Did you ever walk past Hard to Kill on the shelf as a kid and think, “Wait… this dude wakes up from a seven-year coma, hooks up with Kelly Lebrock, and instantly starts wrecking people?” If so, you’ve found your happy place. In this video we’re heading right into 1990’s Hard to Kill. We’re going to discuss how it worked as Seagal’s big, early-’90s sophomore follow-up, how it worked as a revenge vehicle, what it did at the box office, how it played on VHS, and why the coma-revenge angle is both ridiculous, and sort of perfect for his brand.
What’s up guys, welcome back. If you’re new here, I’m Anthony Digioia and this is Movies Never Say Die, your home for pure ’80s and ’90s retro goodness. Last time we kicked the Seagal Series off with Above the Law, watching Steven Seagal go from L.A. dojo owner to sudden movie star almost overnight. And now we’re rolling right into the movie that really cemented the ponytailed, whisper-threat, bone-snapping persona Seagal lived on, with Hard to Kill.
In this Seagal series, we’re keeping it simple: quick career backdrop, how the movie came together, what works, what doesn’t, box office, legacy, and then we slap a Seagal score on it. Now after Above the Law, Seagal spent most of ’88 and ’89 doing the promo circuit and shooting not one but two follow-ups that would both hit theaters in 1990: Hard to Kill and Marked for Death. He also got a tan, had his hair thickened, and would break out his sexy ponytail. Warner Bros clearly saw that there was potential with Seagal. Especially once Above the Law started finding its real audience on home video. So the next step was obvious: give him a cleaner hook, push the “unstoppable avenger” angle, and see if he could open a movie like a true A-lister.
Enter Hard to Kill, directed by Bruce Malmuth. Which leans hard into a simple elevator pitch. Corrupt politician, betrayed cop, a ridiculously long coma, with family level revenge as the gasoline. It also adds a bit of Hollywood stunt casting by pairing Seagal with Kelly LeBrock, who was not only a recognizable face from Weird Science. But also his real-life wife at the time. Which if you ask me, has been his greatest life accomplishment. Their real-life relationship gave the movie a slightly different vibe than Above the Law. Less pulpy street-level cop thriller, more pulpy soap-opera revenge fantasy with roundhouse kicks and stage play beards.
Now as I just mentioned, plot-wise, this thing is as straightforward as a VHS cover synopsis. Seagal plays Mason Storm, an LAPD detective who videotapes a meeting where a rising political star is literally ordering a hit. Naturally before Storm can expose him, goons raid the house interrupting Seagal’s awkward attempt at a sex scene, murder Storm’s wife, and leave him for dead. But his young son escapes, which is important later. Mason, however, is hard to kill, and doesn’t die. He goes into a coma and stays there for seven years.
Why not 6 months? A year, or maybe even 2? Well, because it was the very late 80s and seven years felt like a believable route for an unstoppable action hero. Regardless, when he wakes up, he’s got a wrecked body, a foggy brain, a horrible prop beard, a very helpful nurse named Andy played by Kelly LeBrock, and one mission: to get strong enough to avenge the death of his family and to dispense ponytail justice.
Now on a personal level, this was the first Seagal movie I ever watched. I remember catching it on cable, getting hooked on the brutal takedowns, then heading to the video store to see what else this guy had lining the action shelves and finding he only had two other movies at the time with Above the Law and Marked for Death. For teenage me, the amnesia angle was pure soap-opera nonsense, but it didn’t matter. This is a movie fueled entirely by the most basic emotions possible: “they killed my family, they left me for dead, now I’m going to break everyone in half.” And honestly? That’s sometimes exactly what you wanted from a weekend rental.
Is the coma stuff believable? Absolutely not. Seagal’s Mason Storm basically goes from human raisin to functional terminator by punching wood, doing slow-mo Tai Chi, and using himself as a human incense burner in that legendary rehab montage. But that’s also when the movie kicks into high gear. The second he’s out of that hospital bed, he’s dropping one-liners and taking guys out like the seven-year nap was just a long lunch break. As kids, we’d sit there practicing those Seagal hand traps and wrist snaps on each other while we watched. For a 13-year-old, this was way cooler than anything Disney was putting out that year.
