Reviews (28)

Low Budget But Worth Every Penny
Van Damme portrays a streetfighter who gets caught up in the middle of a raw fighting hard hitting circuit.He keeps fighting to raise money for his brothers family who needs the money or they'll become homeless.The storyline is cheap and the flick itself is low budget but the fight scenes are supurb and the acting on Van Dammes part is excellent.In my opinion of course this movie is the greatest low budget action film available on the market today,if you like martial-arts films instead of explosions and basic killing spree action films than lionheart is your ticket to everything you want to see...Enjoy!

Another amazing van damme movie...WHAT A SHOCKER!!!
Let me just say....this is one of VAN DAMME's cheeziest but amazing movies other than kickboxer, bloodsport, and double impact.. But cheezy is good in this case... Van DAmme escapes from a military base in North Africa...and arrives in L.A. To visit his dead brothers wife. Since he is broke when arrived to L.A. he has to fight in order to make a living....!!! WHat a great Plot...so far.... Later on in the movie he becomes close with his brothers wife...and stays in L.A. The Action is pretty cool with good fight scenes....IF ur a true Van damme Fan you would buy this even if u never saw it....I mean just look at the cover for goodness sake!!!

Great fight scenes
This is one of Van Damms best. After hearing of his brothers death in America, Van Damm escapes the legeon in Africa to head for Los Angeles were he becomes a fighter in a no-holds-barred underground fighting circuit to raise money for his sister in law an his neese. There are many fights in different settings, wearhouses, parking garrages, fitness studios etc. I love the fight were Van Damm and another in shape guy have to fight at a pool party with lots of beutifull women standing around wearing nothing but G-string bikinis. The two must fight in an empty inground swimming pool with just a couple of feet of water in the deep end. they fight in speedos and bare feet. After a good fight Van Damm finally knocks the poor guy out cold in the water and draggs his lifeless body out of the water so he wont drown as the crowd of onlooker surounding the pool cheer for him. Personally, I would have rather he left me in the water to drown than to have to wake up and face all of those beutifull bikini clad women that I just got my you know what kicked in front of. In the end Van Damm fights the champion for enough prize money to make his family financially secure for life. Great movie.

One of Van Damme's VERY BEST-The Legionnaire Avenger
Do not be misguided by the fact that this movie was shot back in 1989, and thus be led to assume that this is another one of the low budget, b-movies that Van Damme used to make in the 1980's.

AWOL/Lionheart, is arguably his best film ever.

The story begins in what is a typical modern Legion Etrangere camp somewhere in North Africa. Van Damme plays a ranker soldier, Leon, who is serving in one of the Legion's crack North African detachments. Here, we get the very rare glimpse of what is like to be a modern Legionnaire: Both the scenery and camp are very realistic, rigid discipline prevalent, with emphasis being put on the soldiers' perfect fitness through physical training and manual labour.

Suddenly, Leon receives a letter from his only brother's wife who lives in the USA, informing him that his brother was beaten to death by some villains, and that she needs someone both to avenge his death and take care of her and her little daughter.

Rigid almost inhuman discipline in the Legion is once again underlined, when Private Leon asks to see his Commanding Officer, an impressive blond Frenchman, every inch a soldier. After hearing the reasons why Pvt. Leon asks for a leave, his CO coolly denies on the grounds that he firstly needs him "down here", and secondly that Pvt. Leon's contract with the Legion excludes furloughs.

From here onwards, the movie ceases to be static, and becomes a fast paced action adventure, as we follow Van Damme's risky escape from the camp to some North African muslim seaport, where he seeks to obtain passage on one of the Merchant Ships there, to the USA. In the meantime, his French CO has reported him as AWOL, and he has ordered two of his best NCO's to locate and return the deserter back to his unit.

Van Damme evades his pursuers, and signs on a 1950's Steam Turbine General Freighter as a Wiper, in order to pay for his passage.

When he finally arrives in the USA, we see him wandering the streets of New York, dressed in Navy fatigues looking for a job. He finally makes his way under a bridge, where the odd black bookmaker is staging a no-holds barred street-fighting tournament of sorts. The bookmaker, seeing Van Damme's incredible physique, suggests that he should fight in the next match in return for a fee. Asking his name, Van Damme replies slowly in French, "LE-ON", whereupon, the bookmaker hears "Lion" and proclaims him the "Lion". Thus, a new street-fighter star is born.

Van Damme, keeps fighting for profit, and his successes attract the attention of a gorgeous Nordic-American female manager, who is organizing fights for the entertainment of the Jet-Set NYC citizens. She falls in love with him, and acting as his manager, arranges his participation in high-class private fighting matches for the rich. Van Damme wins fame and glory, but his mind is always with his dead brother, and his widow and daughter.

After doing a lot of digging, he finally manages to locate his brother widow and daugter, whereupon one of the most touching scenes of the movie take place, when Van Damme meets his brother's daughter and widow, amid hugs and celebration.

But, his pursuers from the Legion, follow close behind, looking for a chance to seize him. Finally, they manage to track him down, in some makeshift arena where Van Damme is about to meet the late World Wrestling Federation Champion Andre the Giant, in a match to the death, which would be the culmination of his career as U.S. fighter. As the match progresses, we see the two Legionnaire NCO's, formerly his bitter enemies, having changed into stalwart supporters of his, witnessing first-hand his bravery and fighting skill.

After the match is over, the French NCO's make themselves known, and take Van Damme into their custody, despite his brother's widow protests. Then follows the most touching scene in the film, with Van Damme hugging his brother's daughter, tears flowing in his eyes. The scene is so compelling, that even the tough French Legionnaires, after looking each other, cannot avoid to shed the odd tear.

After putting Van Damme in the car, the French NCO's drive only about half a mile down the road, when the car stops suddenly, and Van Damme is set free, in order to return to his dead brother's family.

