Submerged

Infobox Film
name = Submerged


image_size =
caption = "Submerged" DVD cover
director = Anthony Hickox
producer = Avi Lerner
George Furla
writer = Anthony Hickox
Paul de Souza
narrator =
starring = Steven Seagal
Vinnie Jones
Gary Daniels
music = Guy Farley
cinematography =
editing =
distributor = Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Millennium Films
released = May 2005
runtime = 96 min.
country = UK
BUL
language = English
budget = $10,000,000 USD (estimated)
gross =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id =
imdb_id = 0416243

"Submerged" is a direct-to-video film, released in 2005. The film stars Steven Seagal, Christine Adams, Gary Daniels, Alison King and Vinnie Jones. The film was directed by British director Anthony Hickox.

Plot

Chris Cody (Steven Seagal) is a top-ranked mercenary who took part in an undercover operation to stop a major terrorist strike on U.S. soil -- a strike that the UN refused to believe was about to happen. However, Cody had to break a number of laws in order to do the job, and he's in a military prison.

At the U.S. Embassy in Montevideo, Uruguay, Secret Service agents are briefing the ambassador on a terrorist base when they suddenly go haywire and kill her, and then themselves.

Later, in Washington DC, intelligence analyst Dr. Chappell (Christine Adams) concludes that some sort of mind control device must have been used. A Delta Force commando team is sent to Uruguay to investigate, but they are quickly ambushed and captured.

Taken to the terrorist base, they are brainwashed by Dr. Adrian Lehder (Nick Brimble), a scientist who heads a secret CIA experiment in mind control, programming soldiers to become virtually unstoppable killing machines when they're given the right commands.

The Navy recruits Cody and his talented crew to take Chappell and special agent Fletcher (William Hope) with them in an effort to destroy the facility and take down Lehder.

Cody is promised that in exchange, he and his crew will be freed and cleared of the alleged misconduct that they were accused of and receive 100,000 dollars each.

Suspicious, Cody quickly jettisons Fletcher, who turns out to be in league with Lehder. Fletcher tips off Lehder, and they quickly abandon Lehder's facility, leaving behind a few American prisoners as Trojan horses.

One team of Cody’s men commandeers a submarine, while the others secure the base and rescue the prisoners. The team fights its way past a tank, destroys the base, and escapes on the sub. But they end up stuck on the sub with some of the mind-controlled soldiers.

After fighting off the soldiers and escaping from the sub, Cody and his crew realize that they must race to bring down Lehder before the rest of his soldiers claim them all.

Reception and controversy

The film has been the subject of much ridicule among moviegoers, as there is one scene that shows toy planes flying. The film also features Seagal uttering such unintentionally comical lines as, "There's some sick shit up in here, alligator", "Where my crew?","Do your thang" and "Get your white ass outta here."

The Uruguayan government has protested against the film because of its absurd portrayal of the country, with terrorists hiding in the jungle, an unpopular dictator with connections to drug dealers, Mayan monuments and blond-haired peasants with goats. The production is so lousy that many scenes involve obvious Italian texts and words (like "schiuzzo, aperto" - closed, open) that are observed as "it's all Spanish". The film was really made in Bulgaria. Legal action is being considered.

Cast

* Steven Seagal as Chris Cody
* Christine Adams as Dr. Susan Chappell
* William Hope as Agent Fletcher
* Nick Brimble as Dr. Arian Lehder
* Vinnie Jones as Henry
* Alison King as Damita
* P.H. Moriarty as Chef
* Gary Daniels as Col. Sharpe
* Ross McCall as Plowden