Scene-wise, Hard to Kill delivers a nice little highlight reel. There’s the opening dock surveillance with Storm creeping around with his video camera. Which then sets up the whole Trent conspiracy. There’s the hospital assassination attempt where he’s half-awake, half-broken, yet still managing to outsmart a hit-man while in a hospital bed. You get the home-invasion throwdown at the farmhouse, and of course the finale where Storm finally confronts Senator Trent, turning that “I’m gonna take you to the bank, Senator Trent… the blood bank” line into a permanent entry in the ’90s action-quote hall of fame.
Kelly LeBrock adds a fun touch in her first performance since Weird Science. She doesn’t get a ton to do beyond being the supportive-nurse-turned-ride-or-die, but she gives the story a little warmth and some romantic energy that Above the Law didn’t really have. And for teenage viewers in 1990, Kelly LeBrock was absolutely part of the draw. And Mason’s relationship with his son also sneaks in a bit of heart. It’s not exactly Kramer vs. Kramer, but it does give all the bone-crunching a tiny emotional albeit superficial anchor later in the story.
Financially, this one did exactly what Warner Bros hoped Above the Law would do. Hard to Kill hit theaters on February 9th, 1990, and opened at #1 with $9.2 million. Which at the time was the biggest three-day February opening ever. It stayed in the U.S. box-office top 5 for four weeks, never dropped out of the top 10 in its seven-week run, and ultimately pulled in about $47.4 million domestically on an $11.5 million budget, with a worldwide gross around $75 million.
On top of that, it moved roughly 350,000 video units on home video in the U.S. alone. Hard to Kill would debut at 7 on the billboard rental chart. And climb as high as the 3 spot while spending 7 weeks in the top 5. Showing it was still a national rental staple months into its run. And Hard to Kill would be part of the big wave of R-rated action that video shops leaned on to pull in weekend traffic. Critics, as you might guess, were not lining up to build a shrine to Mason Storm. Most either laughed at it or casually dismissed it. Variety knocked the film for “sluggish direction” and a “threadbare screenplay,” which, to be fair, isn’t totally wrong if you’re judging it as prestige cinema. Yet, Janet Maslin over at The New York Times was more into it, calling it “a lively one for its genre” and noting that it’s at least ambitious enough to do more than just string together random action scenes. So as you can see she, and a few critics at the time clearly got the assignment for this movie.
Because where Hard to Kill really lives, is in that early-’90s action sweet spot. It doubles down on everything Above the Law teased: the whispery threats, the close-quarters bone snaps, the “you messed with the wrong guy” energy. But stylistically, it doesn’t feel like a huge step up from his debut. The direction and cinematography are pretty simple, almost TV-movie at times, so the action ends up shoulder-to-shoulder with Above the Law instead of leveling it up. Yet, it’s still a solid, satisfying watch, especially if you saw it young.
As for my grade, I’m giving Hard to Kill 3½ out of 5 Seagals. It’s a rock-solid action movie with a fun villain, a moody early-’90s score, and enough memorable moments to justify its place in the Seagal canon. The amnesia/coma angle is completely laughable, and the filmmaking never quite turns the dial past what we’ve already seen. But if you’re in the mood for pure, uncomplicated revenge, it absolutely gets the job done.
Now I want to know—was Hard to Kill your first Seagal movie too? Did you catch it on cable like I did, see it in the theater, rent it from the local video store, or discover it later on DVD or streaming? Drop your memories in the comments. I love hearing where these movies first crashed into your life. Next up in the Seagal Series, we’re sticking with 1990 and heading into Marked for Death, where Seagal takes on drug lords, voodoo, and some of the wildest villain energy of his early career. So if you’re into this kind of VHS-era action breakdown, you’ll definitely want to be here for that one.
And if you’re digging the retro vibes, be sure to check out my Friday Night Rentals series, where I dive deep into all corners of ’80s cinema, and The VHS Vault for those ’90s home-video favorites that lived on your local rental shelves. Thank you all for watching. Don’t forget to like the video if you had fun, subscribe if you haven’t already, and hit that notification bell so you don’t miss the next trip down the action aisle. Until then, keep your scowls razor sharp, your VHS rewound, and remember—Movies Never Say Die.
Anthony J. Digioia II © 2026 SilverScreen Analysis & Movies Never Say Die
