Movie review - "The Glimmer Man" (1996) ** (warning: spoilers)

There was that period in the mid 90s when action film stars tried to mix it up by making buddy movies with black actors - Jean Claude Van Damme did one with Dennis Rodman, here Seagal is teamed with Keenan Ivory Wayans of all people.

Wayans was/is a noted comedy star but he plays the role pretty much straight. He's not given that much to play with mind - he's a bit... uptight I guess. He has a broad moment or two where he sobs at old movies. There's certainly none of the character clash of say 48 Hours.  They really should have taken the Seagal-is-new-age-and-Wayans-isn't and run with it, but they don't.

It kind of suits this film which is a real grab bag. It's part buddy cop film, with Seagal and Wayans investigating a serial killer; part actioner with Seagal having a background in special ops; some crims use the serial killer as a cover for their own murders; the serial killer does some stock religious stuff; Seagal's ex wife is killed and it seems he's blamed for the murder, but he never is, really. And was he married with kids? I think he had an ex and they had kids... but there's barely any scenes between Seagal and his kids.

It was really hard to get a fix on this film. It felt like one of those movies where the script was rewritten. There's all the ingredients there for a great movie - I mean, a baddy pretending to be a serial killer to off victims, that's fine, as is Seagal being blamed - but the result is a mess.

The support cast is outstanding - baddies include Brian Cox, Bob Gunton (from The Shawshank Redemption), Stephen Tobolowsky (as the serial killer!). Sitcom star Nikki Cox turns up as a school girl, Spy Kid Alex Vega is one of Seagal's kids and Blame It On Rio's Michelle Johnson is in there too.

Some of the action scenes are fine, and I loved Seagal smacking people around the restaurant. Although Seagal was getting fat at this stage, he seems relaxed and confident and having a good time. The production values are high - it's clearly a studio movie - but it is a complete mess.