A truly great movie, one of Van Damme's few movies, which I enjoyed seeing over and over again. The movie will be loved by, not only from those who admire the French Foreign Legion, but from martial arts fans as well, not to say anything of Van Damme's fans, who will absolutely love it. It is one of these rarest of the rare low budget movies that, having started with meager resources, by luck and hard work are turned into pearls.

The hero's devotion and love to his only brother, deeply touched me, and I think also struck a chord deep within the souls of all who saw it. I do not think that there is a single man, who would let his dead brother's wife and daughter suffer, no matter if one was half the planet away from the other. Sometimes, duty to the dead brother's family comes first from duty to country.

A truly outstanding movie:buy it.

Van Damme doing his thing
His earlier work is what has always appealed most to me and I was not disappointed with this one. It's kinda cheesy, but it's a Van Damme flick, so what were you expecting?
It's a lot like Bloodsport and Kickboxer in regards to the story line. ... Read more

Description

Kung Fu expert Jean-Claude Van Damme plays a martial arts master who arrives in Hong Kong to compete in the Kumite, a violent championship fighting contest. ... Read more

Reviews (91)

Way past due on DVD
A great martial arts flick As noted, this movie was JeanClaude Van Damme's first starring role, and for my money one of his two best films. He portrays Frank Dux, an American champion of the Kunite, which was/is a full contact, anything goes martial arts competition.

The movie introduces us to Van Damme's incredible martial arts ability. The story line is simple and unremarkable but effective. Van Damme participates in the Kumite against the wishes of the government which trained him. The cast is certainly unremarkable, led by Bolo Yueng, first(?) seen in "Enter the Dragon", playing Chong Li, the film's key villain and kumite champ.

What makes the film, though for martial artists (and fans) is the incredible range of fighting techniques seen through the film. Some of them are great, some comical. But there is a ton of action (much of it predictably brutal). But for fans of the genre, it is highly recommended.

Van Damme's first and best
Bloodsport is a movie that every Martial Arts fan has seen or at least heard of. This movie was Van Damme's first starring role in which he portrays real life martial artist Frank Dux, an American who was the undefeated heavyweight champion of the kumite from 1975 to 1980 (don't quote me though). The reason this movie was so great was that it showcased Jean-Claude's martial arts and gymnastic prowess rather than his sub-par acting ability. The story was simple but effective: a shady and brutal Martial Arts tournament is being held in Hong Kong and Dux (Van Damme) is going to participate to honor his shidoshi and surrogate father Senzou Tanaka. Leah Ayres and Donald Gibb did an average job of playing Van Damme's cohorts. But who really shines in this film is Bolo Yueng who did a great job in playing Chong Li, the film's key villain and kumite champ. Paul Hertzog did a great job with the soundtrack, which fuels the movie's many fight scenes. This is probably Van Damme's best film. ... Overall, Bloodsport delivers plenty of action with a decent story and is an enjoyable film. I would reccommend it to any Martial Arts fan.

"Now, I break you! Like I break your friend!"
During the martial-arts craze of the mid-90's, there were few bigger stars than Jean-Claude Van Damme. Though it wasn't a box-office hit during its enitial theatrical run, "Bloodsport", Van Damme's first starring vehicle certainly found its audience on cable and video. "Bloodsport" follows American fighter Frank Dux (Van Damme) as he enters a brutal full-contact tournament known as the Kumatai. Looking back at the movie that I once watched religously with all my friends almost a decade ago, it's probably to safe to say that if you didn't pick up on this one during its time then you probably won't understand it now. It had all the great things you'd expect from a Van Damme movie: Minimal story, cheesy overacting, and tons of random splits. The musical score from Stan Bush and a rather silly perfomance from Donald Gibb are the icing on the cake. Anytime I'm looking to take a trip down memory lane, I toss in this and "Kickboxer" and have my own little JCVD double-feature. Now, if only they could put together a special edition DVD.

The Frank Dux story is a hoax
That was proven amongst the martial arts community years ago. Being a martial artist myself, I always get a laugh when I read the description of this movie on websites. However, I am giving this movie 4 stars only because of Van Damme and the great fight scenes in this movie. This is Van Damme at a young age and doing all the kicks and moves that he seems to have lost with age. Bloodsport is basically an imitation of "Enter The Dragon" (the greatest martial arts movie ever made) where a lone guy enters a tournament. The theme has been repeated countless times but Bloodsport is one of the better clones. Also be sure to check out Kickboxer, which is even better than Bloodsport!

jean-claude van damme this movie was good
pretty good movie old though, but its alright the acting was kind of cheap ,but what do you expect from an old movie right? its a van damme classic . ... Read more

Reviews (55)

"HOLLY COW' AS HARRY CARRY WOULD SAY, VAN DAMN ROCKS!!!!!!!
In the beginning of this movie I thought that I was in for another rock em sock em fight it out to the death karate movie, but wow the fight scenes were almost bloodily accurate. The minute the action starts to lull BANG! POW! ZAM! VAN DAMME! I saw that I wasn't dealing with the usual sort. TONG PO who plays the vile degenerate in a role most suited for vermin, played the deranged oriental crazy man to a T. He really scared me! So as the story goes Van Damme is to avenge the tragic accident that Tong Po inflicts on his brother, and to do this he must find someone to teach him the ancient art of Kickboxing before he surely winds up losing all sorts of control. Before he knows it Ian helps him. He forces Van Damme to do the splits and owe my god Van Damme kicks Tong Po's butt with on swift Kick to the mutton chops. Shiver me Timbers if it ain't climatic. Sure to bring the family many cheers and good times in the future. If your looking for an american underdog movie that the whole family can enjoy, kickboxer has got the goods. HIYA!

