Now we know why Seattle is so sleepless. It's off its face on dodgy drugs!

True Justice: Street Wars sees the Aikido 7th dan and musical actor extravaganza return to the screen. This is a return from real life drama Steven Seagal: Lawman back to the fictitious world of the undercover drugs cop. If you are fan of Steven Seagal you will be delighted to see that he's working at developing a thirteen-part series for True Justice. Street Wars is another two-part film and actually follows on from the opening two episodes of Deadly Crossing. This is the first time Seagal fans get to see him within a TV series, a successful move made by other movie martial artist actors such as Chuck Norris in Walker Texas Ranger (which I remember to be okay for its time.) Last year Chuck turned seventy and was actually made an honorary Ranger in real life. Seagal also has real police experience, having been a reserve deputy chief for Jefferson Parish in Louisina.

So all looks well for the Samurai sword swooping Seagal in this TV series...

This TV movie format starts with a young woman, April, dying of a drugs overdose at a party. Right, let's just stop there. Isn't it amazing that characters can always hear each other at a really noisy party. I can hardly hear myself think let alone have any meaningful dialogue. Okay, I had to get that off my chest. Carry on...

Meanwhile - still in the opening scene - a bad chap (who looks to be a Parkour runner) is on the run, with another criminal. They are stopped by a black car from which our hero (Steven Seagal) steps out and beats the crap out of him, without having to move too much. The other chap (the Parkour runner) is chased by two younger cops; one handsome black chap and a white blond who is guess what - pretty. 'It's like trying to corral a monkey on crack,' remarks the blond officer. That's just one of the eyebrow lifting lines that seem to just pop out of people's mouths. And yes, there's going to be some good lines from Mr. Seagal. Oh, one could write a haiku book of poetry on his little gems.

This is a general theme that runs through this film. The hub, or tub, Seagal. (Yes, I can say he's fat because I have ended up looking much like him but without the skill or bank account. Hah. Ya fat, ya hear me!/ So tubby here cannot run for toffee. Then you see him smack the crap out of all his foes with one arm, you can see why he doesn't have to run. To juice up the action and keep the pace, there are lots of dynamic cuts and flashing imagery. It feels as if the hectic cuts are trying to make up for Seagal's lack of movement.

We return to see the beautiful April lying prostrate on the floor with nice white froth oozing from her mouth. What a trooper to look like an overdosed teen. Nothing like reality. That's another theme of this movie: its tenuous link to reality in terms of policing style or realism in the awful crimes that are committed. This is surprising, yknowing that Steven Segal has real experience. Where does he get to deploy his wealth of knowledge in policing? It's all in the pithy little sayings he gives out to his team. They must really love and appreciate that advice. I hope he keeps this advice to the dialogue. For his sake.

Street Wars is in a way outdated story telling that other crime investigation series have moved past. I would say for realism, you may raise the UK police dramas to be far more connected to what actually happens in criminal investigation. I happen to be a fan of NCSI. (I know. Leave me alone.)

Although Steven Seagal looks old, tired, and overweight; with unrealistic dyed black hair and that quiet voice, trying to be the 'dad-cop' figure - he's great – if you are a fan. If not, you will wonder what the heck the Tubster is doing in this. That I feel is a shame. I loved Under Siege, where he played the 'cook'. It was brilliant fun. Sadly in Street Wars, Seagal just hasn't got enough to do. But that may be because he's also created the idea behind the series, co-written this episode and is an executive producer. He probably didn't have much time left for acting. And it does kind of show. I wonder if he wrote the theme tune as well? He does play guitar rather well (two albums out, folks!)

The story is packed with characters and lots of plot lines. This episode even has a forensic babe called 'Sparks' who, I know its a surprise to you, wears glasses to make her look smart! How 'bout that? She fills in all the little details for you in case you went out of the room to get another beer and a big bowl of chips (crisps ;-)). In fact, throughout the whole film there are lots of little flashbacks that fill in the details so if you don't have an imagination or you went for a pee, you are always kept up to speed.

While this may be a lightweight in story and dialogue development, it is a snappily-edited movie and never lacks a good pace. I felt like Steven, a bit puffed just watching. There are some surprises in the drama to keep you guessing, which I thought could really make this interesting had there been more effort made on the story structure. The five supporting actors are solid in their acting and they are the usual type of cast you would expect in a TV movie.

The film is broken down into two sections, which is due to the fact it is two series episodes glued together. Both episodes are tied together with a larger story arc but are themselves complete. Oh before I forget, some Seagal one-liners that stood out: "Man, this is all connected!" - no shit! Young people start dropping like flies: "This is getting bad, man, this is getting bad." Yeah Steven, I know.

There are also vague references to Seagal's martial arts past that are shoved in as scene breaks. If you had no idea who he was it would look rather odd. That's the point this series and film are for the fans. I think, however, they would be disappointed as there's just not enough of Steven Seagal to see, which is rather ironic when you see him in a flak jacket - he's a big boy!

The two parts of the film do feel disjointed, tying the different story lines together into one film. The second 'episode' sees the team providing protection for a film crew along with the investigation of the death of a District Attorney agent who appears for a brief moment in the first part. It makes sense in the second, but you wonder what is going on in the first. There are also a few oddities in continuity - can someone tell me how one officer can be talking on a short-wave radio to another who is using a cell phone? Very odd. There is also a classic gun fight that reminded me of when I was a kid playing cops and robbers: the bad guys shoot and then the cops take a turn. Backwards and forwards. Oh come on! It's silly things like that that spoil what was otherwise enjoyable action.

Overall the production of True Justice: Street Wars, is excellent for a series of this genre. The editing and photography is very good. The shots of Seattle are beautiful. The acting ability of all those around Seagal is solid and I wonder what would happen if you took him out of the series? I think it would stand up fine. If you were in the UK and remember Taggart, the actor Mark McManus sadly died in 1994, yet the show went on for years after without him. I think the same could happen with True Justice.

In summary, this is a well-made series that is fast-paced and has basic, but at times engaging storyline. The characters and story setup are very easy to get into; everything is quickly established. The only problem is unfortunately what to do with Steven Seagal. He's either got to reinvent himself and take off the flak jacket and hairpiece, or put the gun down and walk away slowly.

Verdict: Lose the dead weight. Seagal fans will be disappointed, but good production.

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