Where to watch The Glimmer Man
1 1/2 Stars
The writing on the wall that would signal the end of Steven Seagal’s brief flirtation with superstardom began in 1994 with On Deadly Ground. By the time The Glimmer Man arrived on screen in late 1996 the downward spiral in his physical appearance, the quality of the movies, and constant reports of diva behavior sunk a once promising career. To revisit The Glimmer Man twenty years later is to witness the Seagal troupes that would come to dominate his lackluster, but prolific output for the next two decades.
L.A. is in the midsts of it’s wettest winter in recent memory and the city is being terrorized by a serial killer dubbed “The Family Man”. Detective Jim Campbell (Wayans) is assigned to work the murders with his new partner, Detective Jack Cole (Seagal) a mystical, eastern philosophy spouting guru. When Cole’s ex-wife becomes one of the victims he realizes that this killer is making things personal. The cult ritualistic killings would have been enough to sustain the movie, but the story then shoehorns in C.I.A. shadow agents working with Russian mobsters to import chemical weapons. If I’m incorrect on the specifics, it’s because the film itself glosses over the details.
The Glimmer Man is like Seven if it had to include the cliches that adorn all Seagal movies. The plot is confounding, the continuity is a mess, and the action is mediocre at best. Keenen Ivory Wayans works to create a chemistry with the his seemingly unreceptive co-star. The penultimate theatrical release in the golden era of the ponytailed action star.
Director: John Gray
Stars: Steven Seagal, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Bob Guton