Action! Reaction! A film blog covering the banished and ever-lowly genre of action movies.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Van Damaged: The Films of Jean-Claude Van Damme



[part of a greater series, "The Unexpendables: The Last Action Heroes and their Legacies"]

Jean-Claude Van Damme, the aptly-nicknamed “muscles from Brussels” started out as anything but. A scrawny kid with something to prove, Jean-Claude took that mentality with him throughout his career, giving way to what has been termed his “vulnerability” as an action star. This all accumulated in 2008 with the release of J.C.V.D., a soulful, bare-all look into the actor-martial artist’s troubled life. The film not only marked a keystone in Van Damme’s career, but in the action world as a whole; for once, an ‘action hero’ was shown the capacity of respect…and a stage on which to earn it. But the seeds went back much further than that. The damaged and sometimes damaging legacy of Jean-Claude Van Damme will be discussed at length here, as will his influence on the genre.

Van Damme's early roles are about as eclectic as it gets. He had a bit part in a breakdancing movie. He worked as Chuck Norris's stunt double. He was billed, quite literally, as "Gay Karate Man" in Monaco Forever...not to mention as an extra in an ultraviolent French film. There was squaring off against Shô Kosugi, headlining an Albert Pyun film (originally conceived as a black and white, silent opera, mind you), and, of course, his infamous falling out on the set of Predator. Throw in a book-end part as a Russian villain (a rite of passage for any Euro action star), and Jean-Claude had seen his share. Like they say, it's a long way to the top if you want to kick ass. But kick ass he did with the arrival of Bloodsport, Newt Arnold's martial arts throwback based on the supposed misadventures of real-life martial artist Frank Dux. Combining the simple, Enter the Dragon tournament format with a great heavy (both literally and figuratively) in Bolo Yeung, the film soon became a hit and introduced a fresh-faced Van Damme to the world. Its formulaic elements were overshadowed by the strong martial arts showcase from Van Damme, Bolo, and co., and looking back, the smalltime '80s actioner could even be seen as respectable. It was a great start, and with the '90s, newly-enshrined "international" action hero Jean-Claude Van Damme hit the road running.

As he progressed, there were the projects that Jean-Claude put his heart in (Kickboxer, Lionheart, Double Impact), and the ones where it was noticeably absent (Death Warrant, Universal Soldier, Nowhere to Run). That said, it was the peak of his career, and quality entertainment was abound. Whether in the raw emotion of the again-formulaic but fun Kickboxer, or the balls to the wall Death Warrant with its iconic, boiler room end showdown, this was Van Damage at its best. Perhaps, his finest hour was in Lionheart, which preserved the Van Damme formula (most notably: black sidekick/big heavy/beaten to a pulp only to persevere) but brought a wholehearted, genuine set of emotions and with it an authenticity to the stakes making an action movie so much more. A deserter, pimped out, turned away by his very family, literally fights his way out of the hole he's in, ending up with nothing more than the love of his family and friends. Knowing or not, obviously, there was some representation going on here, as well as acute foreshadowing of a certain role that would come some twenty years later.

But who was going to Van Damme movies for emotions? There was Universal Soldier—essentially a poor man's Terminator 2—which featured the now-LEGENDARY pairing of Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren (more on that later). There was Nowhere to Run, the best cast Van Damme film, and probably the best shot as well although with the first of Van Damme's sleepwalk performances. And, at the very peak, there was the Peter Hyams double bill of Timecop and Sudden Death: one, the most critically reputable of Van Damme's career, the other, one of the most laughable. Another Die Hard ripoff (Die Hard at the Stanley Cup Finals), we move from a fight with a mascot to hotwiring a stadium to the man playing goalie himself... All played straight. It's a hoot and a half.

But nothing was as significant as Van Damme's 'Chinese connection'. Somewhere between Quentin Tarantino, The Killer, and Van Damme himself, people began to take notice of Hong Kong director John Woo. This all came to a boil when Van Damme beckoned him to Hollywood—a since-controversial move that, in my eyes, both supercharged the director's talent, and subsequently quashed it for the next fifteen or so years. The brief firework was, of course, Hard Target, a modern refashioning of The Most Dangerous Game and, simply put, one of the greatest action movies of our time. The film featured a new, mullet-and-stubble version of Van Damme, playing "born on the bayou" homeless veteran Chance Boudreaux in down and out New Orleans. Meaner, macho, more zero than hero, Van Damme was on an uneasy autopilot with Woo unleashing him like a trained wolverine. The fusion of Woo's gunplay and Van Damme's raw power was like nothing seen before; two arsenals coming together in a slow-mo, rollicking cataclysm—the mid-movie chase through the city remains one of the best. And with a cast rounded out by Lance Henriksen, Arnold Vosloo, Wilford Brimley, and a young Yancy Butler, Hard Target remains the action highlight of Van Damme's career. Since then, Van Damme's 'marrying in' of Asian directors such as Tsui Hark and Ringo Lam has become somewhat of a punchline, and it is on that note that we will segue into the dark ages—the dreaded descent into direct-to-DVD—of J.C.V.D.'s career.


