Half Past Dead 2002

Sascha Petrosevitch, portrayed by Steven Seagal, is not your average car thief. He’s reluctantly roped into working for crime boss Sonny Eckvall, played by Richard Bremmer, through his association with criminal Nick Frazier, who is depicted by Jeffrey “Ja Rule” Atkins. Their troubled partnership takes a darker turn when Sonny infamously shoots and kills Sascha’s wife, propelling Sascha into a world of vengeance and intrigue.

After a tumultuous encounter with the law, where FBI Special Agent Ellen “E. Z.” Williams (Claudia Christian) and her squad attempt to capture Nick, chaos ensues, leading to Sascha’s critical injury. Following an arduous eight-month recovery that sees him briefly teeter on the brink of death, Sascha finds himself incarcerated alongside Nick in the notorious, newly reopened Alcatraz prison.

This prison, administered by the captivating warden Juan Ruiz “El Fuego” Escarzaga, portrayed by Tony Plana, is infamous for housing a state-of-the-art death chamber. Here, condemned prisoners are presented with the morbid choice of five execution methods: lethal injection, gas chamber, hanging, firing squad, or electric chair. The first inmate slated for execution is Lester McKenna, acted by Bruce Weitz, a seasoned criminal behind a massive heist that left five dead and resulted in the theft of an astonishing $200 million in gold bricks.

The atmosphere is electric as significant figures like Federal Bureau of Prisons head Frank Hubbard (Stephen J. Cannell) and Supreme Court Justice June McPherson (Linda Thorson) arrive to witness Lester’s fate, a sentencing directly attributed to June. However, amidst this tension, a group of well-armed terrorists, known as the “49ers,” orchestrates a daring parachute escape onto the island. Leading this formidable band is 49er One, better known as Hubbard’s assistant, Donny Johnson, played by Morris Chestnut, along with 49er Six, enacted by Nia Peeples. Their primary goal? To extract Lester’s hidden treasure.

When Lester steadfastly refuses to divulge the location of the gold, Donny resorts to violence, devastatingly shooting a nearby priest. But Sascha’s undercover mission surfaces; he’s been posing as a criminal to infiltrate the organization and leverage his connection to Nick for justice against Sonny Eckvall. As the stakes elevate with the 49ers gearing up to execute their sinister plans, Sascha leaps into action.

The battle for survival reaches a fever pitch when the 49ers attempt to execute June by strapping her to the electric chair. Sascha, with the help of Nick and fellow inmates like Twitch (Ricardo “Kurupt” Brown) and Little Joe (Michael “Bear” Taliferro), mobilizes to thwart this impending disaster. Determined to rescue June and dismantle Donny’s operation, Sascha’s race against time unfolds, leading to a gripping confrontation that could seal the fate of everyone on Alcatraz.