"Observe, if you will, the sad case of Steven Seagal. Once thought to be the Next Big Thing in the action movie world, he quickly fell into a downward spiral of egomania, bizarre paranoid statements, and super-sized meals... He's gone from having his films shown in, you know, actual theaters, to the dark realm known as direct-to-video. This is where most washed up action heroes go to die; Meaning that Seagal has now joined the proud ranks of Jeff Speakman, Brian Bosworth, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Michael Dudikoff.
That, of course, is the ultimate fate for many an action star, unless A) he's actually a good actor who knows when to take it down a notch, B) he has two solid, reliable characters he can go back to in case of emergency, or C) he can get into politics. Yep, Bruce Willis, Sly Stallone, and The Governator might truly be the smartest guys in Hollywood (failed restaurant chain notwithstanding). Think about that and try to get to sleep tonight."
That, of course, is the ultimate fate for many an action star, unless A) he's actually a good actor who knows when to take it down a notch, B) he has two solid, reliable characters he can go back to in case of emergency, or C) he can get into politics. Yep, Bruce Willis, Sly Stallone, and The Governator might truly be the smartest guys in Hollywood (failed restaurant chain notwithstanding). Think about that and try to get to sleep tonight."
— The Agony Booth on Submerged (2005)
"So, we’ve finally hit direct to video schlock with the Warlock ending up in a bland slasher film. I'm frankly surprised we haven't had Warlock in Space or in da Hood but I don't want to give Hollywood ideas. "
"Okay, here's the setup: imagine the sequel to a movie so bad that it basically buried Kevin Bacon's career and tell me who you'd cast in the lead role. You can't get Kevin back, because for all his faults, he does appear to know when to jump ship. He got away from Tremors just in time, didn't he?... When we're talking about someone this low, you don't need a phone, you need a putty knife to scrape the bottom of the barrel and get Christian Slater, the man with talent on loan from a Jack Nicholson impersonator and Uwe Boll on his speed-dial. Christian will show up for cheese sandwiches and warm Tang if you let him be in your movie, so it's a good deal. He's really going through a rough patch in his career, and you can tell. Notice the perpetually stunned expression. That "I was in True Romance! What the fuck happened to me?" gawk as he looks into the camera, silently pleading for help."
— Noah Antwiler on Hollow Man 2
This version didn't have a theatrical release because when the studio took a look at the finished product it went "Nope we are not releasing that, direct-to-video it is!"
Why [Half Past Dead 2] exists is a fairly simple question to answer. The original Half Past Dead was not a theatrical hit, but it obviously sold well on DVD. The DVD boom, along with the increasing cheapness of production, meant that the Direct-to-DVD market exploded, particularly with your Seagals, Van Dammes, Slaters and Snipes'. And if it's not their generic action flicks, it's sequels to big hit sellers on DVD. Did you know there's an Into the Blue 2? The Prince and Me 4? Dr. Dolittle 4? Especially responsible for this is Sony, who have done cheapo sequels to Sniper, Pumpkinhead, Open Season, S.W.A.T., Hollow Man, and many other genre films too numerous to mention. They often suck, but fans buy them up anyway often purely based on name value.
— Film Brain on Half Past Dead 2
