DVD Reviews

The Keeper – DVD Review

By Jeff Swindoll Mar 7, 2010, 15:55 GMT

Steven Seagal (Driven to Kill) unleashes his wrath – and his fists – in this fast-paced thriller about an ex-cop caught in a web of deceit, racism and murder. Full of high-octane stunts and eye-popping action, The Keeper is a nonstop adrenaline rush!Double-crossed by his rogue partner and forced to retire, Los Angeles street cop Rolland Sallinger (Seagal) accepts a gig guarding the beautiful daughter of a wealthy businessman. But ...more

“I’ve seen you do sh*t that’s beyond belief.”  Well those days have come and gone in the career of Steven Seagal.  He may be poised to make a comeback, but its no thanks to derivative action films like this one.  He only has himself to blame since his fingerprints are all over the Keeper.  

Roland Sallinger (Steven Seagal) is a L.A. cop on the beat for twenty years.  He’s forced into retirement when he gets shot on a drug bust.  Since he’s Steven Seagal he pulls through from some pretty dire wounds and takes revenge on the shooter.  He’s not happy about his forced retirement though and he mopes around his place while he heals (in Seagal time so it looks like a couple of hours). 

He’s moping around his apartment when his old friend and partner Conner Wells (Stephen Duvall) calls.  Wells is a wealthy Texan whose daughter Nikita (Liezl Carstens) was the subject of a kidnap attempt.  Her bodyguard was killed in that incident and Wells wants his old friend to be in charge of her security. 

She’s dating Wells’ boxing protégé Mason (Arron Shiver) and Wells is also facing some conflict from local gangster Jason Cross (Luce Rains), but when Sallinger rolls into San Antonio the body count at the Alamo will look tame in comparison.  

Keeper?  Nah, throw it back.  Been there, done that.  Seagal has done this kind of film in his sleep, so there’s nothing new to see here, please move along.  I will admit that it was fun seeing Seagal do his thing and kick some ass, but when he’s done doing it he seems a bit winded. 

Not only does he star in the Keeper, but he also wrote it and produced it.  It hits all the familiar bits that you’ve come to see in these types of films.  His show on A&E seems to be generating some buzz for the aging action star and he’s even got a role in Robert Rodriquez’s upcoming film Machete.  It’s interesting how some 80s action stars have been seeing a bit of a career revival of late. 

Those factors might help Seagal, but the Keeper is not going to do him any favors.  He still has a slight swagger and a bit of Zen cool, but the film is cheap and uninspiring. 

We hit the usual highlights: Scummy boyfriend is chasing every skirt put in front of him but main character girlfriend still dates him, Scummy boyfriend is more involved with kidnapping plot than its thought, Buddy calls in ass-kicking old pal, local mobster is after item that same buddy has possession of instigating kidnapping of child/wife/person close to buddy, and then ass-kicking pal has to swagger in and save the day.  Throw in some terrible dialogue and these things just write themselves.  

The Keeper is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.  The only thing close to special features are the previews that play when you put in the disc (you can’t get to them from the barely there menu).  

I wish Seagal well in his career resurgence and maybe the press of Machete and his Lawman show will get him better work, but the Keeper is direct-to-video dreck that sunk his career in the first place.

Visit the DVD database for more information.