This movie was somewhat hyped as the "Van Damme is back in full action force" or something like that. I was expecting an action showcase, with spin kicks and fights all the way true. Instead the movie seem to focus a lot on story...
Don't get me wrong, the story is not bad, its not stellar either but this is more what would i expect from a Pierce Brosnan movie in 2015, not a Van Damme one.
The first fight of the movie despite being very short is actually one of the best, it shows kicking and what we are use to see from Van Damme. The rest seem to mainly focus on MMA type of ground and grappling attacks, which if done right can be fun on screen, but here i tough it didn't suit Van Damme at all. The fights just appear to be slow, clunky and lack luster in general. I know Van Damme is not too young anymore but i left me without much excitement unlike his other recent movies that i fairly enjoyed.
Sadly Darren Shalavi passed away lately and this will be one of his last film along his Kickboxer remake role(if he had time to finish everything, which i hope he did) and to be fairly honest i know he could do much better than in this movie. Maybe he had to tone down himself to match Van Damme, but i saw much better fights with the younger Scott Adkins for example.
Another thing that was very bad is the fake CGI blood, it really looked terrible. There is also one particular gunshot they totally forgot to add the damage to it. You will know which one when you see it.
Now despite being far from a great movie, it was enjoyable to a degree, i guess i was just expecting a lot better from a kick ass trailer. I had much more fun with 6 Bullets and Ennemies Closer for example. But i still think Van Damme has a lot of potential left, i hope he keep making movies. Lately its been hit or miss but the misses mostly had him in secondary roles, like Dragon Eyes or Universal Soldier 4, but this one has him really as main character. I will still rent the next one no matter.
Don't get me wrong, the story is not bad, its not stellar either but this is more what would i expect from a Pierce Brosnan movie in 2015, not a Van Damme one.
The first fight of the movie despite being very short is actually one of the best, it shows kicking and what we are use to see from Van Damme. The rest seem to mainly focus on MMA type of ground and grappling attacks, which if done right can be fun on screen, but here i tough it didn't suit Van Damme at all. The fights just appear to be slow, clunky and lack luster in general. I know Van Damme is not too young anymore but i left me without much excitement unlike his other recent movies that i fairly enjoyed.
Sadly Darren Shalavi passed away lately and this will be one of his last film along his Kickboxer remake role(if he had time to finish everything, which i hope he did) and to be fairly honest i know he could do much better than in this movie. Maybe he had to tone down himself to match Van Damme, but i saw much better fights with the younger Scott Adkins for example.
Another thing that was very bad is the fake CGI blood, it really looked terrible. There is also one particular gunshot they totally forgot to add the damage to it. You will know which one when you see it.
Now despite being far from a great movie, it was enjoyable to a degree, i guess i was just expecting a lot better from a kick ass trailer. I had much more fun with 6 Bullets and Ennemies Closer for example. But i still think Van Damme has a lot of potential left, i hope he keep making movies. Lately its been hit or miss but the misses mostly had him in secondary roles, like Dragon Eyes or Universal Soldier 4, but this one has him really as main character. I will still rent the next one no matter.