Cartels (film)

Cartels
Directed byKeoni Waxman
Written byKeoni Waxman
Richard Beattie
StarringSteven Seagal
Luke Goss
Georges St-Pierre
Darren E. Scott
Florin Piersic Jr.
Martine Argent
CinematographyNathan Wilson
Music byMichael Richard Plowman
Production
companies
Daro Film Distribution
24TL Productions
Action House
Distributed byLionsgate
Release date
  • July 7, 2017 (2017-07-07)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$6 million[1]
Box office$37,776[2]

Cartels, also known as Killing Salazar,[3] is a 2017 action film starring Luke Goss, with Steven Seagal in a minor role, and directed by Keoni Waxman. It had a limited theatrical release on July 7, 2017, and was released on DVD and digital streaming on September 19, 2017.

Cast

  • Steven Seagal as John Harrison
  • Luke Goss as Major Tom Jensen
  • Georges St-Pierre as Bruno Sinclaire
  • Darren E. Scott as Major John "Skony" Skokowski
  • Florin Piersic Jr. as Joseph "El Tiburon" Salazar
  • Martine Argent as Amanda Chavez
  • Lauro David Chartrand-DelValle as Eric Ramirez (credited as Lauro Chartrand)
  • Bruce Crawford as Gary Dentze
  • Claudiu Bleonț as Emilian
  • Howard Dell as Mike Darol
  • George Remes as Chief Cristi Badea (credited as Remes George)
  • Adina Eady as Luca Negru (credited as Adina Galupa)
  • Sharlene Royer as Ana
  • Bogdan Farcas as Swat Commander
  • Massimo Dobrovic as Massimo, Hotel Manager

Production

Originally titled Killing Salazar, the film was directed by Keoni Waxman and written by Waxman and Richard Beattie.[4][5] Luke Goss was chosen to play the protagonist, U.S. Marshal Tom Jensen, whereas Steven Seagal, who had collaborated with Waxman on more than half a dozen projects, was cast in a minor role.[4] Seagal also produced the film alongside Binh Dang.[5] Michael Richard Plowman composed the film's soundtrack.[5]

Reception

Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times commented that the film "is passably entertaining", but criticised Seagal's involvement in it – which amounted to "roughly 15 minutes of screen time" – as more distracting than it was value-adding, concluding that "with his thick leather coat, bushy goatee, tinted glasses, and whispery monotone voice, he (Seagal) looks like an ordinary schlub in a Steven Seagal costume."[4] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter credited Waxman for filming the "action scenes with reasonable proficiency" but ultimately labelled Cartels as a "far cry" from Seagal's best works.[5]

References

  1. ^ "Cartels (2016)". IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  2. ^ "Cartels (2016)". Box Office Mojo. IMDbPro. Retrieved January 7, 2021.
  3. ^ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4949290/releaseinfo?ref_=tt_dt_dt#akas [user-generated source]
  4. ^ a b c Murray, Noel (6 July 2017). "Steven Seagal is the big name, but crime thriller 'Cartels' would have been better off without him". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ^ a b c d Scheck, Frank (11 July 2017). "'Cartels': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.