Hard to Kill is a 1990 American action thriller film directed by Bruce Malmuth, starring Steven Seagal, Kelly LeBrock, William Sadler and Frederick Coffin. Seagal s second film after Above the Law, it features him as Mason Storm, a detective who falls into a coma after being shot during a fire-fight that killed his wife. Reawakening seven years later, Storm embarks on a journey to avenge the death of his wife, and expose the corruption of Senator Vernon Trent. The film was released on February 9, 1990, and grossed $59 million.

Plot

In 1983, Mason Storm (Steven Seagal), a Los Angeles police detective investigates a mob meeting that takes place by a pier. He records a shadowy figure who assures the mob they can rely on his political support. Mason is spotted, but escapes. Unaware that he is monitored by corrupt cops, Mason informs his partner, Becker and his friend Lt. O’Malley that he has evidence of corruption.

Mason hides the videotape in his house. When he goes upstairs, a hit squad composed of corrupt policemen, including Jack Axel and Max Quentero, break in and proceed to murder Mason s wife and shoot him. Mason s young son, Sonny, escapes out of a window. The corrupt policemen frame Mason, making it look like a murder-suicide. At the same time, assassins kill Mason s partner. Later at the hospital, Mason is first pronounced dead, but is then discovered to be alive, although in a coma. To prevent the assassins from finishing the job, Lieutenant O Malley tells the medics to keep Mason s status a secret.

Seven years later, Mason wakes from his coma. Andy Stewart (Kelly LeBrock), one of his nurses, makes a phone call, which is intercepted by corrupt police officers. They send Axel to finish the job and kill the nurses to whom Mason might have talked. Mason realizes that he is still in danger, but his muscles have atrophied to where he can barely move. He manages to get to an elevator, and when Andy sees her co-workers killed, she helps Mason escape.

Needing time to recuperate, Andy takes Mason to a friend s house, where Mason uses his knowledge of acupuncture, moxibustion and other meditation techniques to recover his strength. While training, Mason hears a commercial for Senator Vernon Trent and recognizes the voice from the pier. Mason contacts O Malley, who supplies him with weapons and tells him that his son is still alive. O Malley adopted Sonny and sent him to a private school so that he would be out of danger. He arranges to meet O Malley and his now-teenage son, Sonny, at a train station later. After O Malley leaves, Senator Trent s men find the house and attempt to kill Andy and Mason, but they both manage to escape.

Posing as a real estate agent, Mason recovers the hidden videotape from his old house. O Malley and Sonny arrive at the train station, but are confronted by some of the Senator s men. Sonny is able to run away with the tape, but O Malley is killed. When Mason arrives, he sees Sonny running away from Quentero and Nolan. Mason catches up with the men, subdues Nolan by breaking his leg and throwing him in a trash bin. He then reaches Quentero before Sonny is grabbed, and the two fight one another. Mason beats up Quentero and recognizes him as one of the men who took part in the assault on Mason s home and the murder of his wife. Mason then proceeds to snap Quentero s neck, killing him and saving his son. Mason then goes after Senator Trent.

At the Senator s mansion, Mason sneaks in and manages to eliminate the Senator s men one by one. Mason fights with Axel in the billiard room and avenges Felicia by jamming a piece of a pool cue into Axel s neck, killing him. Next, Mason leaves a death taunt to Capt. Hulland, another corrupt cop who betrayed Mason to Trent, and stalks Hulland through the house before cornering the corrupt captain near the fireplace. Mason then strangles Hulland with his necktie and breaks his neck, killing him. Mason finally confronts Senator Trent and holds him at gunpoint when the police storm the mansion. However, they reveal that they had already seen the film and knew that Mason was set up. Trent is arrested, and Mason is reunited with Andy and his son and walks off as the image from the videotape is played on the news, showing Trent coming out of the shadows briefly.

Original ending

Originally, the movie ended with Mason actually killing Trent, and some time later Mason, Andy and Sonny attending a funeral for O Malley. The theatrical trailer shows parts of the original ending.

