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Hard to Kill poster

Hard to Kill

97 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Steven Seagal Mason Storm
Kelly LeBrock Andy Stewart
William Sadler Vernon Trent
Frederick Coffin Kevin O’Malley
Bonnie Burroughs Felicia Storm
Andrew Bloch Dan Hulland
Branscombe Richmond Max Quentero
Charles Boswell Jack Axel
Dean Norris Goodhart
Zachary Rosencrantz Sonny Storm
Lou Beatty Jr. Carl Becker
Stanley Brock Counterman

Hard to Kill | The Rewatchables

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Roger Ebert's review

Rating not yet verified
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:21:56Read transcript
  • The hosts say Ebert did not review Hard to Kill; a recalled two-and-a-half-star score refers to Above the Law, not this film.

Casting What-Ifs

None found

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:17Read transcript
  • No researched casting alternatives are offered; LeBrock’s participation as a favor and negative later assessment are recalled.

Recasting Couch

Tom Brady as Storm; John Ashton as O’Malley; Sharon Stone as nurse; Paul Gleason as Trent

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:27Read transcript
  • A modern remake needs unintentional comedy: Tatum and Wahlberg are conventional options, but an athlete version with Brady, his wife and son is the dream.
  • Ashton is proposed for 1990 O’Malley after Beverly Hills Cop II and Midnight Run, bringing credibility and humor.
  • Stone is favored for LeBrock’s role, with Sciorra, Moore, Thiessen, Locklear, Thomas and Graham considered amid age, fame and budget objections.
  • Gleason is the alternative Trent for his beloved antagonistic persona in The Breakfast Club and Die Hard.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Director dispute; studio cuts; alternate ending; Seagal anecdotes

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:56Read transcript
  • Seagal reportedly disparaged director Bruce Malmuth and complained about editing and action scenes.
  • The studio reportedly cut toward 95 minutes for additional screenings: family amusement-park opening, nurse interrogation and death, longer son kidnapping, and O’Malley funeral were removed.
  • An alternate ending reportedly killed Trent with another bank line; both hosts prefer that to arrest.
  • Seagal reportedly broke Connery’s wrist while teaching martial arts, collected guitars and swords, and leveraged Under Siege II participation for On Deadly Ground directing.
  • An account of overlapping marriages is recalled as a complicated sequence involving an unfinished divorce, annulment and LeBrock’s pregnancy.
  • Reports of deliberately striking stunt performers, short working days and allegations from Forsythe and Leguizamo are recounted as claims about on-set behavior.
  • A claimed CIA-advisor background is treated uncertainly, and a reported broken nose inflicted by Henry Silva on Above the Law closes the research.

Picking Nits

Accents; back acupuncture; car exchange; coma recovery; absent medical equipment; inconsistent strength

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:17:52Read transcript
  • Chicago and Pittsburgh accents seem misplaced in Los Angeles; the camera handling has already been criticized.
  • Placing acupuncture needles in the middle of his own back seems impossible, unless chopsticks or help from the nurse explain it.
  • The nurse’s sustained sexual interest in a long-term coma patient again strikes the hosts as grotesque.
  • Exchanging a bullet-riddled Jeep directly for another car ignores obvious evidence of violence, theft risk and the lack of money.
  • A seven-year coma followed by swift physical recovery is implausible, as is the absence of expected medical equipment; the hosts are uncertain about specific bodily-care requirements.
  • Immediately propelling the hospital stretcher conflicts with subsequently bench-pressing only an empty bar.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Missing sequels; destroyed borrowed house; Trent’s teeth

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:23:05Read transcript
  • The absence of Harder to Kill, Hardest to Kill and Impossible to Kill sequels is questioned, with Friday’s sequel titles as a comparison.
  • The borrowed Ojai house suffers extraordinary destruction, corpses and escaped horses; its owner’s reaction and the nurse’s commute are imagined.
  • Ramming a rifle into Trent’s mouth should break many teeth; a fleeting shot may show a broken-tooth prosthetic, but the observation remains uncertain.