Half Past Dead (2002 film): Steven Seagal prison-heist action thriller

Overview of Half Past Dead (2002), a Steven Seagal prison-heist action thriller directed by Don Michael Paul. Plot, production, release details, critical reception and the film’s place in Seagal’s career.

Half Past Dead is a 2002 action film produced in the United States. The picture was directed by Don Michael Paul and lists Elie Samaha, Steven Seagal, and Andrew Stevens among its producers; the production credit is often summarized as having been produced by those three. The movie opened in theaters on November 15, 2002. In many territories it remained the last wide theatrical appearance featuring Seagal until the 2010 release Machete.

Premise and production

The film is an action-oriented thriller built around a prison setting and a heist-style plot. Its development and release followed the early-2000s trend of star-driven action pictures with modest critical expectations.

Critical response

Reviews were largely unfavorable. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a very low score of 3%, and it was placed at number 19 on that website’s list of the 100 worst films of the 2000s. Prominent critic Roger Ebert wrote of the picture: "Half Past Dead is like an alarm that goes off with nobody in the room. It does its job, stops, and nobody cares."

Awards and nominations

At the 2003 Golden Raspberry Awards, Steven Seagal received a nomination in the category of Worst Actor (a Razzie Award nomination). The award that year went to Roberto Benigni for his performance in Pinocchio.