" Or the random droppings of F bombs by Seagal when there was no other swearing in the movie.
I guarentee this will be a cult classic in years to come due to the cliche plot, bad acting and all-round Steven Seagal presence turning an intended action movie into a cult comedy classic.
Some of the worst acting you'll ever see. John Edward Lee; first off, who the hell is he? I've never seen a stiffer, unnatural and generic actor who thinks overacting will hide the fact he cannot act and has no natural bond with any of the other stiff actors. Pim Bubear is so cliche in her role, her lines and her overall performance, it's not worth talking about.
Seagal was just brilliant. Obese, old, slow and stupid, yet has the respect and fear of all those around him. His fight scenes are a thing of beauty, if you ignore that you never see below his shoulders where a fat, bloated body is hardly moving and cannot keep up with basic choreography. His comedic timing was on point where he was able to knock a professional MMA fighter out with a kick with so little power that it wouldn't score a goal from the goal line, and Seagal's physical inability to lift his leg higher than 1" off the ground. Or there was when Seagal flipped a table over in anger using so little power, you could clearly see if was inflated... but that's the joke, right?
If neither of those make you laugh, then the tacky one-liners after an action scene will give you stomach muscles a good workout. "Guess playing all those video games paid off?" "The fish is the most sentient of animals" Or the random droppings of F bombs by Seagal when there was no other swearing in the movie.
I guarentee this will be a cult classic in years to come due to the cliche plot, bad acting and all-round Steven Seagal presence turning an intended action movie into a cult comedy classic.
- yorktown_hawk
- Jun 26, 2020
- Permalink
The biggest garbage i have ever seen.
Steven Seagal is awful the leading actor is awful. This movie is a total disaster.
The only good thing in this movie is that British guy with his accent.
Don't waste your time!
Don't waste your time!
- legrandcaelum
- Mar 17, 2019
- Permalink
An American action thriller; A story about two expatriates living in Thailand who go to Cambodia to steal a drug lord's money. The best thing about the film is the glowering nature of Steven Seagal who looks like an illegitimate son of "Dr No". The indeterminate nefariousness of his crime lord outfit is beguiling. Alas, the film has a very poor script and the characters are too feintly sketched for the viewer to get behind any of them. Nevertheless it does have a throughline of pure action and a good plot. It just has a look and feel of tackiness.
- shakercoola
- Sep 22, 2018
- Permalink
Steven Seagal is back in classic form in this rip-roaring, fly-by-the- seat-of-your-pants action suspense thrill ride!
The setting is good, the cast is better, and the action is unbelievable!
Seagal plays Gan Sirankiri, a Southeast Asian drug lord and complete badass. He has money, women, and power, and everyone knows he's the last person you want to mess with. If you cross Gan Sirankiri you end up dead, or worse...
In one of Seagals most believable and thrilling action performances of his career this is one film you don't want to miss... and remember: The beast is in the East.
The setting is good, the cast is better, and the action is unbelievable!
Seagal plays Gan Sirankiri, a Southeast Asian drug lord and complete badass. He has money, women, and power, and everyone knows he's the last person you want to mess with. If you cross Gan Sirankiri you end up dead, or worse...
In one of Seagals most believable and thrilling action performances of his career this is one film you don't want to miss... and remember: The beast is in the East.
The film was pretty good, not great, but an enjoyable watch. It's definitely a low budget endeavor but the backdrop of Thailand along with some solid directing and camera work pick ups some of the slack. It's a well-paced bank heist story with several interesting elements, including an inside man with bad blood for Seagal, and a unique "switching out" of heist partners about 2/3 of the way through. No over-the-top, "every 15 minutes a fight scene" action but instead it's more about suspense and nuggets of conflict where it supports the story.
Seagal has a different kind of role in this film. As the drug lord from who the two protagonists are stealing (several times, in fact), Seagal has mostly a speaking role with little martial arts included from him. He's not out saving the day but instead a bad guy getting jacked by thieves while also being double-crossed by one of his own men. Michael Jai White, on the other hand, has only one scene in the movie, and while he's a powerful presence, it's hardly worth his face on the cover.
Strongest character in my opinion was Niran, the inside man played by Sahajak Boonthanakit (Nicolas Refn's "Only God Forgives"). Very understated but nefarious, and a decent actor. The lead, John Lee Edward, not so much. His girlfriend, Pim Bubear, made up for Edward though with a comfortable, genuine ease to her performance that somewhat balanced out the pair.
