Now like many I too accept that Jean Claude Van Damme isn't the greatest actor in the world. He's an action hero after all and much like Steven Seagal, he's someone we wouldn't usually expect a 5 star acting performance from. He's just used to kicking people in the head and looking all attractive whilst doing so. Now he's older and currently a man who's career was absolutely dying a death, at least until this film was made and now he has the possibility to be back on form and revive his career as a more serious actor.So what makes this film different from all the rest? I hear you ask. Well for one he's not playing some clichéd character who you end up shouting "kick his head off" at. He's actually playing himself in a fictional setting and as strange as it sounds it actually allows him to display much more acting talent than you would have first thought.
So what's the film about? I hear you secondly ask. Well, JCVD's life isn't going too well and is constantly in battle to win movie roles but is constantly beaten by his rival Steven Seagal. His wife has divorced him and is in legal battles for the right to have access to his daughter. He also has quite a few tax and money troubles to boot, so to escape his troubles he decides to go home to his native Belgium only this isn't as peaceful as he'd hoped.
Upon his arrival in Belgium he goes into a Post Office, and after his fans tell a local policeman that the legendary Jean Claude Van Damme is home and in the local post office. Then out of nowhere a gunshot rings from the post office sending people into a panic and shocked that it turns out to be the movie star himself holding up the post office, or is it?
Well what entails is a film about hostage negotiation and a traumatic movie star life that is topped off with a difficult situation. It's not the typical JCVD film as it contains very little fighting karate style, but the film is made truly special with the defining monologue. Roughly half way through the film, JCVD is brought away from the story and the film in quite a strange style that allows him to deliver a monologue that gives the impression it comes straight from the heart. He talks about his life and career and how he wants to be remembered as a more serious actor. I got the impression that a lot of the monologue although in a scripted movie, was actually improvised or at least written by JCVD himself.
I would highly recommend this film to any JCVD and non-JCVD fan as it's truly his best work to date. This is seriously a possible breakthrough movie for him to bring his career back up to speed and rather than continuing to star in "straight to DVD" movies like this one, sadly, he may be given more movies that start in the cinema and give him a wider appeal as the man is still a name that captures peoples interests.
Get it, you wont be disappointed.
What a movie! It likely surpassing the collective expectations from the start of the entire audience. The opening scene rocks. A 4-minute film within a film begins with vintage-like Van Damme moments of high energy action. This single-shot sequence unfolds vamping up Van Damme's pre-existing persona in dynamic fashion. Then this incredible assembly of action ends with a hilarious fake wall falling over when a door is simply slammed too hard by a winded and exhausted Van Damme blithely complaining to a movie director, who couldn't care less (as in real life), that he is 47 and it is simply too hard to do these mad action scenes at his age!
The film then pivots under the young but world class directorship of Mabrouk El Mechri to the main story, where the audience is treated to a Van Damme they have never seen before acting with incredible depth and character. This transformation from a shallow bigger-than-life action hero to portraying true down-to-life emotions will be worth the admission alone.
Van Damme's dramatic performance and his featured monologue --are remarkable. The director caught Van Damme on film in a way to make any audience celebrate with rousing enthusiasm alongside Van Damme as he convincingly relates his belief in the American dream, then address his marriage and drug problems of his past, and how he wants a second chance to make a difference in the world. It is one of those cinema moments bordering on being a masterpiece; it re-invents Van Damme.
The camera floats through the chaos of Van Damme's life and caresses Van Damme's face that has taken on a good amount of character. Van Damme has stories in his eyes. Van Damme has life in his eyes. Van Damme has sadness in his eyes. Van Damme has regrets in his eyes. Van Damme has a message to deliver. The movie cleverly uncovers the pitfalls behind celebrity status with humor that Van Damme does very well.
The plot borrows on Van Damme's trying past. Playing himself, a beaten and depressed Van Damme returns to his native Belgium in hopes of getting out of the limelight. Van Damme is financially drained and makes a bee line to his home bank. But the Belgium bank is in the midst of being robbed. Van Damme is caught up in the ensuing mayhem as the police on arrival wrongly assume Van Damme is part of the robbery team. The actual criminals are enjoying extravagant good luck. Not only do they have Belgium's biggest movie star in their control, but through his ill-luck he is also taking the fall for them! In trying to find a way out, Van Damme realizes his Hollywood action roles of his past all fall flat when a real gun is pressed to his head.
