
DATE: Saturday, September 13, 1997          TAG: 9709120046

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E6   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: MOVIE REVIEW

SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC 

                                            LENGTH:   61 lines

DON'T EXPECT MUCH FROM SEAGAL FILM

IN THE NEW COMEDY ``In & Out'' (opening Friday), there is a scene in which an Oscar presenter reads the name of Steven Seagal as a nominee for his performance in a make-believe film called ``When Hell Freezes Over.'' It gets one of the biggest laughs in the movie. If you think it's a cruel joke and that Seagal should perhaps sue for defamation, take a look at ``Fire Down Below,'' his latest non-acting display.

``Fire Down Below'' is so outright illogical that it insults the cause it purports to support - environmental control. At the same time, it insults good country folk who are depicted as ignorant louts who need an outsider to come into the hills to guide them.

Seagal's acting range goes from surly whispers to foreboding frowns. Witness, for example, the scene in which he finds poor Harry Dean Stanton beaten half to death. His reaction resembles that of a sleepwalker on valium.

For the most part Seagal, who looks as if he's been woofing down heaps of cornpone, moves pretty slowly. That is, except for the fight scenes, during which he easily floors as many as seven bad ol' country boys at a time. The same fight scene is repeated three times in ``Fire Down Below'' and each time the editing is so choppy that it is clear Seagal isn't really doing much.

``Fire Down Below,'' which should not be confused with the 1957 film of the same title (starring Rita Hayworth, Robert Mitchum and Jack Lemmon), is supposedly a statement against toxic waste dumping. Kris Kristofferson plays the billionaire bad guy who is hauling the toxic stuff up into coal mines in the hills, where it is killing the fish.

A recurring theme in movies' frantic search to find new villains to replace the Russians is that apparently everyone who makes more than $100,000 a year is inherently evil.

The cast is sprinkled with country singers, including Randy Travis as a fast-drawing phony fed. But only Stanton, a weathered screen presence who is also currently on view in the superior ``She's So Lovely,'' gets an on-screen singing showcase. Go figure!

Seagal, remarkably, seems to have survived even though his genre of superhero action films have gone out of vogue with the aging of Chuck Norris (who has been relegated to TV) and even Arnold. Hollywood is currently trying out more vulnerable guys, such as Nicolas Cage and John Travolta, in action films. But a Seagal film is still a rite of autumn - something to reach the targeted audience in early September when the big summer competition has faded.

There is one aspect of ``Fire Down Below,'' though, that is awesome. This is the photography of the Kentucky mountains. If only the rest of the movie would get out of the way, we could revel in the scenery. ILLUSTRATION: MICHAEL WEINSTEIN/Warner Bros.

Steven Seagal stars in the action film ``Fire Down Below.''

MOVIE REVIEW

``Fire Down Below''

Cast: Steven Seagal, Kris Kristofferson, Randy Travis, Harry Dean

Stanton

Director: Felix Alcala

MPAA rating: R (cartoonish violence, some language)

Mal's rating: *1/2