If you were an action fan in the late eighties and the nineties, chances are you've seen at least a few of Steven Seagal's films. There was a time when he commanded fifteen million per picture. For awhile, his popularity was close to that of action superstars Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Seagal burst onto the scene in 1988 with the movie Above the Law which co-starred Henry Silva and a young Sharon Stone. It was helmed by Andrew Davis, director of The Fugitive and Under Siege (Seagal's most famous film). What differentiated him from all the other martial arts stars was that he practiced Aikido, a fighting style that had seldom been seen in films before. Seagal's lightning fast hands made it look like pure magic. His strong on-screen presence felt eerily reminiscent of Eastwood's and Bronson's.

Seagal had a streak of hits with Warner Bros. in the nineties. He even got to direct one of his films, On Deadly Ground, which failed both at the box-office and with critics. After Under Siege 2 came a slow decline which led him to star mainly in Direct to Video (DTV) releases beginning with The Patriot in 1998. Seagal went on to make Exit Wounds in 2001 and Half Past Dead in 2002 which saw theatrical releases but failed to be his comeback films. Seagal made more a name for himself this past decade as an eco-warrior and a singer, releasing two albums and doing small tours to promote them.

More than ever, 2009 is the year for Seagal to make a comeback. After a decade of mostly sub par films and DTV releases, the big guy seems to be on the right track. He proved he still had the moves and could be just as fast and lethal as ever in 2007's Urban Justice, a revenge film which Sony's Screen Gems considered releasing in theatres at one point. It was followed by Pistol Whipped, another strong DTV film role for Seagal that appeared to have been tailored for him.

The problem with these DTV movies has always been the studio's overbearing need to control the pictures. These films were mostly released by Sony and featured lots of scenes that were re-dubbed by other actors in post-production. Lawsuits back and forth between Seagal and the producers of some of the films made the headlines on some occasions over the years. Yet the worst part in all this has to be the use of obvious stunt doubles for Seagal's fight sequences. It plagues two thirds of his DTV titles and it's a shame.

With his next film, Ruslan, and onward, he is now free of any contract binding him to a studio. He himself revealed that he will start having a more celebratory attitude towards his films starting with Ruslan, which is due out March 24th on Blu-ray and DVD. Later this year, Seagal will star in The Keeper, a film in the vein of Tony Scott's Man on Fire. In March, shooting will begin for another film set for release before year's end titled Dangerous Man. Both of these films have a chance at getting theatrical releases. And judging by the early "in production" trailer for The Keeper it looks very promising indeed.

For those who are skeptical Seagal could ever make a comeback due to his age (fifty-seven), they need to be reminded that Charles Bronson was well in his sixties when he made the three Death Wish sequels in the eighties. Clint Eastwood was sixty-two when he made Unforgiven. As for Seagal's weight issue, yes, the man has gained some weight, but has shed a few pounds lately and still seems in top form. He looks more seasoned and as dangerous as ever. As for the ultimate question: Does anybody care? The answer is a resounding "yes". Seagal's got a huge following of fans that believe in him and admire him; one just has to browse through the Unofficial Steven Seagal Forums to see that he still has a worldwide fan base cheering him on.

***

This post is guest-blogged by Alan Draven.