This is a movie to be seen, not merely read about. Not only is Van Damme re-born but so too is the audience through a shared experience with Van Damme's factual failures and triumphs! (Dr. R. Witmer, Ph.D. co-author of Van Damme's Biography appearing )
Read Best Reviews of JCVD (2008) Here
The Jean Claude Van Damme Review Matrix (JCVD-RM)1. Who is he? JCVD is JCVD
2. Which family member/friend must be avenged? Himself
3. Does he take his shirt off? No, but he wears his heart on his sleeve
4. Does he have sex with a C-List actress? No, but he gets screwed in the end
5. Is there a tournament? Well, court is kind of like a double-elimination tournament
6. Is training needed for this tournament? No, but law school would have been nice
7. Does he do the splits in training or in the tournament? Unfortunately not
8. Does he punch someone in the balls? Punch + Kick = SWAT officer gets carried away in agony, desperately craving an ice pack like a long lost lover
9. Does he do a series of flying or 360 kicks? More than enough to satisfy a true JCVD fan
10. Is his enemy unbeatable? How does one truly conquer one's own demons?
11. Does he overcome an injury or other hindrance? In life, in court, and in a precarious post office predicament, JCVD is constantly plagued by his own shining star.
12. Does he win? The most revealing win of his career.
Beginning with an introspective peek inside production at a JCVD movie, we learn that he is no longer the man he once was. Sure, he's still dynamic, powerful, and above all a bona fide superstar, but he's also not quite as capable as he once was at a younger age. Despite the fact that he's 47 something his new director disregards like a slave driver he still manages to put together a pulse-pounding intro in a single take, with multiple attackers, countless weapons, a wall falling over like in a Buster Keaton movie, and even his patented testicle attacks.
The plot of the movie itself is rather ingenious. It's JCVD playing himself, in a movie soaked in the realism of his every day life. What it must be like to be one of a few superstars in a smaller country. He handles his situation with class, poise, and humility. Facing a ruthless child custody hearing, he must display those traits just to maintain a semblance of sanity. All that changes when he walks into a robbery and the criminals decide to use his celebrity to their advantage. What ensues is a battle of wills and wits, as Van Damme uses his status to gain the trust of his fellow prisoners, as well as to manipulate the mind and break the bond between the trio of robbers.
Most impressive about JCVD is a lengthy, heartfelt monologue midway through the movie. He talks directly into the camera and completely exposes his innermost thoughts. Separated from the cast and the set for a moment, similar to how a play differentiates group acting and audience interaction a break from the other characters he pours out raw emotion. Directly mocking Hollywood stardom, he struggles emotionally through real life references to his marriage and drug problems; it's personal, and it's deep.
His stardom is obviously a difficult subject. How he feels both vindicated and tortured by his success at the same time why can't others be as lucky? On the verge of tears, a breakdown must have been difficult to hold back; it wouldn't be surprising to discover the scene took multiple takes. It reinforces his frailties, and it supports the script that proposes his humanism, his mortality, that would clearly take over were a real gun placed to his head.
The monologue is also where JCVD displays his acting ability. He's actually a good actor something obvious to anyone who has seen In Hell, Wake of Death, or Nowhere to Run. Speaking in his native language, it's easier to express emotions. In all actuality, it's probably the language barrier in other films that makes him less believable. When working with familiarity, the acting range flows as easily as the dialogue (the subtitles are fast, unobtrusive, and seamlessly integrated). It's hard not to side with Van Damme, from the very beginning the viewer is privy to the behind the scenes treatment he often receives, and the undeserved lack of respect he commands as an actor
JCVD deserves similar praise to the fawning Mickey Rourke has received for "The Wrestler". This film poignantly proves that he has real acting chops, and that he can truly tap into that deep-seeded trauma which all great actors grasp when needed. He's painfully sincere, and completely fascinating in this exposition. His jump may have lost an inch, his kick may have lost some power, and his splits may not be as straight as they once were, but he is revitalized in this tour de force. Even for non-fans, JCVD comes highly recommended.It's been a long time since I've willfully watched anything starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, but the premise of JCVD just kind of caught me off guard. Van Damme basically does play himself here: a washed up actor who blew his Hollywood stardom and is stuck in a bitter custody battle over his daughter. He's reduced to starring in sub-par B-movies, and on top of it all, he's broke. Now back in Brussels, Van Damme goes on his way to the post office to sort out his money situation, only to walk head first into a robbery, where the crooks make it look like he's the one behind it. Despite many of the reviews on here, JCVD is neither fantastic nor dreadful, it just falls somewhere in between. However, for Van Damme fans, JCVD is a must see. Van Damme is unusually good playing himself, and his monologue to the camera towards the end of the film is especially heartfelt. The film's main flaws lie mostly in its pacing and dialogue, but for what it's worth, JCVD ends up being more or less a shining moment for Van Damme, and that in itself is quite an accomplishment.
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