Had he quit directing after Code of Silence, at the very least, Andrew Davis would have gone down in action movie history as the one guy who managed to make a good Chuck Norris movie. But, damned if he didnt accomplish the same Herculean task a few years later with Under Siege, the only good (even great?) Steven Seagal movie. This was akin to Michelangelo creating the statue of David using nothing but Play-Doh. With 1993s The Fugitive, Davis turned a decades-old TV show into one of the best action movies of the 90s. He had help, of course, but The Fugitive showed what the man was capable of with a terrific script and A-list actors; this is arguably Harrison Fords best role outside the Indiana Jones and Star Wars franchises, even though Tommy Lee Jones still steals the movie (just like he did in Under Siege). Davis reputation as the go-to guy for kinetic-yet-smart action fare was assured, able to write his own ticket. Unfortunately, that ticket was Steal Big Steal Little, a self-indulgent mess of a comedy which demonstrated one thing Davis couldnt do was write a screenplay. It was a tremendous flop, and he was soon back at his old job of resuscitating careers of ageing actors like Michael Douglas and Arnold Schwarzenegger. So far, his lone hit of the 21st Century is Holes, a charming-enough piece of young adult fluff, but hardly worthy of Davis eye for action. Even though hes apparently now content to be a director-for-hire, its not too late to hand him a project more-suited to his talents (Expendables 4, perhaps?).
D.M. Anderson works and lives in Portland Oregon. He is the author of two young adult novels (Killer Cows & Shaken) and a collection of dark tales (With the Wicked). He has also published several short stories which have appeared (or will appear) in various anthologies and magazines such as 69 Flavors of Paranoia, Night Terrors, Trembles, Encounters, Implosion, Strange Fucking Stories, Perpetual Motion Machine. He documents his adventures in the dark on on his movie site, Free Kittens Movie Guide