*Filmed in THAILAND: The Best Martial Arts Movie EVER! W@W*
Before I watched this movie, I didn't know what Thai-Boxing was, and I thought that "kung-fu Bruce Lee" was the toughest man who ever lived. What a joke that is. Hong Kong's top 5 kung-fu masters once fought Thai-Boxer's in a now legendary event, and were all knocked-out, in less than 6 ½ minutes combined.
Thai Boxing is the national sport of Thailand, is fought in the ring and is the worlds most brutal & spectacular martial art.
In case you're wondering what the differences are between (American) kickboxing and Thai-Boxing (Muay Thai), they are as follows - kickboxing is just feet & fists, whereas Thai-Boxing also includes elbows & knees. Now you start to see why it is so notorious.

This is a movie about an American Kick-Boxing champ who goes to Thailand to fight their Thai-Boxing champ. Not surprisingly, the American gets battered, and paralysed, and through revenge, the victim's brother - Van Damme, learns 'Muay Thai' (Thai-Boxing) and fights the guy who paralysed his brother.

Though this scenario is a bit fictional the movie itself is beautifully realistic and authentic. It is about 99% filmed on location in Thailand and the viewer is treated to priceless scenes of inside the Bangkok Ratchadamneon national Thai-Boxing stadium, real Thai Thai-Boxers training at a camp, and spiritual scenes inside the Buddhist temples of Bangkok, featuring the massive gold-plated Reclining Buddha
(watch the movie and you'll know what I'm talking about).

We see Van Damme being taught Thai-Boxing by a Thai, and we watch him progress from being a sloppy fighter to a razor-sharp one. There are scenes where Van Damme, in training, uses his shins to kicks a palm tree, and where Van Damme and his opponent wrap their fists in cloths with broken glass stuck to the knuckles. You may laugh at this, but a little research will tell you that this is how the 'underground' fights are fought, and if you know how tough these Thais are then kicking trees doesn't seem so unrealistic.

As far as I know, no movie comes close to this one, in terms of authenticity at least. It is both educational and highly entertaining - there are loads of high quality fight scenes, and Van Damme is a good fighter (if only a theatrical one). There is nice cinematography too, and as soon as the movie starts you know it has that 'classic' feel about it.
A movie in a class of its own. Brilliant. Buy it!

The Classic, The Best
This has to be the best Van Damne movie with Bloodsport and Hard Target, get this movie its Van Damne's best, 4.8/5

Best Scene Ever!
This movie is unbelieveable! The reason it is unbelieveable? One scene, and one scene only. The dancing scene in the middle of the movie. It goes like this...Van Damme and his wily master go to a dive bar. His master makes him drink a mystery liquor. Van Damme, being the dork that he is in this movie (he is wearing a body suit/tank top at the bar that has clamps that connect at the shoulder, this keeps the shirt from falling off and makes Van Damme look like a dink), gets hammered. He is then forced to dance... With a shreek "AYYYEE", his master cues the music and movie history is made! Van Damme shakes his hips and does his splits, attracting all the babes...and Tong Po's gang! But who cares about those hooligans, Van Damme is getting his groove back better than Stella ever thought possible! The gang attacks him, and he pummels those lousy goons. "You got Served!" has nothing on Van Damme! He would serve those suckahs like he does Tong Po at the end! Nut-Sue Cow (White Warrior in Thai) to you all! What this movie teaches us is that Van Damme's ballet lessons did not actually teach him to "cut a rug", and that his brother is Latino? Buy this movie for this scene, trust me.

Does it get any better?
"kick the tree"

I rate this as Van Damme's best movie. Out of all the movies he has done, I think only 8 or so are good.

This movie has a decent story, ok acting and a great performance by a young Van Damme.

Cover is nice, no special features though.

Again, Van Damme is terrific in this action flick, on top of his game.

If you like a good action movie, especially a martial arts one, Kickboxer belongs in your collection. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Jean-Claude Van Damme gets a kick out of himself in this clever if barely competent action thriller, in which the likable Muscles from Brussels plays twin brothers separated at birth by a murderous Hong Kong crime syndicate. While the genial Chad lives the posh life as a California aerobics instructor, his sibling Alex chews fat cigars back in China, running a mahjong parlor and making some extra bucks as a smuggler. A quarter-century after being sent to different corners of the globe, they reunite and decide to seek vengeance against the cartel that killed their parents. From there the story and action set pieces are fairly predictable, but that hardly matters since the film's real appeal is in the amusing way the two Van Dammes deal with sibling rivalry, especially where women are concerned. Van Damme, seeking his box-office breakthrough at the time, might have received more of a commercial boost had this movie simply been directed with greater professionalism. The lighting, editing, and shot selection are often ridiculously below the standard of low-budget features. But Double Impact does have its compensations, especially in the casting of leather-clad Cory Everson and exemplary villain Bolo Yeung as a pair of killers who cross the twins' path. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (27)

Some Damme good action and fighting!
"Double Impact" was one of the first Van Damme movies I saw, and it was the one that made me a major fan of fighting movies in general. Jean-Claude Van Damme plays two roles in this action packed fighter. Two identical twins were separated when they were only a few months old after their parents were killed. Frank (Geoffrey Lewis) brings them together after 25 years of separation. The charismatic Chad (Van Damme) and the troubled Alex (Van Damme) collide at first, especially when Alex suspects that Chad might be trying to take something real valuable away from him. But they do have a couple of things in common other than their looks. They both have the same enemies, and they're both GREAT fighters.

Yeah yeah, critics, non-fans, and even fans alike, all say that Jean-Claude Van Damme is a terrible actor. I don't know about everybody else, but I thought Van Damme did a good job portraying Alex (the evil twin) in this movie. But then again, when it comes to fighting movies, I don't care about great acting, I want to see some great fighting and action sequences, and "Double Impact" has tons of them!

All in all, "Double Impact" might not feature the greatest effects, acting, or plot, but it does have some of the best fighting! If you like fighting movies at all, get "Double Impact." It's damme good!!

