Jean-Claude Van Damme proved in JCVD that he was not only in excellent shape (as evidenced by the hilarious and impressive opening shot), but that he possessed previously untapped acting skills. Many (myself included) were curious as to how he’d follow something like that up, and while he hardly gave up the action gig for Masterpiece Theater or anything, he has stretched his talents in several surprising ways. He did a small voice role, his first, in KUNG FU PANDA 2. He took on a villain role for the first time since BLACK EAGLE in EXPENDABLES 2, and pretty much everyone thought he was the best thing about the movie (along with his character’s name: Jean Vilain). He’s since played the heavy twice, first as a radical reinterpretation of his Luc Deveraux in the excellent UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING and then as a goofy vegan/environmentalist/terrorist in ENEMIES CLOSER. He took the seasoned mentor role in John Hyams’ DRAGON EYES and the upcoming KICKBOXER reboot. He even played broad comedy opposite Adam Brody and Rob Huebel in WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE.
In POUND OF FLESH, he finds himself closer to his comfort zone, as a fighting, splitting action star looking to put the hurtin’ on some bad guys. But this film by Ernie Barbarash (FALCON RISING, ASSASSINATION GAMES) still manages to make things a little darker and fresher than the old JCVD jams we’re used to, and is notable for having possibly the best intro to any of his films.
Once upon a time, we’d open up on the Muscles from Brussels flexing his muscles or making some punk read something off of the heel of his boot. Not here. After some opening titles showing him checking into a swank Manila hotel (the film was actually shot in China), we see our hero waking up naked, blue-lipped, and bloody in an ice bath. Needless to say, he doesn’t look good. He quiveringly fumbles around his hotel room, and recounts the events of the previous night: after intervening in an assault on a young woman, he and the attractive victim shared the evening together. When he recalls a suspicious bottle of water she handed him over the course of the night, he confirms the worst: sure enough, there’s a long, gnarly scar on his back, right about where his left kidney would be. For his troubles, he’s left with nothing but a couple of medication bottles, an envelope of cash, and a serious case of the sweats-and-shakes.
This is all conveyed with very minimal dialogue and some effective ACTING by JCVD. Right about there, I’m ready for a full movie of little other than, “They took my kidney…and I want it BACK!” I would have been overjoyed had the movie developed into an early-Walter-Hill-style, dialogue-lite actioner with this guy laying the Van Dammage on the filthy bastards that took his kidney with the same aggressive desperation of Chev Chelios looking for his Strawberry Tart* (*heart). We learn that he’s a former spook, specializing in “KNR” (Kidnap and Rescue). He goes to a nightclub carrying a bible, and threatens a lady bartender he remembers from the night before: “You see this bible? It will leave big bruises, and I will beat you with it if you don’t tell me what’s going on and who set me up!!” Not used to seeing the onetime-softy Belgian superstar threatening women; it’s intense, and sets up a more no-holds-barred beat ‘em up than we’re used to from this guy. But the film quickly goes into more dramatic territory, incorporating a strained relationship between Jean-Claude’s Deacon and his brother George (John Ralston) that was the reason for the latter’s visit to Manila.
See, it’s not enough for Deacon to just want his kidney back because it’s his and, by gum, he wants it. Seemingly by coincidence, he was actually in town just to donate said kidney to his dying niece. He’s the only match, so without the kidney, she’s all but assured to be checking out shortly. He makes the call that they’ve got about 9 hours before the kidney is resold and implanted into a new body, and he takes his brother along as he tracks down the various underworld denizens that have made away with his precious organ.
One big hurdle: Deacon is dead set on killing (or severely beating) anyone who gets in between him and his kidney, using his training from his days in the French army. The deeply Catholic, American-raised George, however, ain’t.
Their debates regarding their history, the ethics of their mission (How far would you go to save your own child?), and their respective relationships with George’s ill daughter provide a level of dramatic depth that doesn’t necessarily increase the stakes, but allows Van Damme to monologue and brood as the damaged former merc looking for a shot at redemption. I wouldn’t say all the sappy stuff works (the final shot does more to kill the credibility of the concluding moments than anything in the rest of the film), and part of me wishes they kept it minimal and sparse plotwise. Other than Aki Aleong (as Deacon’s stylish-but-shady pal) and the late tough-guy Darren Shahlavi, the supporting cast is fairly bland and nondescript, and adds little in the way of color or pathos. But the added drama does sorta make it feel heftier than, say, ENEMIES CLOSER or his lesser DTV efforts.
