Enemies Closer (2013) User Reviews

Van Damme seems to love playing the villain now!

[Hellmant · 6/10 · 14 March 2014]

'ENEMIES CLOSER': Three Stars (Out of Five)

Jean-Claude Van Damme and director Peter Hyams team up for the third time (after 1994's 'TIMECOP' and 1995's 'SUDDEN DEATH') to make this 'buddy action movie', with Van Damme once again playing the bad guy. It also stars Tom Everett Scott and Orlando Jones as it's action hero leads and co-stars Linzey Cocker and Van Damme's son Kristopher Van Varenberg (who appears in all of his father's films as of late). The script was written by first time film writers Eric and James Bromberg and their inexperience shows. The most clever thing the filmmakers came up with (for this movie) is it's title; which is about the two main characters being enemies at first and having to team up to fight a more dangerous foe (referring to the popular phrase 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'). People don't watch a Van Damme movie for the writing usually though, if you're a fan of his performances you won't be disappointed here (it's one of his better ones).

The story is set on the US-Canadian border where (as the film opens) a plane goes down containing a large shipment of drugs. Van Damme plays Xander, a crazy drug dealer who leads his ruthless cartel into the forest, near by the crash, to retrieve the missing drugs. Everett Scott plays an Ex-Navy SEAL turned forest ranger named Henry who becomes Xander's biggest obstacle. Henry's biggest obstacle (at first) is surviving the attempts on his life by a man named Clay (Jones), who blames Henry for the death of his brother (during combat). Henry and Clay must of course put their differences aside in order to outwit Xander, and his men, and save a young woman (Cocker) who recently took a liking to the ranger.

It's interesting how Van Damme went from always playing the good guy hero in B action flicks to always playing the villain (in B action flicks). He started out his acting career playing the main bad guy in the 1986 karate film 'NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER' and the 1988 martial arts action movie 'BLACK EAGLE' but after he hit it big as the hero of 'BLOOD SPORT' (also in 1988) he became known as a likable good guy. Ever since then he's kept that image in movies, until his turn in 2012's 'THE EXPENDABLES 2'. He followed that up (the same year) by turning his good guy role (Luc Deveraux) in the 'UNIVERSAL SOLDIER' franchise into the bad guy in the fourth film 'UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING'. Now, with his performance in this movie, it seems like he loves playing the villain; he's so over the top and darkly comedic that he steals every scene he's in. He's the only real reason to see this movie (that and Hyams direction; he used to be a really good director). Everett Scott is horrible as the action hero lead (in this) and Jones is wasted. The young Van Damme and Cocker are all right but their parts are too small. The movie is worth seeing for Van Damme though; you'll love it if you're a fan!

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Van Damme is having a blast; he's the only reason to watch this.

[lnvicta · 5/10 · 27 January 2017]

Van Damme is one of the few big action stars today whose acting actually improves over time. Back in his Kickboxer days, he had some unintentionally hilarious line-readings, but he always had a boyish charm that helped keep his movies afloat even when there wasn't any action happening on the screen. Now, he's a perfectly capable, legitimate actor. His English has improved immensely which has a lot to do with it, but you can tell that he still has a genuine passion for acting (unlike guys like Bruce Willis who look bored whenever they're on camera). Enemies Closer sees Van Damme as a villain once again playing Xander, who looks like a French-Canadian Joker esque madman, and he milks the role for all it's worth. He's a joy to watch. Whether he's barking orders to his henchmen or whimsically taunting the protagonist, Van Damme is eccentric and arresting for every moment that he's on screen. When he's not on screen, the life is sucked right out of the movie.

Everything else about this movie is bad. The protagonist is terrible, the dialogue is cringeworthy, every plot development feels forced and fabricated, even the lighting stood out to me as being exceptionally awful. You can barely see what the hell's going on half the time. The fight scenes, when they do happen, are entertaining enough. They're haphazardly edited though, which makes it hard to focus on anything for longer than half a second. And again, whenever Van Damme isn't on screen, the movie's momentum grinds to a dead stop. It's like watching a stage play and Van Damme is the hammy over-the-top lead gleefully dancing around the stage while everyone else is standing still in the background drearily reading off of cue cards.