Damme good action, make that double
After break through movies like Kickboxer and Bloodsport, I knew this French-Candian martial artist is hardcore. I still remember the summer this movie came out, my entire family went to the local theater for the debut of "Double Impact". And what an Impact this movie has made on me.

I begin to take karate lessions after I got a double dosage of this action flick. Van Damme is a genius for presenting twice the action through the concept of twin brothers. This way, every scene includes him no matter what.

The story is cool, and it takes us to Hong Kong (one of my favorite countries in the world)... I enjoyed this movie alot.

ay of irvine

Jean-claude victory
another Jean-claude van damme classic,tw0 jean-claudes? which is good? whos the wimp? Just watch the movie

2 Van Damnes
I liked this movie,Van Damnes brother is,well u wont believe it,Van Damnes brother is Van Damne.This was another great Van Damne movie,this is worth watching.

Brilliant Cheese for the action junkie!
I remember this one like it was yesterday; one of the earliest Van Damme vehicles that actually involved something approaching a modest budget (well, they total two Mercedes in one scene) and a script!

What this film did right was the inclusion of multiple villains, necessary not only because there are two Van Dammes, but because all of the classic martial arts films involved many enemies as well. Recurring VD villains include Peter Malota (the Spanish fighter in later film "The Quest"), whose blue-lit kickboxing scene with Jean-Claude is one of the best in recent memory, and famed "Enter The Dragon" baddie (and longtime martial arts staple) Bolo Yeung.

It helps that Van Damme also has veteran character actor Geoffrey Lewis on board; that kind of gruff, Sam Elliott presence makes up for a lot of acting acumen that is lacking in the rest of the cast. Peter Scarfe stars as the embodiment of evil, and Alonna Shaw as the embodiment.

The pacing is good; the script has some howlers, and the shooting locations are to die for. Look for a very early cameo by Julie Strain! ... Read more

Reviews (53)

Van Dammes High Point
From 92 - 94 Van Damme experienced the high point of his career. This movie, Universal Soldier, Time Cop, and even Street Fighter. Now he has returned to straight to video territory but he still makes more then I ever will. Well anyway this is definitely one of his best. Yes it is true that Woo wasn't at his best with his first American flick, it was hacked up and he had to work with Van Damme (The Belgium Oak), but it still has an incrediable kinetic quality and Woo's style was perfectly matched with Van Damme's athletic ability. It was my first exposure to John Woo after having read about his Hong Kong films and I was impressed. The movie is fast, exciting, and is a fest for the eyes. The action scenes choreography is outstanding and Lance Henricksson is always a plus as the heavy.John Woo has the ability to make the craziest movies work - Face Off - and he does it with this movie. I just watched it a couple of weeks ago and I still found myself engrossed. It's rather depressing to see what has happened to Van Damme's career though.

You Must find the Uncut version!
The R-rated version of Hard Target is what happens when censorship gets out of hand. The Uncut verison is so much better, if you can find it than I highly recommend you get it! This film really does belong up there with John Woo's pervious films. It's very violent with lots of action that will surely keep you interested. John Woo is the best! The ending was great, I will not spoil it! but there is one part I didn't really like, that's the whole Shoot than jump in the air kick routine Van Damme did while killing the bad guys seemed really out of place, it's like the kicks were just added because he's Van Damme and I guess John Woo thought most Americans would want to see Van Damme's sissy kicks. As for the actors..... Van Damme is a horrible one, I heard they were going to cast Kurt Russell as the lead instead which would have made the movie 100 times better cut or uncut! But alas! we were stuck with stiff Van Damme, his bad accent on top of another bad accent and his horrible hair. But all is forgiven when sexy Arnold Vosloo (Pik Van Cleaf) makes his way on to the screen, what a wonderful job he did! He literally stole the show from Van Damme with every sence they had together in my book. Lance Herkersion(sp) was also great! all the way through! These two worked great together as the bad guys, they will send chills down your spine, just the thought that there could be guys like them out in the world is really creepy! My favortie sence will have to be the introduction of Pik when he comes in contact with Chance for the first time in Randell Poe's office, the dude looked like the devil standing at that door! A job well done! I will rate this one (R-rated) with 3 stars, but the Uncut one deserves five stars all the way! the difference is, one is a Van Damme film, the other is a John Woo film!

Van Damne, New Orleans style
This has to be the top 3 best Van Damne movies, this was made in New Orleans and I live only a few hours away from it, my god, Van Damne in the same state has me and only a few hours away good god and it was such a good movie.Again another awesome Van Damne movie.

Damme skippy!
The city of Brussels, Belgium is responsible for two crimes against humanity: its sprouts, and Jean-Claude Van Damme.

After getting fired as the monster in "Predator," Van Damme broke into cinema with his star turn in "Kickboxer." Or maybe it was "Bloodsport." Big difference. Somehow, Hollywood deemed him "successful," and he graduated to big-budget fare like "Universal Soldier" and that one flick with Patricia Arquette on a farm, where Ted Levine played a bad guy (shocker).

Around the same time, John Woo got sick of working with Chow Yun-Fat, and decided to quit making Hong-Kong-style action flicks in Hong Kong, and make Hong-Kong-style action flicks in America instead.

The two men joined forces, and with Yancy (hic) Butler as the heroine, perpetrated "Hard Target" upon us all.

In a casting/dialogue-coaching stroke of genius, Van Damme is enlisted to play a Cajun named Chance. When asked about the origin of his moniker, he cryptically replies "Mi'mamma Too Kwan." Exactly who this Kwan character is supposed to be, we never learn. Maybe it's a deleted scene with a martial arts master, or something (I'm guessing James Hong played him. James Hong ALWAYS plays guys named "Kwan").

Rounding out the cast is Lance Henriksen, who can check off another entry in his "the movie stunk, but Lance Henriksen was cool" list.

"Hard Target" is basically an urbanized re-telling of "the Most Dangerous Game," where bad guys hunt the good guy. "Surviving the Game," the one with Ice-T, is better. Sort of.