Cast

• Steven Seagal as Detective Mason Storm
• Zachary Rosencrantz as Sonny Storm
• Kelly LeBrock as Andrea Andy Stewart
• William Sadler as Senator Vernon Trent
• Frederick Coffin as Lieutenant Kevin O Malley
• Andrew Bloch as Captain Dan Hulland
• Branscombe Richmond as Detective Max Quentero
• Charles Boswell as Detective Jack Axel
• James DiStefano as Detective Nolan
• Dean Norris as Sergeant Goodhart
• Bonnie Burroughs as Felicia Storm
• Lou Beatty, Jr. as Detective Carl Becker
• Robert LaSardo as Punk
• Ernie Lively as LAPD Captain

Reception

Box office

Hard to Kill debuted at number 1 at the U.S. box office with an opening weekend gross of $9.2 million, the biggest 3-day February opening at the time. It eventually grossed $47.4 million in the United States and Canada and $59 million total box office worldwide

Critical response

It holds a 33% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 15 reviews; the average rating is 4.1/10. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of A− on an A+ to F scale.

Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly rated it a letter grade of D− and called Seagal as generic an actor as the film. In describing the film as a lively one for its genre , Janet Maslin of The New York Times wrote, Mr. Seagal is effective for both his novelty value and his ability to be both literally and figuratively disarming.

Year	1990
ReleaseDate	1990-02-09
RuntimeMins	96
RuntimeStr	1h 36min
Plot	Left for dead with his wife killed in their house, L.A. Detective Mason Storm will have to make a quick recovery, expose those behind the murder and take revenge.
Directors	Bruce Malmuth
Writers	Steven McKay
Stars	Steven Seagal, Kelly LeBrock, William Sadler
Produced by	Gary Adelson,Steven McKay,Michael Rachmil,Lee Rich,Jonathan Sheinberg,Joel Simon,Bill Todman Jr.
Music by	David Michael Frank
Cinematography by	Matthew F. Leonetti
Film Editing by	John F. Link
Casting By	Glenn Daniels
Production Design by	Robb Wilson King
Art Direction by	Louis M. Mann
Set Decoration by	Martin Price
Makeup Department	Anthony Esposito,Alan Fama,Alan Friedman
Production Management	Steve Barnett,Joel Chernoff
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director	Marsha Scarbrough,Randy Suhr,Douglas E. Wise,Tena Psyche Yatroussis,Daniel R. Suhart
Art Department	Kevin Conlin,Michael A. Contreraz,Lance Lombardo,Mike Rutgard,Sal Sommatino,Frank White,Jeffery J. Jenkins,Dean B. Katz,B.J. Smith
Sound Department	Glenn E. Anderson,Wayne Artman,Jim Borgardt,Virginia Cook-McGowan,Tom E. Dahl,Jay Dranch,Robert G. Henderson,Joseph A. Ippolito,Franklin Jones Jr.,Lionel LaVallee,Alan Robert Murray,Michelle Pleis,Hank Salerno,James Simcik,Brooke Henderson Ward,Rosemarie Wheeler,Marshall Winn
Special Effects by	Russel Hessey
Stunts	Clarke Coleman,Kenny Endoso,Buddy Joe Hooker,Jeff Imada,Gregory J. Barnett,Gayle Hooker,K. Lee Johnson,Monty Jordan,Gene LeBell,Pat Romano,Joseph Michael Roth
Camera and Electrical Department	Pat Blymyer,Bob Fillis,Antonio V. Garrido,John R. Leonetti,Christine M. Loss,David L. Merrill,Ryne Niner,Stephen J. Ullman,Michael D. Weldon,Carl Boles,Mike Bonnaud,Bill Sheehan
Casting Department	Ruth Lambert,Don Maxwell,Mickie McGowan,Douglas Wright
Costume and Wardrobe Department	Robert Iannaccone,Jeffrey La Joie,Peggy Pemberton,Jack Spangler
Editorial Department	Donah Bassett,Jeff Gullo,Mark Stevens
Location Management	Kristin Dewey,Richard Rosenberg
Music Department	Michael Boddicker,Mick Guzauski,John La Salandra,Virginia S. Ellsworth
Script and Continuity Department	Sonny P. Filippini,Claire Baker
Transportation Department	Don Arnold,Tim Hill
Additional Crew	Janis Benjamin,Martin Cooper,Laureen Majeske,Andy Marx,Anne Prager,Catherine Quinn,Heather Reid,Steven Seagal,Marjorie Sowsy,Robin Vail,Ron Weber,Dianah Wynter,Ray Zimmerman
Genres	Action, Crime, Drama
Companies	Warner Bros., Lee Rich Productions, Adelson / Todman / Simon Productions
Countries	USA
Languages	English
ContentRating	R
ImDbRating	5.8
ImDbRatingVotes	30393
MetacriticRating	41
Keywords	coma,hospital,revenge,nurse,presumed dead