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.

"The Glimmer Man" is a strange cop movie. Not only is the plot very strange but the leading man...now he IS strange!

A bizarre serial killer has been loose in Los Angeles. He kills folks and then crucifies them, Jesus-style...all because God apparently tells him to do so! A New York cop, Detective Cole (Steven Segal),has experience with such matters, as he's a cop with a strange mystical background. Odder, he dresses anything but like a cop...with a golden Nehru-style dragon jacket in one part of the film and an American Indian style jacket in another. And, in true Segal fashion he mumbles a lot and kicks a lot of butt. However, he's not alone as he's been given a partner (Keenan Ivory Wayans)...and his partner seems really baffled at his odd-ball partner!

Through the course of the investigation, it slowly becomes apparent that there is a madman....and some mobsters are copying this style of killing as well. And, to try to throw Cole off the case, they kill the cop's ex-wife and husband...and plant evidence on the bodies to implicate Cole. This unleashes the maniac in Cole...and he is going to stop at nothing to bring everyone to justice.

While the script and Segal's character are both truly bizarre, the film has a lot going for it for action film fans. There are several scenes that are among the best action scenes you can find anywhere. The scene where Cole saves a suicidal man as well as the bar scene are simply genius in their execution. Segal, whether you like his acting or not, is incredible in these scenes earlier in his career...later, he just seemed more like a caricature in some of his films (and, strangely, has begun looking more and more like Bela Lugosi).

Overall, a film with some weird and dumb elements...but the action is so amazing that you can easily turn off your brain and just enjoy it for what it is. Great for Segal fans and still pretty good for everyone else.

Steven Seagal went back to his roots with this action thriller, which harks back to his early work, much of which was city-bound and also dealt with conspiracies and violence on the 'mean' streets (his acting debut, NICO: ABOVE THE LAW, in particular). In fact, this film is quite surprising, as Seagal had apparently turned into an ex-military guy who killed hundreds of baddies and set traps to kill people, but not so in this film. Here he's a cop with a suspicious past, which even leads to him being blamed for a series of murders (a first, Seagal is usually the 100% clean good guy). Of course, we all know he's a goodie after all and he shows this by exposing police corruption all around, and beating up a healthy number of bad guys.

The film is refreshingly free of the environmental stuff that Seagal has insisted on dolloping in his 1990s actioners (ON DEADLY GROUND being the worst offender). However, he's cast as a Buddhist in this film, and someone who dislikes resorting to violence (although, as you might be able to guess, it's not long before he does). What makes this film different from Seagal's other work is the relatively complex plot, which twists everywhere so that you don't know who's killing who. Thankfully, everything sorts itself out after half-an-hour of this headache inducing stuff.

Another difference is that this time, Seagal has a partner (and it's not some woman who hides in the background either). Keenen Ivory Wayans is likable and friendly as a homicide cop, and he's not a bad fighter either. There's a brilliant fight in Wayans' apartment which ends with him being blown out of his window by a gas explosion! Seagal basically plays himself again (what else but the whispering hard man?),but he's even cooler and smarter this time around, always one step ahead of the enemy. The rest of the cast give solid support too, especially the believable killers (who turn out to be just doing their jobs). This time around, the killer is a sadistic serial killer too, something which brings back shades of OUT FOR JUSTICE.

A Seagal film wouldn't be a Seagal film without some violent fight scenes, and this film doesn't disappoint. While there aren't a great deal of enemies for Seagal to fight in this film, the ones there are always team up, so there are some fast moments with Seagal killing loads of people at once. Expect lots of smashing windows and tables too, as Seagal chucks people around and breaks the odd arm or two (what a surprise!). He even has a trick up his sleeve in the form of a credit card with a razor blade, which he uses to kill three men in one extremely cool scene.

Other show stoppers include Seagal rolling out of the back window of an upside down car, and the final fight between him and the main baddie, which is one of his best. There's quite a bit of blood in this fight, and even Seagal gets whacked on the nose and bleeds (a rare occasion, for someone to land a punch on Seagal). It's definitely a climax worth waiting for. With a higher humour content than before (mostly in the form of Wayans),a plot which actually requires you to think, and the expected action and fight scenes, THE GLIMMER MAN is nothing amazing but it's solid entertainment and a bit better than some other action films of today.