The Glimmer Man

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The Glimmer Man

Theatrical release poster
Directed by John Gray
Produced by Julius R. Nasso
Steven Seagal
Written by Kevin Brodbin
Starring Steven Seagal
Keenan Ivory Wayans
Bob Gunton
Brian Cox
and
Michelle Johnson
Music by Trevor Rabin
Cinematography Rick Bota
Editing by Donn Cambern
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) October 4, 1996
Running time 92 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $45,000,000 (USD)
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Glimmer Man is a 1996 American action film directed by John Gray.[1] and starring Steven Seagal, Keenan Ivory Wayans, Bob Gunton and Brian Cox.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Jack Cole (Steven Seagal) was once a government intelligence operative known as "The Glimmer Man," because he could move so quickly and quietly that his victims would only see a glimmer before they died.

Having left the Glimmer Man job behind him, Cole -- steeped in mysticism and not used to working with others -- has become a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department.

Cole is partnered with Jim Campbell (Keenen Ivory Wayans), a tough, no-nonsense cop who has little patience for Cole's New Age philosophies and outsider attitude.

Steven Seagal as Jack Cole and Keenen Ivory Wayans as Jim Campbell
Steven Seagal as Jack Cole and Keenen Ivory Wayans as Jim Campbell

Cole and Campbell have to set aside their differences when they're assigned to track down a serial killer called "The Family Man," for his habit of killing entire households.

The Family Man's latest victims turn out to be Cole's former wife Ellen and her current husband Andrew DunLeavy -- and Cole's fingerprints are found on Ellen's body.

Cole and Campbell think that Cole's former bosses in the government may somehow be involved in the killings. Cole contacts his friend Smith (Brian Cox), unaware that he has been working with local crime boss Frank Deverell (Bob Gunton).

Cole and Campbell receive a tip that leads them to Christopher Maynard (Stephen Tobolowsky), who admits that he committed the Family Man murders that happened before Cole arrived in Los Angeles. Someone else has been committing the more recent murders and making it look like Maynard's work. Cole fatally shoots Maynard in self defense.

Cole, hoping to get a lead on the new killer, goes to the home of Deverell's Russian translator Celia Roslov (Susan Reno), who was a victim of the killer. The killer attacks Cole, and later sets Campbell's home on fire.

Cole and Campbell discover that Deverell's stepson Johnny (Johnny Strong) knows some important information. Johnny tells Cole and Campbell that Deverell's right-hand man, Donald Cunningham (John M. Jackson), is the new killer who has been making his killings look like Maynard's work.

Johnny also tells them that Smith has been working with Deverell. Cole and Campbell confront Smith, who says that Deverell is smuggling chemical weapons into the USA from Russia, with plans to sell the weapons to a group of Serbian terrorists.

Smith made the contacts, with the deal being cut by a group of Russian terrorists known as the Russian Liberation Fighters. The meeting for the deal is scheduled to take place at a downtown welfare hotel.

Cole and Campbell storm the hotel, where Cunningham fatally shoots Deverell, and Cole kills Cunningham by throwing him through a window and onto a wrought iron fence below.

[edit] Background

The Brian Cox character was originally intended for Tommy Lee Jones, and Jones was attached to the film before leaving shortly before filming again. Cox replaced him on very short notice.

Steven Seagal wrote two original songs for the movie, "Bulletproof" and "Snake", performed by the Jeff Healey Band and Taj Mahal, respectively.

Trevor Rabin, formerly of Yes, composed the score, his first as a film music composer. He has since composed scores for many other movies.

[edit] Critical reception

The film received mixed reviews from the film critics.

Critic Lawrence van Gelder, writing for The New York Times, did not like the film. He wrote, "Short on suspense, routine in its action and monotonous in its performances, this movie opened yesterday without benefit of press screenings, usually a sign that the distributors have detected cinematic rigor mortis before audiences formally withdraw such life support systems as tickets, popcorn and the glucose drip of spilled Coke."[2]

[edit] Cast


[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ The Glimmer Man at the Internet Movie Database
  2. ^ van Gelder, Lawrence. The New York Times, film review, "Peaceful Man With a Flair for Violence," October 5, 1996.

[edit] External links

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