Cartels (film)
Cartels, also known as Killing Salazar,[3] is a 2017 action film starring Luke Goss, with Steven Seagal in a minor role, and directed by Keoni Waxman. It had a limited theatrical release on July 7, 2017, and was released on DVD and digital streaming on September 19, 2017.
Cartels
Keoni Waxman
Richard Beattie
Steven Seagal
Luke Goss
Georges St-Pierre
Darren E. Scott
Florin Piersic Jr.
Martine Argent
Nathan Wilson
Michael Richard Plowman
24TL Productions
Action House
Lionsgate
- July 7, 2017
100 minutes
United States
English
$6 million[1]
$37,776[2]
Production[edit]
Originally titled Killing Salazar, the film was directed by Keoni Waxman and written by Waxman and Richard Beattie.[4][5] Luke Goss was chosen to play the protagonist, U.S. Marshal Tom Jensen, whereas Steven Seagal, who had collaborated with Waxman on more than half a dozen projects, was cast in a minor role.[4] Seagal also produced the film alongside Binh Dang.[5] Michael Richard Plowman composed the film's soundtrack.[5]
Reception[edit]
Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times commented that the film "is passably entertaining", but criticised Seagal's involvement in it – which amounted to "roughly 15 minutes of screen time" – as more distracting than it was value-adding, concluding that "with his thick leather coat, bushy goatee, tinted glasses, and whispery monotone voice, he (Seagal) looks like an ordinary schlub in a Steven Seagal costume."[4] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter credited Waxman for filming the "action scenes with reasonable proficiency" but ultimately labelled Cartels as a "far cry" from Seagal's best works.[5]