Despite Steven Seagal having made a ton of movies over the decades, this movie is the first of his I've ever seen. And, I have a suggestion that you will likely find helpful....use the closed captions if you see it on DVD or Netflix. Seagal is a mumbly actor...and I had to struggle to understand all of his dialog. This is NOT an attack on him...just an observation from a middle-aged guy who is a bit hard of hearing. But now that I think about it...his delivery is a bit annoying and it was simply terrible.

The plot to "Contract to Kill" seemed both confusing and filled with a lot of cliches. Seagal plays an ex-CIA/DEA agent who assembles a team of three to take down an entire terrorist scheme! It seems that another ex-CIA guy is planning on activating a bunch of terrorist cells in the USA and he's working with drug cartels to bring it off. Whatever....it just seems like a pretect to do a whole lot of shooting, killing and bone-breaking...all during which Seagal somehow doesn't emote at all and mumbles. Particularly memorable is the long dialog with the bossman before the final boss battle....where he just talks and talks and talks. I also loved how Seagal would drive his car down twisty roads in a city...and never hit or got hit by anyone as he speeds through stop signs! And, how the baddies had guns but somehow were easily defeated by just some close-quarters martial arts.

As I've never seen another Seagal movie, I am naive. Perhaps in his earlier films (before he got too old for this) he actually KICKED someone....here he just uses a lot of wrist holds and punches. It's high quality martial arts...but also so limited that it felt silly....sort of like Martial arts from the waist up. The only kicks I remember were from his team members.

Overall, a silly film which simply provides a vehicle for a lot of violence. Not much depth here and not for anyone wanting anything approaching a good movie.

Steven Seagal has done some good, or at least watchable, films. Particularly 'Under Siege'. He has also done a lot of mediocre and less films, indicative of laziness and that Seagal was well past his sell by date, and a good deal of them are even very bad.

'Contract to Kill' is one of the very bad ones. Awful even, and for me if ranking Seagal's filmography from best to worst it would be towards the bottom. Did not expect much, but watched it because Seagal has shown signs that he can be halfway decent and as said not all his films are bad. Also do appreciate the action genre and there are good films out there in the genre, classics even. 'Contract to Kill' is far from that, more closer to a waste of time that shows little signs of trying.

Seagal himself gives another lazy and wooden performance that shows that he was not interested and wanted to be somewhere else. His reading-from-an-autocue-like and robotic line delivery in particular betrays that. The rest of the cast are just as poor though in all fairness have little to work with.

The characters are ones we know very little about and don't care what happens to happen, so unengaging and one-dimensional they are. The dialogue is risible, with a lot of cheesiness, awkwardness and far too much talk delivered with little emotion or momentum and bordering on the near-incomprehensible.

Its excessively talky nature affects severely the pacing, which never comes to life. There is no urgency, let alone tension, intrigue or suspense. The action doesn't feature enough in comparison and suffer from pedestrian choreography and bacon-slicer-like editing. The story is by-the-numbers, dull and not always easy to follow.

Direction is flat and ill-at ease, while the sound/soundtrack are one-note and obvious as well as poorly recorded and the whole film looks cheap. And it's not just the editing, the slapdash special effects, drab photography and laughably bad green screen (that was too obvious and jarring) are just as bad.

Hate to say it, but to me nothing works in 'Contract to Kill' and it is an awful mess in every way. 1/10 Bethany Cox

Well Movie Is Not Well Edited I Understand It's B-Class Steven Seagal Is Kinda Lazy and all That, But It Doesn't Make Movie Lazy or Action It's Noting Like Slow Action or Seagal Can't Do Fight Scenes, He Actually Did His Own Fight Scenes In This Movie, Some of Movies I Can Tell He Is Lazy, Doesn't Do His Fight Scenes Like In His character seems like an off-shoot of Jonathan Cold (more 'The Foreigner' than 'Black Dawn' though) Even That Was Worser Then This Movie Believe Me. This Movie Went Very Well I Actually Enjoyed It Was Very Non Stop Action In Movie But CGI Scenes Are Not Well Made Doesn't Mean Movie Is Bad. I Would Say It's Better Then Code Of Honor. Keoni Waxman Looks Like Director really Enjoys Working for Seagal. Now Keoni Waxman Has Worked Few Projects With Steven Seagal The Keeper, Dangerous Man, True Justice TV Series, Maximum Conviction, Force of Execution, A Good Man, Mercenary: Absolution,Cartels AKA Killing Salazar, End of Gun, Now This Jeez WOW Kenoi Waxman Has A Good Relationship with Steven Seagal and they like working together, It's Funny Seagal Has Worked with Keoni Waxman A Lot More Movies Then Any another Directors he worked in past.

