Half Past Dead (2002)

2% of critics liked it
(86 reviews)
50% of users liked it
(17,972 ratings)

Action hero Steven Seagal goes behind bars -- though don't worry, he isn't really a bad guy -- in this action thriller. Sascha Petrosevitch (Seagal) is an FBI agent working undercover to infiltrate a gangland kingpin's operations. While Petrosevitch is able to gain the trust of one of the gangster's… More Action hero Steven Seagal goes behind bars -- though don't worry, he isn't really a bad guy -- in this action thriller. Sascha Petrosevitch (Seagal) is an FBI agent working undercover to infiltrate a gangland kingpin's operations. While Petrosevitch is able to gain the trust of one of the gangster's lieutenants, Nick Frazier (Ja Rule), things go haywire during an FBI raid, and Petrosevitch takes several slugs in the back as he struggles to maintain his cover. Eight months later, Petrosevitch and Frazier are serving time together in the newly refurbished Alcatraz Penitentiary, as Petrosevitch secretly continues his investigation. Prison warden Hubbard (Stephen J. Cannell) is arranging for the execution of convicted killer and thief Lester (Bruce Weitz), and U.S. Supreme Court justice Jane McPherson (Linda Thorson) has announced she will attend as a witness. But Hubbard's assistant Donny (Morris Chestnut) has devised a secret plan -- it seems Lester stole and stashed away 200 million dollars in gold before he was arrested, and Donny, along with an underground SWAT team, takes control of the prison and takes Hubbard, McPherson, and the other assembled dignitaries hostage, demanding to be told where Lester has hidden his fortune. Now Petrosevitch must drop his cover and persuade his allies within the prison -- including Frazier and Little Joe (Michael "Bear" Taliferro) -- to join him in a desperate bid to foil Donny and free the hostages. Half Past Dead also features Nia Peeples, Kurupt, Tony Plana, and Claudia Christian. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 38 min.
Directed By: Don Michael Paul
Written By: Don Michael Paul
Genres: Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Nov 15, 2002 Wide
On DVD: Mar 4, 2003
Studio: Screen Gems

Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
The title of this dismal action flick refers to the Seagal character's having suffered a near-death experience, though he's returned from the other side with a remarkable lack of insight.
David Germain, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Half Past Dead may be the year's funniest unintentional comedy for its inane plot, repetitive, unimaginative stunts and dreadful dialogue.
Walter Dawkins, Village Voice
Corny, nonsensical buddy flick.
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
This is so bad.
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post
Here, common sense flies out the window, along with the hail of bullets, none of which ever seem to hit Sascha.
Mike Clark, USA Today
First-time director Don Michael Paul can't make the action move, though he wisely keeps the lighting dark and murky so we can barely see whether withering star Seagal really can keep up.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
I can't think of anything more cringe-inducing than Seagal saying, in a strained would-be ghetto accent, 'We aight.'
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
What is it about Steven Seagal and three-word movie titles?
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
Great title. Lousy movie. (Blu-ray Edition)
John J. Puccio, Movie Metropolis
Seagal at his most minimal, saying and doing less in this film than in practically any film he's been in. Maybe it's for the best.
Philip French, Guardian [UK]
A sizeable amount of the budget for this lazy film must have been spent on ammunition.
Derek Adams, Time Out
Sometimes, when you've just wasted a tenner and a perfectly good evening watching another dumb, gratuitously gun-filled, hackneyed, nonsensical action picture, don't you wish you were as thick, lazy and easily pleased as Hollywood wants you to be?
Mark Collette, Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)
... satisfies neither intellectually nor viscerally.
Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
...makes something retarded like Con Air look like an absolute action classic. And that's saying something.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
[Steven Seagal's] trademark limb-breaking is absent.
Simon Braund, Empire Magazine
It's quite slick, but Seagal's fans won't necessarily get what they paid for.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
Look upon his fleshy neck, his dodgy hair and his strangely puffy immobile face, ye pantywaist liberals, and tremble!
, Daily Mirror [UK]
It's absolutely worthless nonsense that's almost bad enough to make me wish cinema had never been invented.
Tyler Hanley, Palo Alto Weekly
Half Past Dead translated from Latin means 'Die Hard in a prison,' or so the filmmakers must have believed.
Harry Guerin, RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)
Waaay too much like hard labour.

