The Glimmer Man (1996)

Pretty Good

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

While "The Glimmer Man" isn't any outstanding action movie, I will say that it is still worth watching if you enjoy Steven Seagal movies. That being said, then it should also be said that it is a fairly average Seagal movie in every sense of the phrase. It is one of those mass produced action movies that most action stars tend to settle into doing, you know finding a formula that works and milking it beyond dry.Story-wise then "The Glimmer Man" is your stereotypical Seagal movie. Yep, he is an ex-something-something now turned law man and taking on the seedy underworld singlehandedly.You know what you get here; the usual Seagal martial arts, wits and punchlines. Yes, it is all here, and the obligatory broken arm as well. And true to most other Seagal movies he is untouchable, except for a single blow that gets through and strikes him. Indeed, business as usual.Having Seagal act opposite Keenen Ivory Wayans, well I had some initial reservation to this, as I thought it would be comedy in the trademark Wayans fashion. But luckily Keenen proved to surprise and did actual acting and no do comedy."The Glimmer Man" is enjoyable enough for what it is, and bear in mind that it is a Seagal movie after all.

Released in 1996, "The Glimmer Man" is a cop thriller starring Steven Seagal and Keenen Ivory Wayans as a detective team in Los Angeles, the former recently transferring from New York City. As they get to know each other they're simultaneously tracking a serial killer called "the family man" who kills whole families and crucifies his (or her) victims on the walls. Will they catch the killer and who is it? This is a competent buddy cop thriller in the mold of the Dirty Harry flicks, the Lethal Weapon films and even "Se7en," but with Seagal and Wayans. If you like those films and Seagal or Wayans you might want to check this out. The movie's decent with a few quality Seagal fight sequences, but something holds it back from greatness, like the Dirty Harry flicks. The serial killer who crucifies his victims on the walls seriously stretches realism. How exactly does he lift the victims up on the wall to stake their hands into it? Wouldn't that take a lot of extra time after murdering a family? What about the noise? Would a killer seriously stick around to do this? I just didn't like the complexities and contrivances of the serial killer subplot, particularly as it developed in the final act. Moreover, the constantly raining weather of dead-of-Winter Los Angeles makes for a gloomy cinematic palate. However, everything else clicks for a quality cop thriller, except that there are no prominent female roles.The movie runs 91 minutes and was shot in Los Angeles.GRADE: C+

The Glimmer Man is a little gem, and it's unlike, any other film our bad lead has done. And that's a cool quality about this must see action action vehicle, with a much interesting plot set around the more than one killer scenario, though it's Steve, again doing more physical damage to other humans. Seagal, a cop of course, is assigned to a a great sidekick and co star, Keenon Ivory Wayans (really, you couldn't got a better duo and they work off each other) where they investigate these ritualistic murders, where there's more to it, but I'm not gonna spoil it. Seagal's past just comes back to haunt him, and when his ex wife are killed. Of course, here it becomes personal, but Seagal's character shows much more restraint, somehow, until the revenge finale at the end, where Seagal squaring off, with that tall lanky, bad dude, provides one of the best revenge moments ever encountered, where I'd probably say it's my favorite. If you're a Seagal action fan, and you haven't seen this, you need a good walloping. It has thrilling action and humor. In the acting stakes, Seagal is really surpassed this time by real thespians, (Brian Cox and Bob Gunton) where Wayons is pretty good too. Don't miss this one on any account. I wish they'd really make credit/bank cards like that. Robberies would really go down.

Imagine Lethal Weapon and all your other favorite buddy cop movies, but without the humor, charisma, heart, originality, big-budget, huge action scenes and actors that have chemistry together… Oh, wait, you've seen The Glimmer Man, too?There is a plot here, a straight line, something that was originally pitched, but I failed to see any of that. I guess this was an excuse to get a man (Seagal) who was mere inches away from blowing up (and not in a good way) before he involuntarily retired from "acting" to pair with the least famous Wayans brother as his zany sidekick.Only, he really wasn't that zany, and Seagal wasn't that action packed. Or so he would tell us. Repeatedly.Let's dive into what they called a plot: There's this serial killer on the loose and another group who, I guess pretend to be him, or something like that and there's corrupt cops and some testicle-dust that helps one of our heroes…I'll be honest: it's been about a month and a half since I've seen this for the one and only time. I only watched it as it's my mission to conquer all the movies I haven't seen that the How Did This Get Made? podcast "reviewed." I'll be further honest: I didn't hate on this movie. Sure, it wasn't perfect, but maybe there was a good movie somewhere in this mess and the action by just-on-the-edge Seagal was somewhat fun. Wayans not so much, but I've enjoyed his other (behind-the-camera) films a ton more. So, he's forgiven.This movie was truly a mess and not recommended. Only if you wanna partake in the same challenge I gave myself: watching all the How Did This Get Made? podcast films so you can enjoy their take.* * * Final thoughts: Casablanca deserves better homage.