If you're a die-hard Van Damme fan, go ahead and fast-forward through every scene he's not in. You won't miss anything important and you'll save yourself a lot of cringing and facepalming. His entrance and exit scenes in the film are particularly memorable and he's given a couple of fun villainous monologues. It's hard to fully enjoy Enemies Closer as a B-movie because it's so sloppy and gloomy; it never knows what tone to go for. And it doesn't help that none of the actors share the same conviction as Van Damme. The movie is mercifully short though, so if you are in the mood to watch Van Damme play the Joker and don't mind sitting through some atrocious dialogue-driven scenes, Enemies Closer isn't the worst way to spend 85 minutes.

Former A-listers make C-level B-movie

[Fluke_Skywalker · 5/10 · 1 December 2014]

This straight-to-DVD Jean-Claude Van Damme action flick is distinguished by a "name" director (Peter Hyams; '2010', and JCVD flicks 'Timecop' and 'Sudden Death') and somewhat recognizable B-list faces in Tom Everett Scott and Orlando Jones. I don't know that they make the film any better, but they certainly give it a sheen of credibility so often lacking in these affairs.

But the real star here is Van Damme. Years of hard living has left the once matinée idol looking like a hobo with a gym membership, but he brings a quirky energy to his rare villain role.

'Enemies Closer' is an efficient, moderately entertaining little action movie, and a good step or two above the usual straight to video trash flooding the bargain bin at your local Wal-Mart.

You know what you will get here at least...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 8 December 2013]

Right, well having grown up watching all the action movies on the late 1980's and the 1990's, then the name Van Damme is not a stranger to me. Indeed his prime was back then, but he is still going strong and making enjoyable movies.

"Enemies Closer" is not your typical Van Damme movie. Whereas previous it was him alone taking on countless numbers of bad guys and their goons, but "Enemies Closer" differs from that. Especially given the fact that he is actually playing the bad guy here, a ruthless killer who deals in drugs.

The story in the movie is straight forward and requires absolutely nothing from the audience. No need to participate or emerge yourself in anything; just sit back, disconnect your brain and watch the action on the screen. Much like most other Van Damme movies. So is that a bad thing? Not in my opinion, so I will say hardly so. I enjoyed the movie for what it was, an action movie that was predictable but still fun enough to watch.

You know what you get when you sit down to watch this particular movie, so don't get your hopes up too high. The action scenes were nice enough, though hardly amongst the best of any Van Damme movies prior to this one. And of course, you know the outcome of the movie right from the very beginning.

As for the story and dialogue, well, let's just say it was there. It will not impress or make your jaws drop down in awe. It is there in all its simplicity.

"Enemies Closer" is definitely worth a watch if you grew up watching Van Damme's movies, and it is nice to see him in a non-heroic role again (as in "Expendables 2").

However, there is nothing innovating or inspiring to be seen here, and if you have seen a handful of action movies, then it is very likely you will not be amazed here. I am rating "Enemie Closer" a definite 5 out of 10 stars given its predictability, generic and stereotypical definition of this particular genre and because it is, all in all, mindless entertainment.

Another Die Hard rip-off for me

[searchanddestroy-1 · 26 January 2017]

I am so delighted to have seen this corny, lousy but enjoyable grade Z movie. It is forbidden to watch it in another way, period. So, don't see it with the same eyes you could have for a Marty Scorcese's movie. Please. The most interesting for me is of course JCVD performance, because he has here the bad guy character, and he is shown, he fights as if he was the good one. The true heroes of this feature are nearly transparent, and the film focuses on JCVD the heavy dude. Don't you find this interesting and so unusual? He has here a weird and totally f...up guy, a killer fond of nature and ecology. A killer who is, I repeat, shown as if he was the hero.

So, you see, a film can be damn bad but also be interesting.

Pure enjoyable time waster.

And, one more thing, another Die Hard scheme, not the most famous although.

Pretty predictable but in a Van Damme movie that is expected. Fans of him will like this, everyone else may enjoy it.

[cosmo_tiger · 5/10 · 3 February 2014]

"Nothings gonna stop this thing, you hear me." Henry (Scott) is a former Navy Seal who is working as a forest ranger on the US/Canadian border. When a drug cartel led by Xander (Van Damme) shows up they want help finding their drug shipment that has gone missing. At the same time someone connected to Henry's past shows up with a grudge against him looking for revenge. This is a hard movie to review. It is a Van Damme movie so you know what to expect even though this is a little different then most of his recent films. The big difference in this is that he is a bad guy. I think its because of his age but the action sequences in his new movies aren't nearly as cool as they used to be. The movie itself though isn't that terrible and in terms of B movies its OK. The most interesting aspect is between Henry and the man who threatens him. Its pretty predictable but in a Van Damme movie that is expected. Overall, Van Damme fans will like this, everyone else may enjoy it. I expected worse. I give this a C+

Bad hair Van Damme

[Prismark10 · 4/10 · 19 July 2017]

It is hard to think that once Peter Hyams was considered to be a top ranked film director. In an era where films are shot in Toronto or Vancouver to pass themselves off as US cities. This film shot in the US/Canada border is actually shot in Bulgaria as it is even cheaper.

