Hard To Kill

Having reclaimed some of his former glory alongside DMX in surprise hit Exit Wounds, Steven Seagal is now trying to keep up the momentum, stepping on screen with rappers Ja Rule and Kurupt in his latest project Half Past Dead. Seagal shocked viewers world-wide by appearing in what amounted to a rather good film with Exit Wounds, his first real hit since the likes of Under Siege back in 1992. Joining rap star DMX to uncover a ring of corrupt cops Seagal managed to steal the number one spot at the US box office on the week of release - something many people had never expected to witness in their lifetime. In an effort to continue the trend, his latest rapper collaboration, sees the Aikido wielding hard-man pitted against an arch-criminal who infiltrates a prison to persuade a death-row inmate to help him recover $200 million in gold bullion. As to whether the former straight-to-video master can hit box-office gold twice, hopes are high. But the caveat remains that, for every Exit Wounds tearing up the charts, there's the a copy Fire Down Below gathering dust on the bottom shelf of Blockbuster.