I watched it again after not seeing it for a few years and it still holds up better than I expected.
But this movie is never talked about and it seems so much better written than the average action movie in comparison.
It's also strange that the star of the movie is Jean-Claude Van Damme because it doesn't feel like one of his movies at all. Usually when you watch a Van Damme movie, you know it's a Van Damme movie, or at least it feels specifically written for him in mind.
This movie it feels like it was written for an actor like maybe Tom Cruise, or Leonardo DiCaprio if it were written later, but then they decided to cast Van Damme in it later on. Because of this the movie feels like more like a crime thriller, without action in mind, but they decided up up the action later, once Van Damme came on board.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing, and perhaps feels like a merging of two genres. The martial arts action movie, with a crime/espionage type thriller.
One weakness is the middle section more. The first and third act of the movie are a lot stronger than I expected, with the first act setting up a lot of elements that come together well in the third act for an effective pay off.
However, the middle section is a series of action scenes and feels quite simple and formulaic. I think it's because since they wanted to make it an action movie too, they felt this is where there is room to cram most of the action in, since the plot is able to take more of a break before the bigger pay off.
The sex scene also may feel gratuitous and unnecessary to show that much, or maybe it's art, and lends to the story, depending on how you look at it?
But overall, I feel it's an underrated action movie possibly, that fell under the radar. What do you think?
But this movie is never talked about and it seems so much better written than the average action movie in comparison.
It's also strange that the star of the movie is Jean-Claude Van Damme because it doesn't feel like one of his movies at all. Usually when you watch a Van Damme movie, you know it's a Van Damme movie, or at least it feels specifically written for him in mind.
This movie it feels like it was written for an actor like maybe Tom Cruise, or Leonardo DiCaprio if it were written later, but then they decided to cast Van Damme in it later on. Because of this the movie feels like more like a crime thriller, without action in mind, but they decided up up the action later, once Van Damme came on board.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing, and perhaps feels like a merging of two genres. The martial arts action movie, with a crime/espionage type thriller.
One weakness is the middle section more. The first and third act of the movie are a lot stronger than I expected, with the first act setting up a lot of elements that come together well in the third act for an effective pay off.
However, the middle section is a series of action scenes and feels quite simple and formulaic. I think it's because since they wanted to make it an action movie too, they felt this is where there is room to cram most of the action in, since the plot is able to take more of a break before the bigger pay off.
The sex scene also may feel gratuitous and unnecessary to show that much, or maybe it's art, and lends to the story, depending on how you look at it?
But overall, I feel it's an underrated action movie possibly, that fell under the radar. What do you think?