With the advent of video-game adaptations, Van Damme was being courted for two, high-profile arcade classics. Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat continued their rivalry on the big screen, and, as a result, left a trail of tears in their wake. For whatever reason, Street Fighter got the brunter end of the stick, and Van Damme with it. The film's reputation has snowballed in recent years; it's actually not that bad, and goes more or less toe for toe with Kombat. The finale is particularly enjoyable—a 45 minute action sequence of melodramatic showdowns and cornball speeches ("I'm gonna get on my boat"). Either way, the stage was set, and the lights were dim. Like Seagal, Van Damme put the nail in the coffin with his transition to directing. The Quest—a second and final collaboration with Frank Dux—was a listless Bloodsport retread that even made Sir Roger Moore uninteresting. Jean-Claude's rampant alcoholism and revolving door of marriages weren't helping, either. Trying to rebound, Van Damme imported the talented Ringo Lam from Hong Kong, with whom he made three films. The first, Maximum Risk, was a solid, watchable thriller—but not much else—co-starring Natasha Henstridge. Next up, Tsui Hark, and the frenetic, bubble-gum action of Double Team and Knock Off, matched only in their flamboyance by the Charlie's Angels movies. When an admirable, more personal project (Legionnaire) with big producers involved never made it to theaters, the darkest hours set in. The belated Universal Soldier sequel and a blasphemous Yojimbo remake damned Jean-Claude to the DTD realm, going right along with his third-gen contemporaries Steven Seagal, Wesley Snipes, and Dolph Lundgren. Personal problems continued to spiral and by the time of the new millennium, Jean-Claude had hit an all-time low.

Yet, in 2001, it was Ringo to the rescue, reteaming with Van Damme for Replicant and In Hell, two of his best performances and all-around films. In the former, Jean-Claude played his third (of four) double-role—a serial killer and a clone designed to think like him... Spotty sci-fi, yes, but spotty sci-fi done well, proving that Lam would not suffer the fate of Woo and Hark and that Van Damme was more than just a beefcake. In fact, it was the first real performance that Van Damme had given; there's a tragic essence to the brothers... the aforementioned "vulnerability" of Van Damme as a hero. He's not a hero here; in both cases, he's a child never given the chance. It's a legitimate film, overlooked primarily for its derivative title, the Van Damme brand, and DTD status. Such is the case also with In Hell, the prison movie/fighting tourney mix popularized by the Undisputed series. Far grittier than anything in the genre, In Hell lives up to its name, feeling like the end-all for prison movies everywhere. A French-American working in Russia (how's that for cross-cultural? Van Damme's ethnicity has always led to interesting setups) avenges his wife's death and is sent to a most brutal prison, where, again, Van Damme is forced to fight. But these are not the back alleys, parking garages, and upper-end estates of Lionheart. This is prison, and prison in Russia at that. Through fighting, torture, and isolation, Kyle (Van Damme) is transformed into a near-animal, a monster, ravaging others past the point of survival—consumed entirely by fear. The vulnerability-raw power dichotomy is on full display here, as Kyle then fights to rebirth his humanity under the worst of worst circumstances. It's not exactly Death Warrant, and it features a surprisingly-strong supporting turn from former NFL-star Lawrence Taylor. If anything, what I hope J.C.V.D. and Universal Soldier: Regeneration can do is shine a light on these great collaborations between Van Damme and Lam, and even more so, inspire the two to work together again.

