I begin this review with a disclaimer that Jean-Claude Van Damme was there for my teenage development. My first truly graphic film that I was not supposed to watch but I did was Bloodsport. You remember the crunch of the leg breaking scene. I then moved on to films such as Kickboxer and Cyborg (which still has one of my favorite film exchanges: Go to Hell. Been There.). As I grew, my interest in Van Damme decreased as I watched a hero simply make bad choices. And then, he was gone. Much like Segal, I never again had interest in any of his films. Then along comes JCVD. In a matter of 2 hours, Van Damme was once again the man.
JCVD may not be a film that grabs everyone’s attention, but it has two major things going for it in terms of longevity: a revival of the actor, Jean-Claude Van Damme and a very strong example of Postmodernism. That last word will take a bit of work later on, but just think about self-reflection for a bit. In terms of Jean-Claude Van Damme, I never knew he could act!
The film is centered around the idea of a fictional Jean-Claude Van Damme being caught up in a bank robbery. He has just lost his daughter in a custody hearing where his films and past drug use were used as examples of his bad choices. (This is the self-reflection.) The robbery serves as a tool to expose the media centered nature of society while presenting us with a view of the actions from multiple angles, including the robbers and the cops. Let me add that even though this sounds all action oriented and serious, there were bits of humor that took the edge off. Being that this is still a film, it does end on a happy note. However, happy is a relative term.
Van Damme was incredible in this film. He demonstrated that even though he’s the muscles from Brussels, his acting muscle may be just as big as his other ones. We do see him throw down a bit, but it all works within the context of being a movie star that is know for his martial arts. I hate to say that there is a tender side to all of this; but perhaps because the film is a bit autobiographical, we see that Van Damme has the ability to portray other emotions besides kicking ass or looking like he’s going to kick ass. Until I saw the soliloquy section of the film (which I’ll revisit), I was sure that this performance was on par with Mickey Rourke’s in The Wrestler. Well, I have to call bullshit on myself since Van Damme’s performance far surpasses Rourke’s. This is the true revival of an actors career in my book.
The other aspect that makes this film that much better is that it enters the realm of postmodern cinema. While there is no clear definition as I’ve mentioned many times before (if not I should have but I believe at least a small discussion on it was presented in my review of Hot Fuzz). The film is about a real film star even though it’s not the true story or a reality show, which means it is self-referencing the idea that you are watching a parody of other so-called reality based films. The soliloquy by Van Damme is yet another example because you get the feeling he is actually talking about his life rather than his character’s life. This is a brilliant moment when world collide and the viewer is left wondering how much of Van Damme is in Van Damme.
Aside from JCVD being an excellent film for postmodern studies or star studies, it is an enjoyable film to watch. You do not have to be a Van Damme fan to get it, but it certainly helps to be a fan to realize just how far Van Damme goes in the film. For one moment of film time, Van Damme cannot fight his way out of the situation. Perhaps losing a role to Segal because he agreed to cut off his ponytail hurts more than we know, or perhaps Van Damme realized he had more to give than a ponytail.