Asian Connection offers an interesting blend of action and suspense from a story and characters you wouldn't expect. Definitely worth a watch.
Seagal has a different kind of role in this film. As the drug lord from who the two protagonists are stealing (several times, in fact), Seagal has mostly a speaking role with little martial arts included from him. He's not out saving the day but instead a bad guy getting jacked by thieves while also being double-crossed by one of his own men. Michael Jai White, on the other hand, has only one scene in the movie, and while he's a powerful presence, it's hardly worth his face on the cover.
Strongest character in my opinion was Niran, the inside man played by Sahajak Boonthanakit (Nicolas Refn's "Only God Forgives"). Very understated but nefarious, and a decent actor. The lead, John Lee Edward, not so much. His girlfriend, Pim Bubear, made up for Edward though with a comfortable, genuine ease to her performance that somewhat balanced out the pair.
Asian Connection offers an interesting blend of action and suspense from a story and characters you wouldn't expect. Definitely worth a watch.
- coryshpprd
- Jun 4, 2016
- Permalink
- Leofwine_draca
- Aug 20, 2018
- Permalink
Asian Connection (2016)
.
The gist of this pile of trash is two guys rob a bank and get away. A nasty bad guy (Seagal) is none too pleased about his money being stolen, send his right hand man to track them down and make them pay, instead he betrays Seagal and has them rob more banks, that hold his money!!
Seagal does not do much, except sit around whinging about his money being taken, don't fear though, he still has his awful scenes with much younger women.
I actually turned this one off. Life is too short for this tripe.
Seagal does not do much, except sit around whinging about his money being taken, don't fear though, he still has his awful scenes with much younger women.
I actually turned this one off. Life is too short for this tripe.
- slightlymad22
- Nov 22, 2019
- Permalink
Yet another Russian production made movie that's pure trash.
The acting is so bad it makes troll 2 look like a masterpiece.
Keep em' coming fattie... These movies are pure comedy
Keep em' coming fattie... These movies are pure comedy
- robbieadams1969
- Nov 4, 2020
- Permalink
If you want to see this because like me you saw Seagal on the poster larger than life, I got to tell you, Steven Seagal is not much of a fixture.
Seagal plays the antagonist, a crime lord that has taken over the Cambodian underground. A nobody named Jack robs a bank in order to give his hot girlfriend a fairy tale lifestyle, but discovers some of the money he stole belongs to the crime lord when his henchman comes to get it back, but the henchman has his own agenda when he blackmails Jack to rob banks that he selected. Than the story get complex.
It's a crime drama and a love story, similar to True Romance, filled with guns and crime.
If you've seen True Romance, Seagal's part in Asian Connection is similar too Christopher Walken's part in that, and it's an excellent place for the aging action hero.
Although from the look of the poster, I was expecting more action. Not just from Seagal but in general. Seagal does a few moves but nothing fancy, just enough to justify his pay check, The worse part however, is the spectacular Micheal Jai White makes an appearance in the movie that's nothing more than a glorified cameo, that makes people like me think it's gonna go down, but nothing that epic happens.
Don't let that discourage you from seeing the movie. Once I got over the disappointment of the b-action Star power being used to put this in limited release at my theater, I got an excellent crime filled love story that makes up for it.
Seagal plays the antagonist, a crime lord that has taken over the Cambodian underground. A nobody named Jack robs a bank in order to give his hot girlfriend a fairy tale lifestyle, but discovers some of the money he stole belongs to the crime lord when his henchman comes to get it back, but the henchman has his own agenda when he blackmails Jack to rob banks that he selected. Than the story get complex.
It's a crime drama and a love story, similar to True Romance, filled with guns and crime.
If you've seen True Romance, Seagal's part in Asian Connection is similar too Christopher Walken's part in that, and it's an excellent place for the aging action hero.
Although from the look of the poster, I was expecting more action. Not just from Seagal but in general. Seagal does a few moves but nothing fancy, just enough to justify his pay check, The worse part however, is the spectacular Micheal Jai White makes an appearance in the movie that's nothing more than a glorified cameo, that makes people like me think it's gonna go down, but nothing that epic happens.