Tom Everett Scott is a park ranger and ex soldier. Orlando Jones turns up in the wilderness lodge one night wanting revenge for the death of his brother who was in Scott's army unit.

They are interrupted by French Canadian drug mercenaries led by the charismatic, eccentric and ruthless Xander (Jean-Claude Van Damme) who want to steal drugs from crashed plane in the sea.

Scott and Jones have to put their differences behind them to take on the bad guys. However Xander is cunning and resourceful, Scott finds out that he cannot trust people that are close to him.

The script and story is lame, Scott is bland. Orlando Jones was once a rising star, now doing direct to DVD pictures. Thankfully the film has a short running time, it at least zips along and there are some nifty action scenes.

JCVD has fun playing the villain, he has some one liners but his hair and dye job is terrible and distracting.

Fun movie fueled by Van Damme's unhinged performance

[mikesblast · 7/10 · 26 January 2014]

Finally watched this. I enjoyed it. The highlight is easily JC's performance, which is one of his best in my opinion. His villain is so wacky and over the top...almost like he was channeling Klaus Kinski or something. Another plus the movie had going for it was the pacing. Once it gets going, it doesn't slow down at all. It almost goes by too fast since it's only 85 minutes. Something I was kind of surprised with was how much JC was actually in it. I mean, this felt like a Van Damme movie! Not just a minute of screen time here and there. He 100% felt like the lead to me. I didn't mind Tom Everett Scott at all. Yeah, his character was a bit of a pussy and he isn't the first actor you would think of for an action role but it was just nice seeing a familiar Hollywood face...and acting wise, I thought he was fine. I would take him as a co star any day of the week over a Randy Couture type. Same goes for Orlando Jones. Everyone else, with the exception of the old guy that lived in the cabin, is a typical generic JCVD direct-to-video co star.

Production wise, I really liked the night time shooting. It hid the tiny budget pretty damn well and it just looked cool in general, I thought. The movie did have a few flaws that were annoying. For starters, Kris Van Varenberg was completely miscast and unconvincing as usual and every time that Linzey Cocker opened her mouth I wanted to hang myself! Also, some of the doubling was overly visible in some shots which is always irritating.

Overall, it may have been a bit of a let down considering that Peter Hyams gave us two of JC's best, but Enemies Closer is still WORLDS better than most other recent JCVD movies. It's a fun little action flick and I could easily re-watch it. 3.25/5

Enemies Closer

[phubbs · 3/10 · 4 February 2014]

Van Damme is back in action and this time he's the bad guy...again. This Peter Hyams directed action fest is a throw back to the 80's and early 90's but not in a good way unfortunately, its literately like going back in time and watching a straight to the videoshop Seagal flick.

There are some drugs at the bottom of a lake and JCVD and his bad guys want it. Little do they know there is a park ranger who stands in there way...Tom Everett Scott? errr yeah that guy. But wait! little do they know that before they turned up to try and grab these drugs Orlando Jones came along to try and kill Scott for not saving his brother in a war torn scenario years earlier (Scott is an ex-SEAL you see).

Both of these loose cannons, that's Everett and Jones, are now tangled up in this mess and must fight for their lives against JCVD, his son (again) and his henchmen. They gotta stop these bad guys taking off with the drugs and they gotta work together even though they don't like each other, plus one of them is white and the other is black...just to spice things up.

What can I say? this has to be the most clichéd flick I've seen for some time. Every action flick cliché they could muster is shown here in all its glory. The bad guys are French Canadian so this gives the excuse for JCVD to have some wild eccentric Euro-esque blonde bouffant quiff that makes him look like a cultured down n out artist. All the action is set within a national park type setting at night so expect lots of Indy style booby traps, darkness and generally not being able to see what's going on. The only thing they left out was the obligatory snake bite moment.

Every time one bad guy gets the chance to kill someone point blank they pause and talk endlessly until the moment has passed. JCVD does this over and over it becomes annoying...just shoot the guy!!! then you win!!! ugh!!!. People manage to miss each other point blank when it just seems impossible to do so, weapons are available for use to make things easier at times but they are conveniently forgotten about to ensure a good fight.

