From Under Siege to Half Past Dead, Steven Seagal has been entertaining action movie fans for decades. But what are the best Steven Seagal movies?
Summary
- Steven Seagal rose to fame in the '80s and '90s as a B-grade action movie star, starring in iconic films in the genre.
- While not all of Seagal's movies are classics, the best include Under Siege, Fire Down Below, and The Glimmer Man.
- Seagal's later career saw him take on roles in direct-to-video releases, but his movies still offered impressive fight scenes and thrilling action.
If the '80s were known for anything, it was the rise of the B-grade action movie to theatrical blockbuster status, and the best Steven Seagal movies are great examples of this trend. From the best in Die Hard and Lethal Weapon to the quickie action flicks with names like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, and Steven Seagal, there was something for everyone who loved mindless action movies. The master of aikido, which was unique for action movies at the time, Seagal starred in everything from revenge flicks to cop movies to prison movies, before taking on the real-life role as a practicing Buddhist and a part-time law enforcement officer.
Steven Seagal remains in the public eye even though he is no longer a bankable movie star. Yet several DTV movies and a reality TV show, Seagal remains an iconic B-movie action star. While only a few of his movies stand up as classics in the action movie genre, with Under Siege as the most popular of his starring roles, there are more Steven Seagal movies out there than most fans might expect, with plenty to seek out for those wanting to see more of the aikido practicing action hero beating up bad guys and saving the world from terrorists, gangsters, and bullies alike.
15 The Keeper (2009)
- Available to buy on Microsoft
The Keeper was a 2009 Steven Seagal movie where he teamed with director Keoni Waxman, a partnership that would last for a long time afterward. As a matter of fact, they made nine films together, and Waxman was part of Seagal's TV series, True Justice. This movie starred Seagal as a grizzled L.A. cop whose partner shoots him when he refuses to steal some money from a drug bust. He was forced into retirement but then finds himself back in action when some people kidnap an old friend's daughter. It falls short of the best Steven Seagal movies but is one of his better later career releases.
14 Fire Down Below (1997)
- Available to rent on Apple TV & Prime Video
Fire Down Below has a strange connection to the world of country music, as names like Randy Travis, Marty Stuart, Travis Tritt, Kris Kristofferson, and more appeared in the movie. Toxins are dumped into mines, causing a lot of damage to the environment in Kentucky, but no one can stop it. Seagal is an EPA CID agent named Jack Taggert sent in to investigate after a previous agent ended up dead, and he goes undercover to bring down the operation. This was the last theatrical release for Seagal for five years and it features some of Seagal's funniest quotes ever.
13 The Glimmer Man (1996)
- Available to rent on Apple TV & Prime Video
While it sounds like a comic book movie, The Glimmer Man is just another Steven Seagal movie where he plays a cop. In this one, he is a former government agent known as The Glimmer Man, who now works as a detective for the LAPD. Keenan Ivory Wayans plays his partner, a no-nonsense cop, and they set out to try to stop a serial killer known as The Family Man - because he kills entire families. When the latest victim is The Glimmer Man's ex-wife, things get personal. It also contains some of Seagal's impressive martial arts action and is still a favorite for his fans.
12 Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995)
- Available to rent on Vudu
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory is, as the title suggests, the sequel to Under Siege, one of the most beloved Steven Seagal movies. This movie follows the tradition set by Die Hard and Speed, as it takes the idea from the first movie (on a battleship) and moves it to a different vehicle (a train), just changing the location, but keeping the story mostly the same. There is no one here who can match up to Tommy Lee Jones's performance from the first Steven Seagal movie, but Under Siege 2: Dark Territory does get credit for bringing in the always-great Kurtwood Smith.
11 Executive Decision (1996)
- Available to rent on Apple TV & Prime Video
Executive Decision was similar to Scream in that it shocked the audience early on. In Scream, Drew Barrymore appeared in the first scene and viewers figured an actress as important as her would be a big part of this movie. Then she died. Executive Decision did that. Steven Seagal is Lieutenant Colonel Austin Travis of the U.S. Army, a man sent to recover an airplane when terrorists take over the flight. However, while Travis was leading the team in, he sacrificed himself and died early in the mission, leaving Kurt Russell's Army Intelligence officer to save the day.
10 Half Past Dead (2002)
- Available to stream on DirecTV
In Half Past Dead, Steven Seagal plays a man who was arrested and imprisoned because a guy he was with (Ja Rule) started shooting at FBI agents. He is sent to a super jail on Alcatraz and ends up in a fight for his life when the jail is attacked by people looking for gold. This was a theatrical release and stands up there with a movie like The Rock but falls a bit short of that film's brilliance. With that said, there are a lot of Seagal fight scenes. While one of Steven Seagal's best movies in his later career, this was also the release that sent him exclusively to DTV after this.
