Exit Wounds is a 2001 American action thriller film directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, produced by Joel Silver, and starring Steven Seagal, DMX, Isaiah Washington, Anthony Anderson, Michael Jai White, Bill Duke, Tom Arnold and Jill Hennessy. Seagal plays Orin Boyd, a Detroit police detective notorious for pushing the limits of the law in his quest for justice. The screenplay is based on a novel of the same name by John Westermann.
This is the second of three films directed by Bartkowiak and produced by Silver that focus on martial arts-based action in an urban setting with a hip-hop soundtrack, following Romeo Must Die (2000) and preceding Cradle 2 the Grave (2003). The three films feature many of the same cast, key crew, and locations.
The film received mixed reviews from critics.
Filming took place in 2000 in Toronto, Ontario; Hamilton, Ontario and the Centre Street Bridge in Calgary, Alberta. The club scene inside was filmed at Guvernment nightclub in Toronto. The exterior of the club was outside of Tonic nightclub in Toronto.
The film reunites actors DMX, Isaiah Washington, and Anthony Anderson with Polish film director Andrzej Bartkowiak, with whom they first worked together on the earlier 2000 film Romeo Must Die. It is the second of three films directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak and produced by Joel Silver that focus on martial arts based action in an urban setting with a hip-hop soundtrack and featuring many of the same cast. Two years later they collaborated again on the film Cradle 2 the Grave.
Eva Mendes' voice was dubbed over by another, unidentified actress without her prior knowledge, as producers felt Mendes didn't sound "intelligent enough".
Dion Lam was the film's martial arts choreographer.
Accident on set
Stuntman Chris Lamon died of head injuries on August 23, 2000, six days after a stunt went wrong on the Exit Wounds set in Hamilton, Ontario. A van was being towed along a street upside-down as part of a chase scene; he was supposed to roll safely out, but apparently struck his head. Another stuntman suffered a concussion in the same incident.
Music
A soundtrack containing hip hop music was released on March 20, 2001, by Virgin Records. It peaked at number 8 on the Billboard 200 and number 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.
Reception
Box office
Exit Wounds debuted at number one at the US box office, grossing $18.5 million in the United States and Canada in its opening weekend. It was considered a surprise hit movie, as it grossed over $50 million in the United States and Canada and almost $30 million throughout the rest of the world.
Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 35% based on 63 reviews. The site's critical consensus states: "It probably goes without saying that Exit Wounds is loaded with plotholes and bad dialogue." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 39 out of 100 based on 9 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.
Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times gave the film 3 out of 5 and wrote: "For those in search of action-filled escapist entertainment who are willing to jettison expectations of credibility into the nearest popcorn tub, Exit Wounds ... will do to pass time on an inclement day." Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "In its low grade way, this blithely brutal cops and drugs thriller is an efficient hot wire entertainment." Gleiberman singled out Jill Hennessy for praise, saying that she "takes the minor character of Seagal's precinct commander and invests her with an intelligence and a flirty warm panache that sparkles on screen."
Todd McCarthy of Variety magazine gave the film a negative review, particularly Seagal's performance saying he "makes one wonder how he ever managed to be regarded as anything resembling a movie star." McCarthy complained that the action scenes were "routine and unimaginative" lacking the flair director Bartkowiak had shown in Romeo Must Die. McCarthy was also critical of unconvincing use of easily recognizable Toronto locations as a stand in for Detroit.
Jonathan Foreman of the New York Post suggests that Barkowiak was trying to make a John Woo movie but simply did not have the skills. Foreman called the screenplay "embarrassingly clunky and inane". He concludes, "It's hard to know which is more offensive, "Exit Wounds'" ineptitude or its disgusting, cynical brutality. But the people responsible for it are crass and shameless."