Towards the end there is a big assault rifle that gets dropped...but hey lets just knife fight and grapple instead. One bad guy gets his leg spiked by a wooden stake but carries on never the less. There's the crazy old man in the woods bit who tries to fend off the bad guys ('Hard Target') and of course the standard double cross at the end by the person you least expect. Oh and at the very end...I don't wanna give it away but Jesus Van Damme you could of just jumped over the side, you had plenty of time if you hadn't come out with that unnecessary last quip.

There is so much I could mention its hilarious, of course the film isn't meant to be an accurate flick but its definitely meant to be a serious action flick. The two hero leads play it damn straight despite being utterly useless, Scott is a bad actor and not a convincing action man. Jones just does stuff any old sidekick would do in this scenario...generally turning up at the last second to bail Scott out.

Really the whole thing is so ridiculous, the best thing about it is watching JCVD spew out all his cheesy one liners and dialog with that hairdo. Had this come out about 15 years ago it probably would have gone down well. These days its just hokey as hell and its meant to be a serious action flick!. Funny thing is you can tell they really tried hard to give it this kind of stylised night vision-esque survival quality visually.

I love the unintentionally funny final moment right at the climax of the films final action sequence. As the music swells to its peak and the camera quickly closes in on Scott's face so he can calmly say his final action man quip...'almost'.

3.5/10

Low budget with lots of action

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 10 December 2014]

A low budget B-movie action film with lots of fighting to recommend it, ENEMIES CLOSER is a film by former big bucks director Peter Hyams. It stars Jean-Claude Van Damme in one of his bad guy roles, playing a crazed drug smuggler who sets his sights on tracking down a couple of fugitives in the woods.

The plot is a load of old nonsense of course, designed solely to pack as much action as is possible into the running time. Given the low budget nature of the production, there are few car chases and shoot-outs here, just a couple of guys battling it out in a darkened wood. It's one of those films where seemingly every character knows martial arts of some kind and the choreography is decent to boot: I was certainly satisfying by the plentiful and hard-hitting combat scenes.

Van Damme plays his villain as a comedian, delivering his lines with energy and wit. He's by far the best actor in the production. Elsewhere, Orlando Jones is a deadly serious man out for revenge, while Tom Everett Scott (AN American WEREWOLF IN Paris) a park ranger who finds himself out of his depth. Both are adequate and acquit themselves well in the action stakes. ENEMIES CLOSER is a silly but violent production that's enough fun for you not to care about its various shortcomings.

When vegetarians go bad

[nogodnomasters · 4/10 · 28 January 2018]

Henry (Tom Everett Scott) is a park ranger on King's Island off the coast of Maine. He is being threatened by Clay (Orlando Jones) the brother of a man killed under Henry's command back in... Clay blames Henry and wants revenge/justice. Meanwhile Xander (Jean-Claude Van Damme) a cheese eating vegan drug dealer is looking for a shipment of heroin that was dropped in the bay near the shore of the island. Clay and Henry are forced to team together etc. etc.

This was a very predictable, badly scripted, poor dialouge film. The title is from the expression, "you keep your friends close and enemies closer" or in this case there are no friends just one enemy closer than the other enemies. Van Damme has an early fight scene, but his close-ups after that include eating fruits and berries.

Not even worth viewing. Better action films out there.

Parental Guide: F-bomb. No sex or nudity.

A hilarious unintentional satire of 80's action films. Terrible and terrific all at once

[Robert_duder · 8/10 · 30 January 2014]

Now I want everyone to understand that this movie is terrible. The acting is atrocious, VanDamme looks RIDICULOUS...why the hair like that?!? The action is cheesy, the sound effects are straight out of a THWAP BAM BOOM Batman episode, the special effects are bad, the dialogue is just awful....and yet I am giving it an 8. Why? Because I rate (usually) on sheer entertainment. And as much as I sat there and wanted to stop liking it...I was enjoying myself. I am a HUGE fan of 80's/90's action films and I felt like this was a total satire/spoof of that genre and they didn't even mean it to be. I think they probably thought they were making a serious action film and that just makes it even better. The most fascinating thing to me was that the story, the underlying concept is actually really good. Add a huge budget, a couple of really big stars, a decent director and probably rewind time at least fifteen years and this would have been an incredible team up type action flick. Instead we get this...a terrible, unintentional spoof that I enjoyed. I don't even know who they're trying to appeal to because anyone with more than two brain cells would see how ridiculous this is BUT if you watch it from the perspective I did, you just might enjoy it.