9 Exit Wounds (2001)
- Available to rent on Apple TV & Prime Video
In Exit Wounds, Steven Seagal is a cop who doesn't just bend the rules to stop the bad guys, he shatters them and then finds new ones to break just for fun. He doesn't just go around busting up bad guys, but he also has a reason not to trust his fellow police officers. When he learns there is a giant conspiracy behind an assassination attempt, he partners up with a gangster (rap star DMX) to solve the mystery, take out the bad guys, and save the day. The movie was the last of the best Steven Seagal movies to have a great box office with a soundtrack that hit the eighth spot on the Billboard charts.
8 On Deadly Ground (1994)
- Available to rent on Apple TV & Prime Video
On Deadly Ground was a strange movie for Steven Seagal at the time. The man was normally a former or current cop who set out to kick anyone's butt who got in his way -- and that is when he isn't killing every bad guy who looked at him wrong. In this movie, he is more concerned with the environment and protecting the Earth. When he speaks up about the damage the corporation he works for has done to the Earth, they frame him for a crime he didn't commit. This also happens to be one of the Steven Seagal movies that he directed himself. The message is heavy-handed, but there is a great cast as well as some of Steven Seagal's best fight scenes.
7 Urban Justice (2007)
- Available to rent on Apple TV & Prime Video
When it comes to the best Steven Seagal movies, Urban Justice might be the best-looking and most impressive of his direct-to-video releases. In the movie, he plays a father investigating the murder of his son, who was a police officer. He tears through the L.A. gangs in the neighborhood where it happened. However, once he learns that the gang members were not responsible, he sets his eyes on the police officers who might be covering up the truth. Eddie Griffin co-starred and was good, but the action in this movie is all worthy of his big-screen efforts, with car chases, shootouts, and Seagal's trademark fight scenes.
6 Machete (2010)
- Available to stream on Tubi & Sling
While he is not the star of Machete, Steven Seagal went against type here. In Machete, Robert Rodriguez directed a pure exploitation film with Danny Trejo starring as the title character, destroying everyone who crosses him. Since Trejo, who has been in many movies with Seagal in the past, gets to play the hero, this gives Seagal the chance to be a scene-chewing villain - a rarity for the action star. It also gave him a chance to get on the big screen again for the first time in eight years. Seagal is a former Federal who kills Machete's wife and ends up on the other end of the revenge plot.
5 Out For Justice (1991)
- Available to rent on Apple TV & Prime Video
In Out for Justice, Steven Seagal is a police officer named Gino Felino whose partner was gunned down in the streets, while his family watched, by a bad guy played by William Forsythe. As a result, Gino sets out to hunt this man down and get revenge but finds a ton of secondary bad guys standing in his way.
There are lots of people around for Steven Seagal to beat up and/or kill until he is finally able to exact justice on his partner's killer. One of the best Steven Seagal movies, it also contains one of Seagal's most brutal kills in the pool hall scene. It is one of the best fight scenes in any action movie.
4 Hard To Kill (1990)
- Available to stream on Fubo
In Hard to Kill, Steven Seagal is a police detective named Mason Storm who gets evidence against a mafia meeting. Sadly, there are corrupt cops on his team and he ends up attacked by the bad guys, who shoot him and kill his wife. He ends up living but is in a coma for seven years. When he comes out of the coma, a nurse (Kelly LeBrock) helps him escape when the hit squad returns to finish the job. They find some training techniques to help his muscles regain their strength. The only person in the force he can trust gets him weapons, and he kills everyone responsible. This was only Seagal's second movie and continued his rise to stardom.
3 Marked For Death (1990)
- Available to stream on Max
Marked for Death sees Steven Seagal portraying a cop named John Hatcher who retires after a mission in Mexico goes bad, and his partner is killed. However, when he returns to his hometown to settle down, he discovers it is the center of a gang war. While he wants nothing to do with it, after his niece is shot, he changes his mind. This movie is nothing but action -- with shootouts, car chases, brutal hand-to-hand fight scenes, great one-liners, and an amazing villain. The final fight is possibly the best in any Seagal movie. The plot is similar to Walking Tall, but this is pure action and is one of the best Steven Seagal movies of the '90s.
2 Above The Law (1988)
- Available to stream on Sling
Not only is Above the Law the movie that introduced the world to Steven Seagal but it was also written by Seagal, something that wouldn't happen again for 17 years. Rumors have it that he was asked to star in the movie by a former Aikido student who believed he could make anyone a movie star -- and he was right in this case. Seagal is a former CIA agent, a master in Aikido, and a man whose family has mafia ties, who now works as a cop. When he learns that a corrupt CIA kill squad targeted a Senator, he sets out to stop them, and based on this description, it's easy to imagine what happens next in one of Steven Seagal's best movies.
1 Under Siege (1992)
- Available to rent on Apple TV & Prime Video
Under Siege is possibly Steven Seagal's most famous action movie. He is Casey Ryback, a chef aboard a battleship. Soon, a group of men board the ship and take over. The main villain is Tommy Lee Jones, like audiences had never seen him before. The movie has a good mix of crazy fight scenes, brutal kills, and humor, some of which is thanks to his interactions with a female sidekick in Erika Eleniak. What puts this over the top as the best Steven Seagal movie are the bad guys, with Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey battling on who steals the most scenes.