The Order was light fun—Jean-Claude actually seemed to be having a good time—with an expected cameo from the legendary Charlton Heston. Derailed, well, was exactly as it sounds—an Under Siege ripoff of a Die Hard ripoff edited with utter disregard and incompetence... Without Lam, it seemed Van Damme was meandering, and with Lam's abrupt backing out of Wake of Death, things were set back even further. Second in Command and The Hard Corps brought more sleepwalking, listless action (save a great moment where Jean-Claude readily admits, "That fuckin' hurt."). The Hard to Kill-Bad Lieutenant hybrid Until Death gave Van Damme another chance to flex his acting chops, but in another lowly vehicle. The Shepherd: Border Patrol finally introduced legitimate hope with its great showdown between Van Damme and the up-and-coming Scott Adkins—a fan of the man himself growing up. But it was not until J.C.V.D., self-titled, if you will, that true respect was warranted. The film marked Van Damme's return to the theatrical realm, even if limited, and provided him an out from the suffocating grind of DTD.

From the opening, virtuoso-action sequence, to the fanciful monologue, to its bittersweet conclusion...even from the opening Gaumont logo, you knew this was going to be something special. Jean-Claude Van Damme (playing himself) returns to his Belgian stomping grounds with his career in the tank and his family disintegrating. But instead of finding solace, he's dropped smack in the middle of a bank heist, where he's soon exploited and announced as the poster child. From there, the effective, Dog Day Afternoon-Being John Malkovich mix begins to take form with plenty of unexpected surprises along the way. The biggest one, of course, being Jean-Claude himself. The film admittedly misses some of its marks: Mabrouk El Mechri's direction falls a bit flat (he's not exactly Sidney Lumet), and the color palette stands out like a sore thumb. The pretentious title cards, a flimsy narrative, and the cast and humor surrounding Van Damme doesn't exactly ignite, either. But it's Van Damme that triumphs, going through the motions, an eroded soul, ultimately letting the real heroes do their job. The film's theme, Baby Huey's "Hard Times," feels like an anthem not only for Van Damme but for action heroes everywhere. And J.C.V.D., its flaws aside, has set the bar for this 'revival of the fittest' in the action genre. And for that, we can credit Van Damme, the "muscles from Brussels" gone full circle.

In the end, Jean-Claude Van Damme may've found solace in his career. For many, the slow, DTD death is insurmountable, but as always, Jean-Claude stuck it out, he took it like a man...striking back with one helluva kick. His recent decision to turn down Sly Stallone's The Expendables may come as a shock to some, but not to me. With Universal Soldier: Regeneration, both Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren have made another hallmark genre piece that, its DTD status withstanding, will surely garner respect in coming years—the implications of which will be discussed at another time. In other words, Van Damme's on a roll. He's doing his own thing and doing it well. It's a shame he won't be there for the party, but then again, he's the one who made it possible in the first place.




~ Patrick D. Fryberger

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

The Action Reaction is like a Nuclear Reactor, only not

IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY NOTICED, things have been slowing down here at The Action Reaction here, oh, for about a year now. I've converted to Tumblrism and now run a blog (or two) over there, letting this little thing wither away.

That said, I'm still going to try to go out with a bang, albeit a very slow, longwinded one. Earlier this year, in anticipation for The Expendables, I had started writing a series on who I consider to be the twelve biggest action heroes of the modern era. Though I've only officially completed two essays (which includes watching all one of one's filmography, mind you), I still plan to finish them all someday, and post them here. I'll be sharing the first of the pieces--on Jean-Claude Van Damme--pretty shortly here followed up with one on Brandon Lee. From there, I guess I'll be posting 'em when I got 'em, hopefully to your reading pleasure.

Though this blog may be on its way out, my love for the genre and the people who make it happen is most certainly not, and I will continue to support them in any way I can. I feel the best way I can accomplish such is to celebrate them on a stage usually reserved for the most prestigious... honest-to-God film criticism and anaylsis. My essays will offer genuine insights in the actors' careers--past, present, and future--and hopefully shine some respect on the men and women and the genre as a whole.

So, I guess that's it. Quit my putsyin' around. Without further adieu, may I present to you, THE UNEXPENDABLES: The Last Action Heroes and their Legacies:


Thank you and goodnight.

~ Patrick D. Fryberger

Friday, September 3, 2010

Quickie Review: Machete














Sloppy taco goodness (and yummy M-Rod goodness)

In a year dominated mostly by trash, it's fitting that a low-aiming, Grindhouse fake-trailer-spinoff movie may very well be the best. Wildly inconsistent but never too ambitious Robert Rodriguez provides us an ultraviolent, politically charged, actor-revival extravaganza, which carries a little weight, a little grit, and even gives Steven Seagal his transcendental, J.C.V.D. moment. As the man says, "Back the fuck up and watch." You might just enjoy yourself.

***1/2 out of ****


~ Patrick Fryberger



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