Jean Claude VanDamme is the definition of washed up now. Sorry dude, but you are. I thought he was terrific as the villain in The Expendables 2 but his day has come and gone and this is what we're left with. He still looks okay for his age and if he actually did any of the stunts and martial arts in the movie (I have my doubts) than he can still move too. But who on earth let him have that ridiculously coloured and styled hair that makes him a complete joke. How can you take him seriously? Well don't. Its more fun that way. He spouts "evil" one liners in this movie like an anti-Arnold from the 80's. He has some truly cheesy and hilarious lines so listen closely. He does a sadistic drug dealer pretty good considering how cheesy he is. Tom Everett Scott is just about the most mis-cast person I have ever seen in this film. He is supposed to be a former Navy/park Ranger who does insane martial arts, wields knives and guns like a hit-man and is basically what Jason Statham is when he does an action movie. That just adds to the hilarity. And gosh darn it Scott is just too baby faced and adorable to dislike so you do actually root for him. I am however not joking when I say Orlando Jones is the highlight in the film. He takes his role seriously, he's believable and hands down gives the best performance. He has decent chemistry with Scott which the film really hinges on. He actually shows an honest to goodness intensity in his scenes that was impressive given how cheesy the rest of the film is. Linzey Cocker is an unnecessary addition to the cast as Scott's forced love interest. I understand why they felt she needed to be there but they could have done it better and Cocker is left with a completely underdeveloped and cookie cutter character. She does serve one big twist to the film and any attempt at raising the intelligence level in the film is welcomed.

The movie actually gets even better as it continues. Some of the choreographed fight scenes aren't terrible and there are some violent moments that will please any R-Rated action fan. The last ten minutes of this movie that features a bare fisted brawl in a tree and the most bizarre and cheesy of the one liners, had me in stitches. Its so hard to judge this film because it is equal parts terrible as it is entertaining. I find it almost hard to believe that Peter Hyams helmed this film. I'm not saying he's a brilliant director but Timecop, End of Days, The Presidio...all very good and memorable action films. However, without the proper budget he seems to lose steam. If only this had been made from a serious standpoint because there is so much missed potential. It is a very rare thing for me to find a movie that was simply awful and yet I have to rave about how much it entertained me. That is no small feat. Take in everything I said, and watch this film and you will be entertained as well. If you go into this expecting Die Hard, or old school Van Damme type action...you will be sorely disappointed. Maybe twenty years from now this will find some cult following and I won't feel so bad about scoring it so high. 8/10 "The only thing you see in my eyes, are my eyes." One of 100 amazingly cheesy quotes in this film.

Well worth the watch Damme-Tastic!!!

[kriskreecher · 7/10 · 1 December 2013]

Just watched this and was not expecting much as JCVD's movies seem to be cheap these days and shot somewhere depressing in eastern Europe and badly cast with the exception of 6 bullets witch was halfway decent at a push. well enemies closer is by far the best JCVD movie excluding his role in Sly's Expendables sequel which was also cool. the cast in this movie is a lot better i really enjoyed Orlando Jones in this iv never seen him in anything before tom Everett scott was probably the weakest character not that he's a bad actor he just seemed the least likeliest guy to play the part he did. However Mr Van Damme was awesome i really enjoyed his character he was a nut bag he seemed really into it there was plenty of action good fight scenes and a decent plot to follow with a little twist JCVD seems to have a new handle at acting without having to Kick his way around a movie it was good to see him in a decent flick. its not the 80's van damme but the guys nearly a senior citizen. there's a sub plot also with JCVD's passion for our planet and nature he makes a really good effort and why not good for him. i applaud this movie and would recommend it. a good 7/10

John Claw-Duh Goes Bad - Not Only Is He A Drug Dealer, He Pretends To Be An Actor

[fredfinklemeyer · 4/10 · 8 March 2019]

03/07/2019 He's taken senior citizen acting lessons from Nico-The_Ass Cage which teaches you how to count the $$$'s but makes you forget how to act. Lame acting throughout by all pretend actors involved. The old guys like Cage and Van Damme need to hang up their acting spurs or be sent off to the hamburger factory. They're decades past their prime. Lame storyline with bad acting, NOT a good movie. Glad it's over. Bon Appetit

Van Damme is Back.. but no longer an avenger.

