Common Sense Media Review
Very violent honest-cop corruption story.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Exit Wounds
What's the Story?
Seagal plays a break-the-rules cop who takes on a whole team of commandos to save the vice president and then gets dressed down by his commanding officer ("You don't follow orders! You're unmanageable!") and assigned to the toughest precinct in town as punishment. He even gets put on traffic duty and sent to anger management class by the gorgeous precinct commander. But somehow, wherever he goes, trouble finds him.
Is It Any Good?
Steven Seagal is definitely in "Fat Elvis" mode in EXIT WOUNDS, a color-by-numbers honest-cop against corruption story. Seagal has aged since his "Under Siege" days, and he now does more shooting than kicking. The movie tries to help him out with a lot of support from talented co-stars. Rapper DMX has a very strong screen presence, though it wavers when he has to say more than a dozen words at a time. It is always a pleasure to see Isaiah Washington, who deserves a leading role the next time around. Michael Jai White makes the most of his brief time on screen.
Tom Arnold and Anthony Anderson (quickly becoming the movies' favorite fat funny sidekick) are there to provide comic relief. Their raunchy improvised dialogue that accompanies the credits is one of the movie's high points. The low point is certainly the plot, which has logic holes big enough for Seagal, Arnold, and Anderson to jump through, followed by the dialogue, which is pretty much cut and pasted from a dozen other scripts of this genre. The title is just a menacing term that has nothing whatsoever to do with the story, further evidence that no one involved really cares very much about this movie.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about real-life cases of police corruption and the temptations presented to people who risk their lives for low pay and little thanks. They may also want to talk about how we decide whom we will trust, and what happens when that trust is violated, and about "anger management" and how it works.
Movie Details
- In theaters : March 16, 2001
- On DVD or streaming : August 31, 2001
- Cast : DMX , Isaiah Washington , Steven Seagal
- Director : Andrzej Bartkowiak
- Inclusion Information : Black Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Warner Bros.
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- Run time : 101 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : strong violence, language and some sexuality/nudity
- Last updated : September 21, 2019
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate