First, there's Jean Claude Van Damme the star and then there's Jean Claude Van Damme the man. Or should I say there's Jean Claude Varenberg? How you separate the two is perhaps a little fuzzy and to some extent that is what "JCVD" strives to accomplish. Another vehicle for the Belgian muscles from Brussels whose career up till now has been anything less than substandard. At one time it looked like Van Damme might have had a glittering career as an up-and-coming action man. But there was a problem. He couldn't act to save himself. Which movies like his one-hit movie "Universal Soldier" attested to. Now relegated to the Direct, to DVD bargain basement It would be safe to say that Van Damme is in a hole. One that he's likely never to crawl out of. Helmed by Mabrouk El Mechri and filmed predominately in Brussels which is JCVD's hometown. Our protagonist plays a fictionalized version of himself. Washed up and losing out film roles in uninspired action flicks to fellow past his sale-by-date action man Steven Seagal. He also has to contend with a messy custody battle following on from a lousy divorce from his ex-wife. And to add insult to injury his own daughter who never the less loves him doesn't want to be anywhere near him. This is because she is teased by other children at her school as a result of who her father is.
So when in Brussels and he receives a call from his lawyer that he needs to pay or he will be forced to drop the case. The harassed JCVD who has also had to contend with an obnoxious agent and a host of equally obnoxious and irritating fans drops by his local post office in a desperate need to pick up some much-needed cash from his own savings account. That would be simple enough you would think would it not be for the fact that a gang of crooks have already taken over the building in a clumsily thought-out robbery and are currently holding everyone hostage, and when news reaches the authorities It's the Muscles from Brussels who becomes their prime suspect.
Although not entirely original(think "Being John Malkovich" meets "Dog Day Afternoon" and Its storytelling method is heavily Tarintinoesque. This is a Direct to DVD feature which while not the greatest and most innovative movie to have hit movie shop shelves. Its never less a refreshing change of pace for Van Damme. For once in his rather battered career, he actually gets to sink his teeth into a role that allows him to show up till now some hidden depths as an actor. I'm not suggesting for one minute that he is a unique talent. His performance although not bad Isn't the very best I've seen. Yet he brings in as unseen untapped emotions which I have to confess are rather welcome.
However, be warned. If you're expecting an action film then you might be left disappointed. "JCVD" is anything but. Even though the DVD, cover suggests otherwise which could be due to an underhanded marketing ploy. It doesn't detract from the fact that this is an intriguing melding of hostage thriller and intense character study. Ably supported by a cast of actors who lend the backdrop and the story the gravitas and the humor it so sorely needs although the whole Bank robbery scenario is one that has been done time and time again. There are moments when the whole premise seems to think It's more clever and original than it really is. It would be easy to not blame El Mechri for this as he's merely the Director were it not for the fact that he also co-wrote the screenplay. Largely then the buck has to stop with him. While the movie also looks great and the acting is first-rate from the cast the direction which for the most part is sound. Can't quite compensate for the moments when the tension sags. And while this is mainly a character piece it couldn't have hurt for the bar to have been lifted slightly. Where Mechri does score points is allows us to feel some sympathy not only for Van Damme who halfway through the movie delivers a surprisingly powerful, understated, and eloquent monologue to the screen. But also for the fellow hostages while also allowing time to develop the characters of the villainous robbers. Helped by the fact that each actor doesn't give one-note performances.
The Tarintino-inspired style in which the movie's tale is told can maybe be a little confusing if you don't give it quite the focus it requires and may be slightly rough around the edges. But for the most part, it works. Which in the end brings it to a fairly swift and may I say surprising conclusion. It's not a conclusion that will necessarily please every viewer but It's an interesting and satisfactory one and allows JCVD's personae to at least be "human" and not the on-screen heroic white knight. Which is nicely contrasted in a nicely placed scenario close to the movie's denouement. Where one tense moment involving the police, JCVD, and a criminal is acted out with varying degrees in how the same outcome is achieved.
I'm dubious as to whether "JCVD" will mark a crossroads in Van Damme's already beleaguered career as an action film star. He is pushing fifty after all and if relatively more successful action stars such as Schwarzenegger and Stallone are anything to go by. Age sadly can be quite cruel and rob what once was a glittering standing in Hollywood. So with that in mind It's unlikely that Van Damme will rise up from the doldrums. But at least he may be able to look back at his life in film and say to himself. "I did something right after all".
So when in Brussels and he receives a call from his lawyer that he needs to pay or he will be forced to drop the case. The harassed JCVD who has also had to contend with an obnoxious agent and a host of equally obnoxious and irritating fans drops by his local post office in a desperate need to pick up some much-needed cash from his own savings account. That would be simple enough you would think would it not be for the fact that a gang of crooks have already taken over the building in a clumsily thought-out robbery and are currently holding everyone hostage, and when news reaches the authorities It's the Muscles from Brussels who becomes their prime suspect.
Although not entirely original(think "Being John Malkovich" meets "Dog Day Afternoon" and Its storytelling method is heavily Tarintinoesque. This is a Direct to DVD feature which while not the greatest and most innovative movie to have hit movie shop shelves. Its never less a refreshing change of pace for Van Damme. For once in his rather battered career, he actually gets to sink his teeth into a role that allows him to show up till now some hidden depths as an actor. I'm not suggesting for one minute that he is a unique talent. His performance although not bad Isn't the very best I've seen. Yet he brings in as unseen untapped emotions which I have to confess are rather welcome.
However, be warned. If you're expecting an action film then you might be left disappointed. "JCVD" is anything but. Even though the DVD, cover suggests otherwise which could be due to an underhanded marketing ploy. It doesn't detract from the fact that this is an intriguing melding of hostage thriller and intense character study. Ably supported by a cast of actors who lend the backdrop and the story the gravitas and the humor it so sorely needs although the whole Bank robbery scenario is one that has been done time and time again. There are moments when the whole premise seems to think It's more clever and original than it really is. It would be easy to not blame El Mechri for this as he's merely the Director were it not for the fact that he also co-wrote the screenplay. Largely then the buck has to stop with him. While the movie also looks great and the acting is first-rate from the cast the direction which for the most part is sound. Can't quite compensate for the moments when the tension sags. And while this is mainly a character piece it couldn't have hurt for the bar to have been lifted slightly. Where Mechri does score points is allows us to feel some sympathy not only for Van Damme who halfway through the movie delivers a surprisingly powerful, understated, and eloquent monologue to the screen. But also for the fellow hostages while also allowing time to develop the characters of the villainous robbers. Helped by the fact that each actor doesn't give one-note performances.
The Tarintino-inspired style in which the movie's tale is told can maybe be a little confusing if you don't give it quite the focus it requires and may be slightly rough around the edges. But for the most part, it works. Which in the end brings it to a fairly swift and may I say surprising conclusion. It's not a conclusion that will necessarily please every viewer but It's an interesting and satisfactory one and allows JCVD's personae to at least be "human" and not the on-screen heroic white knight. Which is nicely contrasted in a nicely placed scenario close to the movie's denouement. Where one tense moment involving the police, JCVD, and a criminal is acted out with varying degrees in how the same outcome is achieved.
I'm dubious as to whether "JCVD" will mark a crossroads in Van Damme's already beleaguered career as an action film star. He is pushing fifty after all and if relatively more successful action stars such as Schwarzenegger and Stallone are anything to go by. Age sadly can be quite cruel and rob what once was a glittering standing in Hollywood. So with that in mind It's unlikely that Van Damme will rise up from the doldrums. But at least he may be able to look back at his life in film and say to himself. "I did something right after all".