[living-article · 29 November 2013]

When I first sat down to watch this movie; I was certain Jean-Claude was going to disappoint me in his old age. Boy, was I wrong. While certainly not a blockbuster, This film is sure to entertain. At first Glance, Some of the acting seemed a bit cheesy, and poorly done; take for Instance when One of our female characters meet with the protagonist, I knew something was being foreshadowed by the way they had this particular eye contact; and of course was later revealed. Not many movies nowadays I can honestly say I would enjoy viewing again, this is one of those. And Jean-Claude's ending line was hilarious; most definitely setting the movies ending.

Wish directors had help

[micktfd-11399 · 5/10 · 5 December 2018]

My 1st review- this had promise, and I love Orlando Jones, but failed miserably on the technical side. The basic story had some twists and Van Damme was enjoyable, but most of the acting was bland and unbelievable. The technical problems, oh where to start.. Needed a real advisor on this one

Boring Film !

[adabsiz · 1/10 · 10 April 2023]

With 14 producers (sorry , producers , line-producers , executive producers etc) who make up two thirds of the cast , this must be some sort of a record for a modern film ! I guess they all must have lost their investment in this mistake of a film ...

The American - Canadian border is substituted with a forest in Bulgaria , and the forest has just enough ingenious lighting from somewhere for the cameraman to shoot ! Luckily they start a blazing fire which seems to go on for quite some time in order to help with the fight scenes.

Van Damme looks haggered , with peculiar dyed hair and certainly is labouring in his 50's plus years , shades of Steven Segal and Bruce Willis ... Are these semi-retired actors so hard up that they need to make this sort of sorry film ?

Please don't waste your time watching this garbage !

Another one to add to Van Damm's clunkers

[jordondave-28085 · 3/10 · 22 April 2023]

(2014) Enemies Closer ACTION

I can tolerate bad acting in an action movie if the action sequences stand out, but if everything here is bad than it's hardly even worth mentioning. Jean-Claude Van Damme plays, yet again, another bad guy role, as Xander heading a team of drug smugglers attempting to locate a plane that had just crashed into a nearby lake/ocean carrying shipments of heroin. And it's up to former Navy SEALs, Henry (Tom Everett Scott) who's now a park ranger of some island to make sure he doesn't get to it. Besides confronting Xander and his drug smugglers, he also has to deal with a very bitter brother, Clay(Orlando Jones) of a deceased who was killed while serving under Henry. It's dumb and lousy that looked like it was made for the minimalist amount of money.

"Organic. You're a good man..."

[dvc5159 · 6/10 · 26 January 2014]

Peter Hyams' "Enemies Closer" begins with a crash and ends with a bang, and nothing more or less. The crash belongs to a plane flying below the radar between the US-Canadian border, conforming my belief that Hyams hates aircraft following the odd destruction of helicopters in "Narrow Margin" and "Sudden Death" (I jest), but also setting off a chain of events at the nearby national park involving two war veterans at odds with each other and a deranged vegan-eco lunatic mercenary hell bent on killing anyone who gets in his way and eating wild fruit from the forest.

It's the simplicity of Eric's and James Bromberg's cornball script that caught my attention - most big budget films today tend to be somewhat pretentious in their depiction of certain themes. "Enemies Closer", made with a budget of only US$ 5 million but looks and feels about 4x as much, is about as straightforward as a bullet to the head, without a hint of self-awareness or pretentiousness. It takes itself so seriously, you'll swear you're back in time between the late 80s and early 90s.

Hyams may never be considered an auteur filmmaker in his lifetime, but he is undeniably a skilled craftsman - able to make films of various genres with considerable flair despite not having his own artistic trademark, save for his lush and underrated cinematography (a skill that he is supremely better at than directing) which works wonders for this film as it makes the film look more expensive than it is. Lovely stable shots of dark shadows and silhouetted fight scenes illuminate throughout the last two thirds of the film, stitched together nicely by Hyams' son John (director of the last two "Universal Soldier" films, both equally directed with considerable skill and crisp timing). Special mention goes to Hyams regular production designer Philip Harrison for making the Bulgarian local look and feel like a genuine Canadian-US woodland.

Tom Everett Scott and Orlando Jones are the protagonists in this one. Scott portrays an everyman park ranger who is an ex-soldier haunted by his past (as always), and Jones is the vengeful brother of a soldier who was killed under the ranger's past command. While they will never be considered as real action stars, both Scott and Jones do a believable job with the material they are given, and best of all, NOT annoying.

Both lock horns and one is about to kill the other when a group of French Canadian mercenaries led by the psychopathic Xander crash the party to steal a stash of heroin from the downed plane. This Xander, he is a real piece of work. He is played by Jean-Claude Van Damme, and boy is he having fun with this role.Borrowing bits and pieces from Silva from "Skyfall" and Heath Ledger's Joker, complete with an outrageous hairdo, bizarre mannerisms, and a penchant for badmouthing everything that isn't "green", Van Damme steals every scene he's in with his oddball yet energetic performance. Ever since "The Expendables 2", he looked as if he could have a second life playing great villains. With this movie, it probably could reboot his career if others are willing to see it. His exit from the movie alone deserves a perfect 10/10.

Look, this is not a great movie, not by a long shot. It's corny, it's cheesy and it sounds cheap (the music is pretty bad). However to quote Van Damme, "let's not think about the negatives". The strengths outweigh the flaws, and somehow Hyams, Van Damme and the rest of the cast and crew manage to make this movie work. An efficiently made, straightforward action thriller that pulls no punches, and does what it sets out to do. Now if only the producers at EON could see this and consider JCVD as a Bond villain...

Die Hard + Cliffhanger + Island setting = Enemies Closer

[kobold-23 · 5/10 · 23 December 2013]

Enemies Closer is the kind of movie that clearly doesn't take itself seriously, which is a good thing.

Plot is paper thin: A plane carrying drugs, ends falling into the ocean. Van Damme is the bad guy. Van Damme and his men are trying to get the drugs back. The good guy is just a guard taking care of a couple of tourists. The setting is some kind of island. Our hero isn't just a guard. A mysterious man tries to kill the hero, but it's obvious that they'll both work together to take down the bad guys who'll obviously try to kill them.

So, you know what you're going to find with that flick.

THE FLAWS:

1)The night setting is boring. It just shows how the movie was so low budget that they had to use the night to mask the fact that many actors didn't know a thing about fighting style. Had the movie happened during the day, I would probably have liked it much, much more.

2)Cops are so dumb. Seriously, why does every cop or guard ( except the hero ) act like a complete idiot in a movie?

3)The twist is so badly executed that it brings more holes to the movie. It also shows that Van Damme's character was way too cocky to the point that any idiot could have done better than him. You'll see the movie, so I won't tell the twist. It's not that you won't see it coming.

4)The bad guys were way too weak. By the last 15 or 20 minutes of movie, only Van Damme was still standing.

5) Black guy adds nothing and he's there just to mess up with the hero. You see he clearly didn't want to kill him. Then, we had the old cliché enemies working together to bring down baddies.

6) Van Damme's son is a bad actor.

7) The old hostage situation is old...

THE GOOD STUFF:

1)Van Damme still has the skills to fight people. The opening fight scene was cool. He easily killed at least 6 armed guys. The deaths were quite interesting and original. He even broke a CD in half to use as a weapon. Nice.

2)It's good that we had dumb guards at the island. That means more people to be killed by Mr Van Damme. Poor bastards.

3)Van Damme talking in french to his men in order to confuse our hero.

4)The always old Die Hard formula doesn't get older here. Our heroes take the baddies one by one, usually through fist fights! That's right, instead of using guns, the hero either beats the guys or makes traps to kill them. That happens a lot in the movie. Cliffhanger also had a nod in this movie.

5)There is a mercy killing and Van Damme performs it quite well!

6)The way the bad guy dies is the same way that the bad guy dies in Die Hard 2.

7)Van Damme kills a defenseless old man. Best scene in the movie.

If you're a fan of Van Damme, you should give the movie a try. He's clearly having fun with himself. If you're not a fan, just watch it as any action movie. It was OK. Disappointing because Hyams could do better, if you look at his previous movies. It wasn't bad.

5/10 because the twist ruins a lot of the flick in my view. Still, I had good laughs. XD

One of JCvDs better movies

[Blackspecter · 6/10 · 7 January 2014]

JCvD is getting better and better the older he gets. But since most reviews already mentioned his part in the movie I'm gonna do a short comment of another things in it. The only thing that is really bothering me about the film, is the shitty fighting skills of the Forest Ranger and ex S.E.A.L. Seriously, even a 3 years ex S.E.A.L and former drunk would have wiped the floor with Clay (angry brother) and most likely all the drug ppl too. A S.E.A.L is trained to master Jujitsu, Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Krav Maga, so even if some time has passed he should be a hell of a lot better. I got my black belt in Jujitsu about 25 years ago, and I had to quit a few months after. But I still remember most of it, it's like riding a bike. But besides that the movie is worth watching.

i am generous enough!

[eirebet · 4/10 · 20 January 2014]

i am the type of movies' fan who tries to now what kind of movie he is about to watch before watching it, in order not to have expectation from pop-corn movies or fighting ones and be prepared to be astonished by exceptional films. That's me and because of that i have enjoyed Oscar films, as i have enjoyed JCVD's and Seagal's movies amongst else. But, this one? Saw some mercy for God's shake! I shall not give any spoiler but some advice to the Belgian (once) super-fighter Mr Jean Claude: If there is no money for a descent scenario if there is no descent director if there is not enough budget to hire some descent actors for the other roles if there is no plan for a movie to be filmed at descent locations in daylight or at night with descent machinery if there is anything like what you offered to play n such a fiasco, ...then PLEASE DON'T PLAY IN A MOVIE LIKE THIS AGAIN!*

*and if you play, please realise that you are not 40 any more, you are 54 d@mn it, act like a 54 years old!!!

Surprising Fun for Van Damme

[zardoz-13 · 8/10 · 15 March 2014]

"Running Scared" director Peter Hyams' "Enemies Closer" qualifies as a good, fast-paced action thriller that dares to be different.Unfortunately, it doesn't succeed as much as it could, but this ranks as an above average actioneer for the Muscles from Brussels. "Expendables 2" action-star Jean-Claude Van Damme plays a murderous villain named Xander as if he were on LSD. He wears his hair feathered around his head and he has a memorable entrance. Honest, Jean Claude is the best asset of the film. He must have had a blast hamming it up as the bad guy and his performance is as much a stretch for him as "JVCD." He retrieves fifty pounds of heroin from a river after a plane crashed. He runs afoul of Henry, the Park Ranger (Tom Everett Scott) and another guy, Clay (Orlando Jones) who has come to kill the Park Ranger. Seems that Clay's deceased brother served under Henry's command in war and he didn't make it back. Naturally, Clay holds Henry responsible and Henry is pretty broken up about it himself. Henry had taken the job as a Park Ranger so he can put himself as far away from humanity as possible. If the prospect of watching Van Damme as a non-marital arts villain is offbeat for any film so is the prospect of Tom Everett Scott having been an elite military commando. Nevertheless, Scott appears solid, and he handles himself with acceptable finesse, particularly in his close-quarters, hand-to-hand combat scenes. Clocking in at about 85 minutes, "Enemies Closer" has a surprise or two, other than its unusual casting, and Hyams never lets the pace drag. The biggest complaint about "Enemies Closer" is its adherence to tradition. Wouldn't things have been cooler if Van Damme triumphed over the heroes and left with his heroin. Now, what'd that have been an intriguing movie: let the bad ass villain win. Tony Morales' orchestral soundtrack captures the rugged, tough guys must die feeling. Lensed in Burgaria, but you'd never notice it.

Good DTV action !

[destroyerwod · 7/10 · 5 March 2014]

This is exactly how to do a low budget DTV movie right. The location is quite simple, yet big enough to carry the movie and what will happen. The characters are pretty good. I would say the protagonists where fine, the Ranger was lovable, the black dude was OK, but the show stealer is definitely Van Damme. He has been going out of his comfort zone lately in different type of role, and after having seen him in Expendables 2, i knew he could pull off a bad guy.

In this movie, he is just so over the top and nuts its amazing. He is really what give a special feeling to the movie. In lots of his post 2010 or so roles he appeared as a depressing, never smiling anti-hero and even tough some of these movies where nice(6 Bullets, Assassination Games) i was eagerly waiting for him to do something else which he is doing with this and Welcome to the Jungle.

I loved the role of Xander, and he got the hair cut to go with it ! The story itself is pretty simple yet OK, don't expect a high budget of special effects, but the fights are done nicely and there is enough action to satisfy most fans.

Overall a nice addition to your Van Damme collection, and for a guy that is now not so young, i am glad he can still pull out movies like that.

Skip this one

[marsmanroy · 2/10 · 6 January 2014]

I thought to myself lets watch a Van Damme movie. Turn of the brains and just watch some action. Boy was I wrong. Because of all the faults and mistakes and bad acting it annoyed me and made me think that why on earth they made this movie. Van Damme plays the bad guy but he ain't bad as in bad guy but bad as in bad acting. If you thought his acting was a joke than better not look at his ridiculous haircut. Some fight-scenes were cool to watch which made the movie not the worst movie to watch (saved it from the 1 star ranking for me). A twist in the end as what became necessary nowadays but was okay for me. If you like to see or find mistakes and bad story lines in movies than this is a must see if you like action movies with a story line don't watch it, than waist your time on another bad movie :P