Canadian Mountie Louis Burke is sent on a mission undercover into a US maximum security prison as a prisoner to investigate the deaths of several prisoners. Once there he discovers an underground scheme by the corrupt prison authorities to kill & harvest prisoners for their organs. When they discover Burke, the black marketeers send in the Sandman, a violent killer who Burke had previously arrested, to kill him.
Jean-Claude Van Damme started his career in the late 1980s, making films such as BLOODSPORT, KICKBOXER & LIONHEART / WRONG BET, where he would participate in some kind of underground fighting tournament. These films limited his career until Albert Pyun cast him in CYBORG, which was not a great film or even a good one, but which broadened his appeal to action fans.
"Death Warrant" is perhaps the first mainstream action film that Van Damme had enjoyed success with. As far as films go, "Death Warrant" is an action film with horror undertones, with its almost superhuman serial killer, the Sandman (played by Patrick Kilpatrick, who gets the chance to go full-on with his role), a psycho who proves to be one of the toughest villains Van Damme has ever faced (along with Dolph Lundgren & Vincent Klyn). The film's story is not as well sketched out as it should be, but remains passable (if you ever get the feeling that it was written by a teenager, you would be right – Goyer wrote this when he was 18!).
The acting is pretty standard, although special mention must be made of Robert Guillaume as the seasoned black inmate who befriends Van Damme, Art LaFleur as the corrupt prison warden & Abdul Salaam El Razzac, a guy who will give you the creeps with his strange eyes.
As usual, the film's main attraction is watching Van Damme spin-kick his way through several inmates, most notably one scene where he takes on a Hispanic prisoner & his homey Bruce, "who likes to kick the crap out of white trash". Watch as he VanDamminates both knuckleheads with nothing but his fierce determination, martial arts skills & a broken mop handle (although Bruce does have the edge by brandishing a metal chain – sort of like a contest of "scissors, paper, rock"; or more like "sticks, chains & legs"). "Death Warrant", with its underground practices & tough inmates, most closely resembles "The Story of Ricky", that infamous Hong Kong gorefest, although Van Damme does not get so much as a scratch (he does take a wrench to the chest & nearly gets impaled on a wood lathe).
At the end of the day, I would recommend "Death Warrant" to action fans, Van Dammists & those who like prison films. Just don't ask where that kidney came from.
Jean-Claude Van Damme started his career in the late 1980s, making films such as BLOODSPORT, KICKBOXER & LIONHEART / WRONG BET, where he would participate in some kind of underground fighting tournament. These films limited his career until Albert Pyun cast him in CYBORG, which was not a great film or even a good one, but which broadened his appeal to action fans.
"Death Warrant" is perhaps the first mainstream action film that Van Damme had enjoyed success with. As far as films go, "Death Warrant" is an action film with horror undertones, with its almost superhuman serial killer, the Sandman (played by Patrick Kilpatrick, who gets the chance to go full-on with his role), a psycho who proves to be one of the toughest villains Van Damme has ever faced (along with Dolph Lundgren & Vincent Klyn). The film's story is not as well sketched out as it should be, but remains passable (if you ever get the feeling that it was written by a teenager, you would be right – Goyer wrote this when he was 18!).
The acting is pretty standard, although special mention must be made of Robert Guillaume as the seasoned black inmate who befriends Van Damme, Art LaFleur as the corrupt prison warden & Abdul Salaam El Razzac, a guy who will give you the creeps with his strange eyes.
As usual, the film's main attraction is watching Van Damme spin-kick his way through several inmates, most notably one scene where he takes on a Hispanic prisoner & his homey Bruce, "who likes to kick the crap out of white trash". Watch as he VanDamminates both knuckleheads with nothing but his fierce determination, martial arts skills & a broken mop handle (although Bruce does have the edge by brandishing a metal chain – sort of like a contest of "scissors, paper, rock"; or more like "sticks, chains & legs"). "Death Warrant", with its underground practices & tough inmates, most closely resembles "The Story of Ricky", that infamous Hong Kong gorefest, although Van Damme does not get so much as a scratch (he does take a wrench to the chest & nearly gets impaled on a wood lathe).
At the end of the day, I would recommend "Death Warrant" to action fans, Van Dammists & those who like prison films. Just don't ask where that kidney came from.