Make no mistake: as we learn very quickly, this is not a flick that shies away from the aforementioned Van Dammage. He gets a lot of chances to show off that he can still pull off those legendary kicks and splits of his.
There’s a really cool bit (which JCVD has unsurprisingly touted on the talk show circuit) where he walks up to a driver and kicks his hand against the side mirror before he can pull out a gun. Then the driver starts pulling away, and Jean-Claude’s oh-so-flexible crotch takes a toll as his legs are slowly pulled apart like a wishbone. Then, the driver starts dragging Deacon around as he tries to keep one foot on the pavement and the other secured onto the side of the car. It’s crazy enough that he can still do these splits, but it’s even crazier that they’re still coming up with inventive ways to use it on film (though nothing will likely ever top the TIMECOP split that has caused many otherwise self-respecting men to fall off their kitchen counter).
There’s also as much MMA-style grappling as there is good ol’ fashioned kickboxing. He’s got the tree-trunks to sell some crazy moves, and the mid-50-ish Van Damme maneuvers these bulky fools with totally believable, brutal armbars and chokeholds that seem more influenced by the current fighting scene than by the melees of BLOODSPORT and KICKBOXER. He’s got a pretty strong ground game, by the evidence of it, middle age or no.
When the two brothers look for clues at an underground boxing match, it’s all but a given that Deacon will enter the ring at some point, and of course, he eventually scraps with a big bad bruiser while everyone cheers on. But then he snaps the guys neck, and the crowd goes DEAD silent. They wanted blood and guts and unrestricted mayhem, but straight-up death?? That’s not what they paid for. Their enthusiasm immediately turns into confusion, fear, and panic. I like this moment a lot.
The low budget peeks out at points. There are a ton of what used to be referred to as “AVID farts,” which are often used to spice up lower-budget action/thrillers through unneccessary, awkward, and often ugly filters, whip-pans, and quick-cuts. There’s also some godawful greenscreen work. It’s more typical and less intrusive in the driving scenes, but when they’re clearly manufacturing a nightclub behind JCVD in the middle of an action scene, it kinda kills the momentum.
Still, there’s something to be said for the use of practical effects, particularly in one explosive death scene where we see a character get blown back in slo-mo by an impressive blast. There’s also a couple of impressive gunfights, even if they fall into the trap of having the bad guys be the shittiest shots this side of Seth MacFarlane while every shot from Deacon’s suppressed pistol is seemingly a headshot.
But it’s the hand-to-hand stuff that is still Van Damme’s bread-and-butter, and this flick is a solid showcase for his still-formidable abilities. This doesn’t have the jet-propulsion of TAKEN or CRANK, but it’s also shooting for more dramatic weight than those films, and JCVD isn’t just showing up for the check. From the first moments of him vulnerably flailing around his room completely naked, it’s obvious he is not content to just play the stoic tough guy, and his admirable attempt to boost the story’s emotional credibility adds something significant to the more traditional action movie trappings. He also lets himself play something of a bastard, putting women and children in harms way on his single-minded quest to get his missing kidney back (even if it is for his sick niece).
Our buddy Vern once made a case for the older guys, like Seagal or Dolph Lundgren, to reform their image in the same hard-as-steel, no nonsense cloth as the later-era Charles Bronson. JCVD had the softest image of them all, so when you see him threatening skinny barkeeps with heavy bibles or contemplating killing innocent people, it’s pretty striking (no pun intended). I don’t know if he’s more ambitious than he used to be (though the case is there to be made), but he’s certainly smarter and more comfortable as an actor, which helps sell the legitimacy of more typical action stuff like this.
In short, the guy’s still got it, and he’s still trying to impress us with what he can do. Lucky us.
POUND OF FLESH is available on VOD and iTunes starting today.
