JCVD

OK, I saw the movie today and here's my review: This movie is by far the best movie I've seen with Van Damme. Not his best action movie, because it's not what you would expect of a Van Damme movie, but the best movie he ever made. For me this is the highlight of his career and he'll probably never make a better movie.

The movie had indeed a dog day afternoon, even a Tarantino feel to it. The story is told in pieces and by the end of the movie all the pieces come together.

The beginning with the action scene is nicely done, and the one-take scene puts you right in the action.

Then the story continues with Van Damme arriving in Schaarbeek and going to the postoffice. From that moment one the story unravels.

Van Damme plays a portrait of himself and does this extremely well. He does have a sense for drama, and he really acts well. I do believe this has something to do with him being more comfortable in his native language.

The other main characters are perhaps not very well developed, no real background story, which for me is a bit off a flaw. But the movie off course centers around Van Damme.

The famous monologue is definitely a must see and is a summing of what he has encountered in his life, very moving.

This movie, for me, shows us that he definitely CAN act given the right director and script. I hope this opens eyes, and also his.

The direction for me was excellent and I think the director will go far. He clearly has talent.

I think the movie should've given a chance on the festival circuit, it definitely would've found an audience. (maybe they should do this in te states).

So conclusion? The best I've seen from Van Damme... A must see.

8/10.

I went into J.C.V.D with all the prepubescent memories of the action heroes of yesteryear; nostalgic roundhouse kicks, horrible dialogue, overdone explosions, one-liners and all. A time where the movie industry churned out the same movie a hundred different ways with the likes of Schwarzenegger, Stalone, and Van Damme in the spotlight. These action movies seem set aside from Hollywood history, not as bad films per say but as their own separate entity where critics and nay-sayers alike had no power to quell the insatiable appetite of young movie goers. A time where this trinity of subpar actors ruled the box offices with their muscles and gun toting charisma. Not that I was expecting J.C.V.D to be one of these films, but it is almost impossible not to be reminded of the better days of mindless entertainment when the film's title is the initials of the King of High Kicking, Jean Claude Van Damme. I was expecting something I have never seen before, something of a reinvention of an American, French, or more importantly, world icon. Which is exactly what I got.

J.C.V.D. is not a Jean Claude Van Damme movie whatsoever, no more than its namesake. There are no drawn out fight scenes, no car chases, and certainly no bad one-liners. Instead, the film is a hybrid, a meta-film, going beyond documentary, mocumentary, or full blown narrative. If I were to categorize it as anything, it would be a documentary of a mocumentary since it isn't afraid to break the fourth wall and does so on many occasions. The narrative is broken up, flipping back and forth if not only for the element of short lived mystery. It is not a character study since Van Damme is almost too well known for that, rather it is reenactment of his life dramatized for Hollywood. It doesn't matter if the story is true or not, the important thing is that Van Damme makes it real. Obviously drawing from his real life experiences, he pours his heart into his cinematic counterpart and proves to the world that he can flex his acting muscles just as well as he can flex his biceps, if not better now in his old age. Van Damme humanizes himself in a way that we have never seen. In a power and telling scene where Van Damme literally is lifted above the fourth wall, he explains to the camera his inglorious life and career, full or mistakes, drugs, and heartbreak. It brings a heart to those action films of yesteryear, of a past where things were simpler and a present where retrospection, as well as introspection, only leads to heartache.

This film speaks about the power of the celebrity and the quick to judge public. It brings to light the blood thirsty court system once it has a celebrity to make it famous. And it shows that not all of these superstars are the personalities we see on film. That they are normal people thrust into extraordinary situations with nothing to do but buckle under the pressure of the public. But beyond the serious nature of J.C.V.D. there are plenty of easter eggs to be found for those pure action fan boys. References to all of his previous work and signature high kicks are spread throughout the film that give it it's humor while the performances and solid writing attribute to many laughs as well.

The opening sequence of J.C.V.D. perfectly captures the message it is broadcasting to our time. It features an action sequence where Van Damme is out of breath and sloppily taking out soldiers while the stunt men and actors alike exhibit their heartless effort for a pay check in the film industry while the director throws darts at a picture of Hollywood. It lacks all the magic of his work while accentuating the cheesiness to a point where the fake film is a mirror image of the action industry today. And as Van Damme tries to catch his breath and lobby for a better film, he can only walk away in disgust of what his beloved career has become. J.C.V.D. is a film that knows what it is and what it is trying to say. Yet it somehow goes beyond that to become something more. It breaks down and then raises up one of the most famous action stars of all time only to show him in one of his best roles. Himself. It is not a tribute to those days gone by where I would rent six Van Damme movies and watch the rest of the afternoon away, it is more. It is a fun, funny, entertaining, and a damn good film. One thing is for sure, I will never look at Van Damme the same way again, and that is a great thing.

