Review of JCVD (2008) by Frank B — 13 Dec 2009

What can I say? Van Damme hits you like a round-house to the head from a toddler; You never see it coming! Imagine Torri Spelling in the Color Purple or something. OK, it's not as shocking as that, but it is pretty close.

This film is as though Charlie Kaufman decided to write and direct "Inside Man" or "Dog Day Afternoon." Van damme plays a version of himself, the one we are inclined to believe inspite of years of being pounded over the head with straight-to video junk, in about the most shocking role one could expect to find him in. Let me say now, he plays the hell out of it. This is a career macking performance for any decent actor who has ever worked. Again, I'm talking "Blood Sport" guy here. He reveals himself, that statement says it and then some, to be a brilliant actor in a role taylor made for him. He kinda reminded me of Bruce in "Die Hard," but way better, if you can believe it.

I won't bore you with the plot details, though the plot is anything but boring, but I will say that in the film he has returned to his home country, broke and battered, and finds himself in a position where he must choose between being complacent with the demands his villains or becoming a "real life" action hero. It is rare to catch a glimpse of a tough guy like this in the company of true agony. Stallone tried it, and barely missed the mark, in "Balboa." He nailed it years before in "CopLand," for which, like Van Damme in JCVD, he was completely and unjustly overlooked. Tyson really went all out and nailed it in the documentary "Tyson." Last year, the same year JCVD was released, Mickey Rourke was all the rage for "The Wrestler." Van Damme also hits his mark with deadly accuracy. This truly is the film, and especially the performance, you never saw coming. As I said though, the film was an '08 release meaning it has already been overlooked. It is tempting, being that this is by far one of the best performances of the year, to say that that is a shame. But upon reflection, like Tyson and especially Stallone, it is a strange and comforting feeling to know that you are among a select few to have experienced a deed such as this. You feel as though you have won some sort of a prize for taking the risk risk of remaining a devoted fan. It is rewarding.