At least "Hard Target" treats us to a scene where two characters shoot at each other from opposite sides of a row of windows...with nary a scratch. It's even funnier than Chance's mullet. On second thought, NOTHING is funnier than Chance's mullet.

The staggering box-office results from "Hard Target" paved the way for such Van Damme classics as "Sudden Death" and...uh..."Friends" -- while Woo busted blocks with "Windtalkers" and "Paycheck."

And I saw this in the THEATER.

A BULLSEYE!!!!!!
This is by far one of the better from both director John Woo and Jean-Claude Van Damme. With a good music score from Graeme Revell and interesting story as Yancy Butler seeks her Father who was missing in cohorts with a group of mercenaries who excel at game hunting on the streets. It's filmed in New Orleans, therefore features some great shots of the city and later in the film of the jungle settings. Enter Van Damme as sailor Chance Boudreaux, who she seeks help from, sensing he has an uncanny ability of self-defense.

Van Damme actually delivers a pretty good performance this time around with his usual cheesy one-liners. Particularly where after taken in custody when investigating a crime scene is subdued by cops and taken to the station. A receptionist scolds him about trespassing being a criminal offense. Van Damme points to his bruised forehead with "Yes, that Officer was nice enough to mention that." A very good supporting cast includes Lance Henriksen as sadistic mercenary (he can play this kind of role in his sleep by now) Emil Fouchon and Arnold Vosloo as his sidekick Van Cleef. Add them with a crack team of hitman and that can only spell big trouble in game hunting. Wilford Brimley is a particular welcoming standout as Uncle Douvee.

RECOMMENDED TO ANY JOHN WOO OR MARTIAL ARTS FAN! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Pay no attention to the fact that Timecop is an insult to intelligent science fiction, and that it gradually succumbs to an acute case of the sillies. It is a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie, after all, so check your brain at the door and enjoy this action flick set in the year 2004. Van Damme plays an officer in the Time Enforcement Police, assigned to prevent criminals from traveling to the past with the intent of altering the future. Ron Silver plays the evil politician who plots to retrieve a stockpile of gold from the Civil War to finance his latest campaign. The film is clever to a point, and entertaining if you can ignore the dumb jokes and inconsistencies. Best of all, it's an above-average vehicle for Van Damme (relatively speaking), who gets to kick some villainous butt and share a few scenes with Mia Sara, who plays the Timecop's wife. As Van Damme fans can tell you, this is one of the action star's better movies. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (37)

Great Action Movie
I am by no means a Van Damme fan... But as an American, under law, I have to watch his movies. Usually it's renting one at the video store that looks semi-interesting, bring it home and pop it in the VCR, and shutting it off the second some non-actor, pro-wrestler comes on the screen trying to act. Then we all make fun of them... But for some reason I still BUY his movies after I've watched them and hate them. They do grow on you after a few times.

Timecop has to be Van Damme's best film so far (Remember his last vehicle, Universal Soldier 3: The Return? That was comically bad.) But "Van Damme's Best" doesn't really mean all that intelligent, either. The year is 2004 (Just four years from now! ) and time travel is no longer a dream, but - drum roll - a reality! No sense in going back millions of years to see what the world was like, or the time of Christ, or even find Chopin and become his personal student... Nope, all they do is go back to 1994, which was, if you remember, a very dull year. The whole plot of the movie is... Well, here goes nothing: An Evil Senator, by the name of McComb I believe, is running for president in the year 2004, and runs out of money. So, in this situation, the best thing to do it to go back in time to 1994 and find yourself and give yourself pointers, which is exactly what he does. This of course is a strictly illegal practice. Van Damme's and some other dimwit's job is to go back and find anyone who is doing this. Well, McComb uses the prototype. ("Eet Wahs Neever Deesmintled" Van Damme reflects at a certain dramatic high-point.) So, Van Damme and gang go back to 1994 and catch him and change things around. One being that Van Damme's girlfriend/wife (They never specify... Who cares about little details like that anyway?) dies when she is pregnant. So, Van Damme goes back in time and beats the stuffing out of the - what looks like pro-wrestlers who killed her. It's all fine and dandy up to the point where he comes back from the time trip trip, which alters his present (2004) life dramatically, by which I mean he's married and has a kid who doesn't look anything like him. ("He looks more like Jean-Claude Gosh Darn" might quip someone from Mystery Science Theater Three Thousand) That's where the movie ends. He goes into his house with his wife, who he hasn't seen for ten years, and his new kid who's ten years old. This could cause problems during dinner the first few nights:

"Honey, your constipated-frog facial expression is very vivid tonight, anything wrong?" Asks his wife.

"Nothing's wrong. Bob, son..." Van Damme starts out. "My name's Dave, DAD. You act like you've never seen me before..."

And so on. But just forget about those sorts of things. It's actually a pretty fun and entertaining movie.

Timecop
Universal has been steadily improving it's DVD product line. The only company currently listing detailed information like whether or not the movie was recorded in a single versus a dual layer, Universal seems to have the archetypal DVD customer in mind all the way.

In light of this, it's all the more disappointing that the only feature worth mentioning about Timecop is that it has Dolby Digital sound, and is captioned and subtitled. Unlike almost every other major title on the market, Timecop doesn't even have a widescreen format. Heck, the Laserdisc version has widescreen--what the h*ll happened here?

This is a shame, since Timecop is probably Jean-Claude Van Damme's best film. I know this isn't saying much, but even I have to admit that the Van Damminator has a certain endearing, if not annoying, action hero charm. And unlike Steven Segal, Van Damme allows his character to be hurt in fight scenes.

Without any special goodies to mention, I can only close with a brief review of the story. Written by comic book scribe Mark Verheiden, Timecop is as good a time travel action flick as I've seen. Highlighted by a deliciously slimy acting job by Ron Silver (and a more thoughful and believable Van Damme), Timecop is just the kind of bubblegum your brain will want to chew on "movie night".

