Review of JCVD (2008) by The R — 03 Aug 2010

In Mabrouk El Mechri's "JCVD", down-on-his-luck action star Jean Claude Van Damme (playing himself) gets caught in a post office robbery and is mistaken by the police as the culprit. The hostage situation in the film is rather lacking in tension, and El Mechri's style, which includes shooting everything in a green-gray monochrome, gets a bit distracting at times.

However, as a love letter to Van Damme, the film more than succeeds. Here, Van Damme reveals depths as an actor that were not seen in his action pictures. The film lays out his heart and soul, and although it far from flatters him, the viewer can feel the genuine affection for the star.

There is a monologue in this film that doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the picture, but like the rest of the film it serves as an acting showcase for Van Damme and I admired it on that level.

On top of that, there is some good supporting work, from some of the police officers and one of the robbers, and the film is able to maintain a great sense of humour at most times. While the film doesn't quite reach the same level of dramatic tension as, say, "Dog Day Afternoon" (the gold standard of robbery-hostage-situation comedy dramas), there is a certain whimsy at work that, coupled with a strong central performance and solid supporting work, and a wonderful sense of humour, make this film more than pleasant to watch.

See it even if you aren't an action fan.