Read all 23 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

danny d

this was a decent watch because its seagal and im a sucker for that guy. really, this was a silly movie that shows how far seagal has fallen since he was making average movies.
Derek D

Pitiful acting, even for a later Seagal flick. What happened to the action in his films, especially the actual hand-to-hand fighting? They actually made a sequel to this one and even though that one stars Bill Goldberg in it, it still can't be as bad as this piece of shit.
Derek A

"The rumor is you went half past dead and came back." Let's get this out of the way: YES, Steven Seagal does break someone's neck in this film. You just knew he would.... Half Past Dead is a film that suffers from atrocious… More
"The rumor is you went half past dead and came back." Let's get this out of the way: YES, Steven Seagal does break someone's neck in this film. You just knew he would.... Half Past Dead is a film that suffers from atrocious acting. Ja Rule is one of the most laughable actors in Hollywood. He's unconvincing as a hard-ass tough guy standing at a measly 5'7" 150lbs. One of the most comical attempts at a serious standoff was in the beginning of the film when Ja Rule and his gang are confronted by a single female FBI agent. What ensues is a ridiculous exchange of words that included the line "Today looks like a great day to die" and then followed by an asinine shoot off. It's a shame that this film centers around two awful actors (Ja Rule and Seagal) because the plot wasn't half bad. It was intriguing, yet predictable. Morris Chestnut makes an incredibly convincing and chilling bad guy. And Nia Pebbles looked smoking hot for a lady in her 40's. Half Past Dead has pretty spectacular action, full of gun fights and martial arts. But overall, it's just a really really lame flick. With better leads than an overrated rapper and a fat black belt fighter, this could've been a good popcorn flick.
Bobby H

I always enjoyed Seagals abilitys in Martial-arts more then acting, as well as Ja Rules ability too rap over acting - but other then that, it wasnt TOO bad. It's worth seeing, and maybe even buying - but, not a favorite.
xGary X

A round of applause for the person responsible for that title. No, seriously. It's poetry. More brainless thuggery from the tubbiest martial artist this side of Sammo Hung. It's absolute crap, of course, but Nia Peeples looks great in it!
Dean M

This action flick has lengths to obscure Steven Seagal's bulk, while the plot suffers from familiarity and lack of conviction.
Mouhannad S

" Half Past Dead " Actually I enjoyed this movie.really had a blast. It may be full of plot holes and illogical moments,but i never really thought about it. It was fast paced and fun.lots of action,a few fight scenes that were adequate,not great but not horrible.lots of gun… More
" Half Past Dead " Actually I enjoyed this movie.really had a blast. It may be full of plot holes and illogical moments,but i never really thought about it. It was fast paced and fun.lots of action,a few fight scenes that were adequate,not great but not horrible.lots of gun battles.there were some funny moment,some of which might have been unintentional,but some were intentional.I don't think this was trying too hard to be a serious movie.sometimes you just need to shut off your brain for awhile and allow yourself to be entertained.But you have to been in the mood. If you're not,you won't enjoy it
Steven V

This action flick has lengths to obscure Steven Seagal's bulk. Steven Seagal and Ja Rule worked good together. No complex story lines just pure action and some cheesey lines.
Deb S

Half Past Dead has Steven Segal as an undercover agent masquerading as a bad-ass criminal type in Alcatraz when it just so happens that a genuine gang of semi-pathological villains break in, to free the guy on Death Row (Rap stars Ja Rule) who holds the key to the whereabouts of… More
Half Past Dead has Steven Segal as an undercover agent masquerading as a bad-ass criminal type in Alcatraz when it just so happens that a genuine gang of semi-pathological villains break in, to free the guy on Death Row (Rap stars Ja Rule) who holds the key to the whereabouts of £200million dollars in gold bars. Apart from our hero looking woefully out of shape, the prison they are in is one of those odd slammers where convicts can actually get in fist fights with guards and suffer no repercussions.