Raincoaters will also appreciate the brief but steamy love scene with the stunningly attractive Mia Sara (of "Ferris Bueller" fame).

I can only recommend this if you're a Van Damme fan who has to have it... END

Great!!!!!
Just like another Van Damne film,great!!!!!.He goes back in time to try to save himself and his wife before McComb and his gang to her.An enjoyable Van Damne clip that everyone should enjoy

Vanne Dammes Best
IF you cant stand J.C.V.D then I cant recomend this or any of his films! But for those who are and have not seen this one, then this i would have to say is one of, if not, the best film he has made! Vanne Damme plays a time traveling cop, which has some great features to it. Its not just any old action movie! the plot is great. It sends vanne damme chasing a guy through time who wants to change the presnet to make himself presidant! And vanne Dammes on the case. This is a great movie, at least rent it if youve never seen it, its well worth at least one watch before you dismiss this as just yoru ordinary Vanne Damme movie!

I STRONGLY recomend you never see Time Cop 2 tho! No seaqull works without the original cast, and the seaqull is a waste of time! Stick with this and pretend part 2 never happend!

Enjoyable despite inconsistencies (but full-screen?)
Apart from the _Terminator_ series, there haven't been all that many SF time-travel action thrillers. There have been time-travel _movies_, but they're generally not action flicks. (_Somewhere in Time_, for example, was a romance.) Of course there's Nicholas Meyer's excellent _Time After Time_, which isn't as well known as it should be.

And there's this one. It's not (just) a Van Damme vehicle, though it works well enough for fans of the Muscles from Brussels. It's also a fairly well constructed and enjoyable SF movie.

SF readers be warned: it does _not_ have the logical tightness of Robert A. Heinlein's early time-travel stories ('By His Bootstraps', 'All You Zombies'), or even of the first _Terminator_ film. But as Heinlein found in later life, an unalterable past/future just doesn't make for very exciting drama. (As of _The Cat Who Walks Through Walls_, RAH was officially allowing the past, and therefore the future, to be changed.)

For this film, Peter Hyams borrows liberally but loosely from Poul Anderson's Time Patrol stories. Since (according to this scheme) a physically feasible means of time travel not only exists but can be used to change the past, there will be all sorts of baddies around who will try to adjust things to their own advantage. So there will have to be some time-travel cops who intervene to preserve the 'real' timestream.

Van Damme is one such cop. And in this film he's pitted against Ron Silver, well cast as a crooked politician who wants to rearrange things so that he becomes dictator of America.

Even if you buy the theory of time travel involved here, you've still got some camels to swallow. What, for example, is this nonsense about people exploding if they come into physical contact with their earlier or later selves? The physical explanation given for it in the film is just silly, not only according to 'real' physics but even on the film's own internal logic.

But if you can manage to rationalize this stuff (or at least suspend incredulity long enough to watch the thing), you'll find a well crafted SF drama that succeeds extremely well in its strictly dramatic aspects. And you don't have to be a Van Damme fan to enjoy it. (People who criticize Van Damme's acting may not have seen this movie or some of his more recent work. He's not Olivier or anything, but for this sort of movie, he's _way_ better than his detractors like to admit.)

I'm deducting a star for the full-screen format of the DVD release. Let's see this thing in widescreen, shall we? ... Read more

Reviews (34)

A joke
If it's showing on TV and you want to laugh, watch it. Just don't spend any money on it.
The plot was ridiculously banal and was completely secondary to the whole thing. The movie is just a B-film action celebration, with stupid, overplayed "round one, fight!" streetfighter kinda sound effects for every geek to love and every normal person to have a ball laughing at.

Basically, fast forward to the last half an hour or forty minutes to listen to some guy announcing the different countries and to hear the gong blast before watching some silly but cool fights. I mean, they're all pretty lame because you KNOW that the obvious ending is to see the American Van Damme fight the heartless big bad behemoth, but it's always more interesting to see what happens to the OTHER fighters...
Who wins between Russia vs Spain (a great fight)? China vs Korea? Turkey vs Holland? All the fighters are portrayed as the stereotypical image of their country and it's really quite a blast. The stand-outs are the Turkish fighter (serious Ottomon savage), Chinese (monkey-acrobatics), Japanese (fat sumo), Korean (buff asian), Spanish (flamenco dancer who hits on the only chick in the film), Greek fighter (ethical) etc. Roger Moore's presence is a joke and yeah, only if it's on TV and you're bored.

Not the best Van Damne movie,but it was good
This movie was O.K,he fights in a competition and his friend dies by a big dude.

Very Good Flick. One Of Van Damme's Best!
One of Van Damme's best films, quite similar to the best film to Van Damme's name 'BloodSport'. The Quest was enjoyable and suspenseful. Great fight scenes, very cool final fight. I would recommend buying this film on DVD.

Van Damme needs Moore plot!
This film wasn't too bad considering it was directed and cowritten by star Jean-Claude Van Damme. The movie starts off in the 1920's with Van Damme dressed as a clown wearing stilts working with street orphans to steal some money from gangsters. He escapes from gangsters before being chased by the police onto a ship. The next morning, out to sea, the ship owners chain up the stowaway and put him to work. Shortly after the ship is ambushed by British cavaliers, led by Roger Moore, which free him only to bring him to an island and sell him to the Mutai to be a fighter.

The movie quickly changes from an adventure story to a video-game movie the likes of Tekken. All of the best fighters in the world are invited to fight in a tournament at the Lost City for the prize of Golden Dragon and honor. The fighters are acted by real fighting champions from around the world. Each brings his own fighting style resulting in some satisfying matches which is the saving grace of the film.

This film would have been much improved with plot twists and more attention paid the the back story of Van Damme's orphaned past to gain a better appreciation of why the fighting is so important to him.