(Steven Seagal) John Harmon Is a He Is A Retired CIA/DEA Enforcers lured back into taking out an Islamic terrorist, who is brokering a deal with Mexican Gangsters in Istanbul (?) for safe passage into the U.S. in order to activate (previously planted) 'cells', John Harmon investigating Arab terrorists captured in Mexico. With his Team - Seductive FBI Agent Zara (Jemma Dallender) I Spit On Your Grave 2 and Spy-Drone Pilot Matthew Sharp Romeo Must Die (Russell Wong ) He Has Spy Gadgets Similar to Mission Impossible. They Fly To Istanbul and Uncovers a Brutal. plot: Islamic extremists plan to use Sonora drug-smuggling routes to bring deadly weapons, and leaders, into the U.S. To prevent an attack on America, Harmon must Stop It Before It's Too Late. I Thought Characters Like Harmon, Zara, Matthew Is Great In Movie I Thought Zara Was Pretty Beautiful nice looking badass girl I Love Her Character. I Just Love Strong Female Roles I Really Do. and Place Takes In Istanbul AND NO IT'S NOTING LIKE TAKEN 2 every action movie has Filmed In Turkey Doesn't Make It A Huge Rip off give it a break. All Action In Movie Kicked A LOT Butts a lot of Shooting, Explosions. Seagal Is Doing His Own Thing Like His Own Fight staff

Villains Eh Not Much To Say Theirs Villain From Another Seagal Movie Mercenary: Absolution Ayan Al-Mujahid (Sergiu Costache) Villains Are Not Much To Say or About Their Characters, It's Funny How Cartels Are In Istanbul I Thought It Was Funny Thing About It but as it turns out, the Mexicans are still the drug traffickers and the Arabs are still the terrorist. Oh well, so much for something different. At least it's a different setting. I Really Wish It Was Just Istanbul Villains Not Having Cartels In It, It Just Looks Funny. And Movie Is Simple To Watch. And Yes Steven Seagal Doesn't Play Always Same Character In This No I Don't Think He Has Played Same Character Like This Movie To Anothers. And Yes People Every time it's a funny thing in his movies when there's a sex scene, he doesn't take off his clothes off, There's one part where Seagal has a small love scene with this Zara. Normally I'm a fan of needless nudity from hot girls, but it just puts more focus on the fact that Seagal is just an old man who wants the world to believe that he can still get the girls Like James Bond Or Machete Or Whatever another characters. In Opening Scene At Bar Waitress Is Getting harassed buy these 3 or 2 guys then he saves Waitress kick guys in butt then Waitress sits in his Lab Always Kissing . Not only that but this "experience capable agent" Girl gets kidnapped Zara But She Kicks So Much Ass, so that Seagal can Rescue her. Like In Every Movie Does But Hey I Know It's Kinda Same thing But It's Still A Entering Movie Still Fun To Watch. And For New To Watch With Seagal I Am not saying old movies are bad the old seagal movies are GREATEST then today with his B-Class Slaright To DVD Movies But Doesn't Mean They Are Bad Movies Doesn't Mean You Don't Watch It Because It's Bad Movie or B-Class Enjoy it, It's Not Going To Ruin your life it's a great movie Don't believe the negativity stop listening to Naysayers Not REALLY OF Bad Movie, Worser Then This Movie Code of Honor Is WAY Worse then this movie believe Me It's A lot of Fun. 10.10