"On Deadly Ground"

Movie Review by Sterling D. Allan

Includes Transcript of Speech at End of Movie

3.5 of 4 stars

July 11, 2002

Based on a recommendation by "Free Energy" guru, Patrick Bailey, I watched the movie "On Deadly Ground," directed and starred by Steven Seagal. 

Bailey, a Ph.D. Nuclear Physicist graduate from MIT, recommended the movie to me as an illustration that there are several very wealthy and influential movie stars who are supportive of the "free energy" or "zero point energy" field, and who are likely to fund it once a feasible prototype surfaces.

In the film, Seagal plays an ex-government operative, Forrest Taft, who works as a high-tech firefighter for Aegis Oil, which in its quest to secure its next contract -- the world's largest oil rig -- cuts corners, needlessly destroying some of its own equipment and killing several workers, with no regard for the environmental impact of its accidents and policies.  Taft's conscience gets to him and he turns on Aegis Oil and takes down their largest refinery (without causing an oil spill), enabling the land to go back to the Eskimos from which it had been taken.  The movie concludes with a speech by Taft that includes reference to high efficiency carburetors and magnetic engines being suppressed because of big business not wanting their monopoly to be broken.  It is obviously intended as a statement for our actual situation in the world.  Such devices do exist; and they are being suppressed by unscrupulous means.  I personally know several individuals who have been on the receiving end of brutal suppression tactics.

The overall message of the movie was indeed worth while, though too much of the violence was sensationalized, something I found ironically hypocritical to the theme of improving the planet and bringing about a time of peaceful existence.

Some reviews I read called the environmental statements and Native American spirituality "corny."  I didn't think so, though I did notice that there was sensationalism in the speech that diminishes its credibility.  For example, not all auto emissions are cumulative poisons.   CO₂ is dangerous, but it is replaced out of the body by oxygen when a person is removed from the presence of high levels of it.

I will admit that some of the portrayals in the movie were over done; but such is the nature of theatre, is it not? -- exaggerate to make a point.  I especially appreciated the dignity extended to the Native American (Eskimo) spirituality; not that I view that as the solution for the planet, but I do reverence it as having its place in the body of Christ, which finds great richness in the unity of diversity.

Wanting to share with you the text of the speech at the end of the movie, I tried to find it on the internet, and could not locate it; so I transcribed it myself.

Here it is.

Transcript:

Closing scene: Speech given at Alaska State Capitol building in Steven Seagal movie, "On Deadly Ground."

I'd like to start out by saying 'thank you' to all the brothers and sisters who have come here representing this cause.

I've been asked by Mr. Itaka and the Tribal Counsel to speak to you and the members of the Press about the injustice that has been brought against us by the government and big business.

How many of you out there have heard of 'alternate engines' -- engines that can run on anything from alcohol to garbage or water; or carburetors that can get 100s of miles to the gallon, or electric or magnetic engines that can practically run forever?  You haven't heard about them because if they were come into use, they [would] put the oil companies out of business.

The concept of the combustion engine has been obsolete for over 50 years, but because of the oil cartels and corrupt government regulations, we in the rest of the world have been forced to use gasoline for over 100 years.

Big business is primarily responsible for destroying the water we drink, the air we breath, and the food we eat.  They have no cure for the world they've destroyed.  [They care] only for the money they make in the process.

How many oil spills can we endure?  Millions and millions of gallons of oil are now destroying the ocean and the many forms of life they support.  Among these is Plankton, which supplies 60-90% of the Earth's oxygen, and supports the entire marine ecosystem which forms the basis of our planet's food supply.  But the plankton is dying.

I thought, 'Well, let's go to some remote state or country -- anywhere on earth' -- but in doing a little research, I realized that these people broker toxic waste all over the world.  They basically control the legislation; and in fact, they control the law.  The law says no company can be fined over $25,000 a day.  For companies making 10 million dollars a day by dumping lethal toxic waste into the ocean, it's only 'good business' to continue doing this.

They influence the media so that they can control our minds.  They have made it a crime to speak out for ourselves; and if we do so we are called 'conspiracy nuts' or laughed at.

We're angry because we're all being chemically and genetically damaged, and we don't even realize it.  And unfortunately, this will effect our children.

We go to work every day, and right under out noses we see our car and the car in front of us spewing noxious and poisonous gasses that are accumulative poisons.  These poisons kill us slowly, even when we see no effect.

How many of us would have believed 20 years ago that on a certain day we wouldn't be able to see 50 feet in front of us; that we wouldn't be able to take a deep breath because the air would be a mass of poisonous gas; that we wouldn't be able to drink out of our faucets; that we would have to buy water out of bottles; that the most common and God-given rights have been taken away from us; and unfortunately, the reality of our lives is so grim nobody wants to hear it.

Now I've been asked what we can do.  I think we need a responsible body of people that can actually represent us, rather than big business.  This body of people must not allow the introduction of anything into our environment that is not absolutely biodegradable or able to be chemically neutralized upon production.

And finally, as long as there is profit to be made from the polluting of our earth, companies and individuals will continue to do what they want.  We have to force these companies to work safely and responsibly, and with all our best interest in mind, so that when they don't, we can take back our resources and our hearts and our minds to do what's right.

Conclusion

Overall, I was impressed with Seagal.  This was the first movie of his that I've seen; and because I do not enjoy the glorification of violence, it will probably be my last.  However, someday I imagine I'll meet Seagal and talk about how to get free energy devices out into the world.

My message to Seagal would be to learn from Mel Gibson's movies -- let us know what happened without glorifying the bloody moments that we all know exist in violent situations.  Don't belabor us with the gory details.

Speech

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