Horrendously funny
In my life, I've come across a few movies that were so bad, so very bad, that they entertain through sheer ridiculousness. The Quest is one such movie. There are about 15 different subplots in the movie, each one lasting about 10 minutes and each one involving Van Damme wearing an outlandish costume. Every new subplot opens up another loose end, and the different subplots are only held together with poor acting (excepted by Roger Moore) and cheesy dialogue (exemplified by Roger Moore's character). The various subplots hang until the end of the movie, when Van Damme's narration simply dismisses them all. Then the entire movie turns out to be a flashback that is in turn encapsulated in a book. It's priceless. I highly recommend watching this movie at least once for a good laugh. ... Read more

Reviews (88)

WORST MOVIE OF ALL TIME!
I know it was probably meant to be a spoof of Street Fighter II but it wasn't even that funny! As far as action goes, it was garbage! Even the Mortal Kombat films were funnier than this PLUS it had good action!

If you want to see a good Street Fighter film, please get the Animated movie! True, some will like this one anyway but I believe if its going to be a spoof, at least make it funny. This wasn't neither exciting nor humorous in my opinion.

This movie still around?
Nope no reviews for this movie. just another painful experience

Laughing at most reviewers
This movie ranks as one of my favourite films I have ever seen. I have watched the film over 7 times over the past month and have still enjoyed the work. Reason?
People keep viewing this film as a serious VidGame-to-film adaptation. It isn't. This film has a creative license, which has it's own storyline, with a few "game" ideas thrown in. This film isn't supposed to be a serious action flick. It's a light-hearted action spoof, which is meant to entertain the humourful.
I disagree with 99% of all reviews i have read all around the internet, in which to say that this movie doesn't suck. People just can't see it for what it really is - a spoof, not unlike Hot-Shots (albeit, not so obvious).
Raul Julia is the best, and from what i feel, the Bison I'd imagine to be. Mad, self-opinionated, and damn sure of himself. So sure that he can still joke.
People need to stop viewing this film as a straight forward VidGame-to-film adaptation. This is a film, with Street Fighter characters and a couple of Street Fighter backgrounds. I could guaruntee that if all the characters were given different names, people would be complaining that "it was a street fighter ripoff".
Take my advice - give the film a go, and view it as a spoof. Something just to laugh at, and not taken seriously. Once you master that, you may begin to see why i love this film so much

Parallel Universe?
The end of Raul Julia's esteemed career is startlingly similar to the late, great Orson Welles'.

"Street Fighter," a movie based on a toy/video game, was Mr. Julia's final film. He plays Bison, a maniacal super-villain with anti-gravity boots and delusions of godhood.

Orson Welles' last appearance (at least, his voice) was "Transformers: the Movie," based on a toy/cartoon. He played Unicron, a maniacal super-villain planet (generating his own gravity) and delusions of godhood.

Unicron is destroyed by the Autobot Matrix. Bison is destroyed in a fight-scene reminiscent of "the Matrix."

The Autobot girl Arcee, played by Susan Blu, is hot (if you're into that sort of thing). The female Street Fighter Cammy, played by Kylie Minogue, is hot (if you're into that sort of thing).

One of the Street Fighter heroes, Guile, has an annoying French-sounding accent. One of the Autobot heroes, Wheelie, is annoying (and may be French).

I can watch "TF:TM" over and over again. Hmm....I guess the similarities end there.

Pathetic
INTRODUCTION:
In America in the early nineties, Street Fighter games became the most popular fighting games out there. Although the series never quite achieved the same successes here that it did in Japan, its country of origin, it did do very well here, and in the mid-nineties, a movie based on the game series was released. This was a LIVE ACTION film, not an animated one. Read on for my review of Street Fighter.

BASIC PLOT:
The basic plot goes something like this. An army man (Jean-Claude Van-Damme) must gather together a group of troups to take on a terrorist leader (Raul Julia) who has taken a number of hostages captive, and claims he will murder them unless he receives a huge sum of cash.

FILM OPINIONS:
Movies based on video games usually fail horribly, and this one is no exception. The number of inaccuracies to the video games can't be summed up in a single review, but I'm going to try my best. First of all, the film implies that Blanka was once Charlie, Guile's old partner. This is DEAD WRONG. In the games, Charlie died before the Street Fighter II games began, and Blanka was previously a human named Jimmy. Next of all, Bison is supposed to have superhuman strength and abilities. Not true here. The film depicts him as more of a standard terrorist. This is a shame, because Raul Julia's acting is good (it's a shame be died just after this film was released.) Another major inaccuracy is that they made Chun Li a REPORTER! This is not supported by ANY of the games. Also the film never brings up the "Cammy used to be in love with Bison" subplot that the games have hinted at. And let's not forget the lack of fireballs and special attacks. This wasn't as bad a "game to movie" adaptation as, say, Super Mario Bros., but it was pretty bad nonetheless.

DVD:
The film makers tried to compensate for their making a horrible film by adding a ton of special features. Some of the special features, like the deleted scenes, were actually good idea (I think EVERY movie on DVD should have deleted scenes.) The other extras are good too, but they don't make up for the movie itself.

OVERALL:
What more is there to be said? This movie is horrible. Hopefully this taught film makers a lesson - you NEVER make movies based on video games! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Jean-Claude Van Damme, a.k.a. "the Muscles from Brussels," had only a few movies to his credit when he played the hero in this lame postapocalyptic action flick from 1989. It's really just another martial-arts movie, dressed down with near-future trash and dirty sets that have "low budget" written all over them. Van Damme plays the protective escort for a half-human, half-cyborg woman whose programming contains a possible cure for a plague that's threatening to wipe out the entire population of Earth. But the woman is kidnapped by Van Damme's evil nemesis (is there any other kind?) while they are en route to her Atlanta headquarters. That leads Van Damme right into a lion's den of sadomasochistic torture and torment. If you've made it this far (and if you have, why?), you're probably a founding member of the Jean-Claude Van Damme fan club. To everyone else: Don't say you weren't warned--this is the kind of movie in which naming characters after electric guitars (Van Damme's character is named "Gibson Rickenbacker") qualifies as clever screenwriting. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (47)

Pure Entertainment
I remember watching this movie several times a year when I owned it as a kid. I never forgot about it, and kept promising myself that someday I will buy it. That promise has not yet been made, but I just now saw the film on TNN, and it was like watching a new movie because I didn't remember any of it. And let me just tell you...forget Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Bruce and all those other quaky (entertaining, but quaky) martial art films. Cyborg blows them all away.