I just saw this movie at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma in Montréal (Canada), and allow me to tell you that it's a must see film for everyone. I'm a big Van Damme fan and I have all the films he ever made so I'm gonna concentrate my comment around Van Damme. The first thing I'll say is that this movie is his best and possibly one of the best movies of the year. Going to the theatre, I wasn't expecting a masterpiece, after all it's Jean Claude Van Damme and you see his movies for the action and his high kicks not for his acting. But the director made all the difference in Jean Claude's performance. The concept itself helps a lot. Van Damme is playing himself, so he's not playing one of his stereotyped roles. Furthermore, him speaking in his native language made a huge impact on his performance. He's more natural and more authentic which made him more credible. Compared to all other movies he appeared in, this is a revelation. The comedic tone of the movie is also something to be noted. The jokes are well done but what makes the difference is the jokes focused on Van Damme. The reference to his roundhouse kicks are just hilarious. Two moments especially shine in this regard. The first one is the demonstration in the post office and the second one happens towards the end of the film. You just can't miss them and they have that good old classic Van Damage feel to them. Also worth mentioning are his personal goofy quotes in french. The one when he's interviewed by a french journalist who asks him about the total of 1+1 will leave you breathless. Not to mention the courthouse sequence which was so funny. But the best moment of the movie remains his monologue to the camera. For five minutes, or so, he goes back to his life. He talks about how he believed in the American dream, his drug and marriage problems, how Hollywood screwed him up ,how he wants so bad to be granted a second chance etc. It's a classic cinema moment in all senses. It felt more a confession than anything else. It was moving and genuine and you can feel the human being behind The Muscles from Brussels image. The other thing to be noted is the long shot at the beginning of the movie. It was hilarious and it summarizes in a sense all of Van Damme's career: Gunfights, high kicks, goofy acting you name them. In the end, the direction of the film really sets it apart from any other Van Damme's movies. The director knew how to get the best of Van Damme and put together a film that felt genuine and true. However, some questions remain. What's Van Damme going to do from now on? Will he be recognized as an accomplished actor? Will he get scripts that show him more as a human being rather than a bulk of muscles? Will he be making more European films rather than keep on making straight to DVD films? I can't say, but one thing remains for certain: JCVD is the rebirth of JCVD.

JCVD is an excellent surprise. It's a kind of dramatic comedy where Jean-Claude Van Damme plays with great conviction his own role in life. This starting postulate, to tell a passage of the life of a movie-star on the decline by the person himself, makes the movie sail between fiction and autobiography. This original and ambiguous concept propels the script in a tasty, funny and tragic reality/fiction realm. One can think sometimes of Pulp Fiction.

The famous movie-star, Jean-Claude, is surprisingly right and touching. Van Damme plays here the role of his life, in all the senses of the words. There will be a before and an after JCVD. The central monologue of the film, a rare feat of ingenuity, a long one-shot sequence of the star made up of his doubts and his anguishes, is bound to become a classic.

The film is however not perfect. The flashbacks are well carried out but some scenes seen twice can be somewhat long and would have been improved by being shortened a bit the second time around. This saved time would have made it possible to develop the supporting characters, like the police chief, a bit more. Speaking of supporting characters, those are somewhat caricatures and with one dimension.

JCVD reveals itself as an excellent surprise. Far from being a hollow marketing ploy, this film, probably the best of Van Damme, is a true success that deserves to be seen.

The question now is what will Van Damme do next?

Jean-Claude Van Damme is a certain icon and one of the most famous Belgians in the world - even non-admirers should acknowledge this... His start as actor was not very smooth as - for a long time - he seemed stiff and the plots he was engaged were trivial and resembling. But improvements took place and Van Damme became a versatile martial actor and, the older he got, the less influence was on kicking-fighting and more on empathy and protection of the weaker. All this is nicely depicted in the film in question, where he plays a fictionalized version of himself, a burn-out action star whose family and career are at stake as he is caught in the middle of a heist in his hometown of Brussels. In line with several fatal scenes, we can snigger over police bureaucracy, thickheaded loafers and people's attitudes towards famous persons.

Definitely one of the best performances by Van Damme - and different in many ways; by the way, Time magazine named his performance in the film the second best of the year.