Don't let that discourage you from seeing the movie. Once I got over the disappointment of the b-action Star power being used to put this in limited release at my theater, I got an excellent crime filled love story that makes up for it.
- subxerogravity
- May 15, 2016
- Permalink
- goku-42388
- Oct 25, 2020
- Permalink
This movie begins with a young man named "Jack Elwell" (John Edward Lee) and a beautiful woman by the name of "Avalon" (Pim Bubear) meeting on a tropical island and falling madly in love. They eventually move to Thailand where Jack and his best-friend "Sam" (Byron Gibson) then decide to get rich by robbing a bank in neighboring Cambodia. Although they successfully escape with the money, what they don't count on is the fact that most of it belonged to a powerful crime boss named "Gan Sirankiri" (Steven Seagal) who not only wants his money back but also wants the heads of the two thieves as well. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film had two good things going for it: beautiful scenery and an equally beautiful actress in Pim Bubear. Unfortunately, the role played by Steven Seagal was much too limited and none of the other actors seemed capable of carrying this film by themselves. At least, that is how it seemed to me. In any case, although this wasn't necessarily a bad movie by any means, it wasn't a great film either and I have rated it accordingly. Average.
Okay right off the bat. Steven Seagal cast himself in this movie as an Asian-American man. I was incredibility confused and had to google to see if I was wrong about him not being Asian at all. He is not.
Steven was in this movie for about 30 minutes. 20 of these minutes were sex scenes or weird lingering shots of him touching women.
I'm pretty sure this movie was only made as an excuse for him to sleep with women. It was very uncomfortable to watch.
Other than that the movie was shot pretty well, the plot around the main characters was passable, and honestly without Stevens presence could have been an okay movie. By my god was he weird. So so so weird.
Steven was in this movie for about 30 minutes. 20 of these minutes were sex scenes or weird lingering shots of him touching women.
I'm pretty sure this movie was only made as an excuse for him to sleep with women. It was very uncomfortable to watch.
Other than that the movie was shot pretty well, the plot around the main characters was passable, and honestly without Stevens presence could have been an okay movie. By my god was he weird. So so so weird.
- kagethemagetwitch
- Jun 23, 2022
- Permalink
An up-and-coming delivery monster aspires to become the world #1 toenail delivery gangster.
In an unconventional move first popularised in the nose-harvesters quadrilogy but since fading into obscurity, the film begins at the start of the film. The graphic portrayal of mild toenail addiction may be too close to the home bone for many, it certainly was for me so I had to immediately stop directing the film and burn all traces of it. But yes, I agree with you, this is something parallel in importance to the creation of the universe or the invention of sausage skin, so people do need to know about it, especially children of the stones.
The toenail delivery monster teams up with an angry British salamander whose name isn't important. Saint Tim Martin of the luncheon meat earwig crew makes a rare cameo in the 51st nanosecond of the film. His racist mumblings are not for everyone, granted, but you can't deny that they they are integral to the first 20nanoseconds of the plot - this is a subtle nod towards Seagal's previous life as the Drink Up Please man in Wetherspoons. It was a brave move for Seagal to star only as the nose flaps in his iconic trotting heritage glasses. But it really did pay off! You did it again, Spielberg!!
The toenail delivery monster teams up with an angry British salamander whose name isn't important. Saint Tim Martin of the luncheon meat earwig crew makes a rare cameo in the 51st nanosecond of the film. His racist mumblings are not for everyone, granted, but you can't deny that they they are integral to the first 20nanoseconds of the plot - this is a subtle nod towards Seagal's previous life as the Drink Up Please man in Wetherspoons. It was a brave move for Seagal to star only as the nose flaps in his iconic trotting heritage glasses. But it really did pay off! You did it again, Spielberg!!
- richsonrichardson
- Jul 18, 2020
- Permalink
- adgloride-440-642480
- Aug 23, 2017
- Permalink
Director Daniel Zirilli has created an action packed film that delivers on many levels. The poignant relationship between lead players, intertwined with the brutal drug lord Steven Seagal portrays, kept me involved in this international action film that is masterfully executed. Zirilli has a keen sense of direction not only for action, but also stunning aerial shots, and genuine performances that put Asian Connection in the same league as "Goodfellas" and "Die Hard". If you want a fun evening of action entertainment with a strong storyline....this is it.
- dhorgan100
- Mar 17, 2017
- Permalink