I've seen other Van Damme films (God were they horrible). This is the only one that captivated me. The fight scenes were just so realistic. You don't got a guy climbing walls like he's spider man throughout the entire film, or jumping off buildings or flying around like he's a bird - he actually gets hurt and falls to his knees every now and again. It's not like the Matrix where you're just sitting there waiting for the guy to win - you really feel the pain of Jean-Claude's character when he gets cut or kicked.

All the reviewers are correct. There is hardly any dialog to this film...because it's an atmospheric film. You remember the Shining? No dialog on that one either, just pure atmosphere. And let me tell you, the doomsday world that this movie depicts was mind blowing. It really delivers to the viewer a sense of utter desolation. Everyone in the film is maniacal - totally out of their minds. It's the Drak Ages all over again, where little differentiated bewteen both sexes, and women actually faught in wars, at times accompanied by their children. Take Escape from LA, and combine that with REALISM, and that's just the world you'll enter when you watch this film.

Jean Claude did such an excellent job of playing a traveling vagrant consumed by the nightmares of a seriously disturbing past. His only priority in life is to kill the Cyborg that killed him a long time ago. The world is at the mercy of an awful plague, and even when the doors of a possible cure is open to him, all he can think about is vengeance. Note the face he makes when he first sees the Cyborg after years of searching for him. The hatred was so well defined in every contour...I was thinking, 'My God, I would NOT want to be that Cyborg!'

Well, whatever he had in mind, it didn't turn out so well. His nemesis proved to be quite...unstoppable.

The music in this film has got to be the best I've ever heard in any action film. It plays along perfectly with the atmosphere and the fight scenes. Slow, but hard pounding. Very nice touch. The whole movie was choreographed with the utmost of precision. Right on target with each kick and punch. Had me totally captivated. Get this film if you're not much for that cheesy stuff that comes from all these popular Chinese directors that is totally fake, (with the exception of a few Bruce Lee films). Jean Claude's character actually carries a gun around which in most martial art movies, this element lacks (Hey, a gun is more effective than a sword. Am I right or am I right?) And he is not afraid to use it, but tries to conserve his ammunition by fighting (bullets and guns are scarce in this upside down world). Lots of battles with sharp bladed weapons too. I mean, this movie has it all.

Van DAMN!!!!
Jean-Claude Van Damme was 28 when he made CYBORG, a low budgeted, post-apocolyptic martial arts adventure. At that time in his career, he'd made his name through a number of low budget, B-quality kung fu flicks. I liked BLOODSPORT, all the more so, becuase it's based on thrue events in the life of kumite champion Frank Dux, and Van Damme was definitely the right guy for the role.

Then there's KICKBOXER, which, like BLOODSPORT, shows Van Damme as an apprentice on a vendetta with a Mike Tyson-esque Muy Thai champ. That movie is distinguished, if nothing else, by the final battle between Van Damme and Tong Po, who was played by Van Damme's close friend Michael Quissi (though he was still credited as Tong Po.)

Then came CYBORG. It was released it 1989, and starred Van Damme as a martial arts master named Gibson Rickenbaker living in the post-apocolyptic ruins of New York. He finds himself rescuing a cyborg codenamed Pearl Prophet (Dayle Haddon) from a murderous gang of hooligans led by the sadistic Fender Tremolo (Vincent Klyn). Seems Pearl has detailed information on how to sythesize a cure to the plague that has caused all the chaos and is on her way to Atlanta to give the info to the last scientists. Tremolo and his gang would do anything to get ahold of the information and rule the world. It up to Gibson to save Pearl.

Now, I'll admit that when I was short on cash, and I had a choice between buying CYBORG or TIMECOP, I went with the latter, but I almost immediately after ordered CYBORG over the internet, and it was well worth it. As another customer pointed out, the fights in CYBORG are amazingly realistic and show Van Damme getting hurt and taking just as much of an butt kicking as he dishes out. (In a particularly brutal scene, Gibson is battered and exhausted, and gets beaten to a pulp by Tremolo.)

The movie has sort of a ROAD WARRIOR quality to it, the bigeest difference being the budgets of the two films. The villians and even the good guys dress in ragged clothing, like THE ROAD WARRIOR. The land is basically deserted, and there is an utter feeling of helplessness and anarchy. That's the essence of post-apolyptic action films.

Bottom Line: CYBORG is a great movie in my eyes, because it shows that in any martial arts movie, what is at it's heart is the fact that the hero can have all the strength, speed, and power in the universe, but no matter what, the hero is always human. In other Van Damme movies, like STREET FIGHTER, UNIVERSAL SOLDIER, TIMECOP, REPLICANT, or DOUBLE TEAM, he was a righteous fighting machine, but he could still be hurt. Even in THE MATRIX movies, Neo was the Chosen One, capable of fantastic, inhuman feats, but he was still just a man, he could be beaten to the point where he would cough up blood, but he had the spirit to back him up.

And so it is with CYBORG. Gibson is a fantastic martial artist, but he could be beaten up almost to death by a bigger, stronger opponent. He got into certain situations where he would have to rely more on what he had inside than his blackbelt status. That's what truly makes a great karate flick, having a fighter who has fantastic fighting skils, or even superhuman powers who has the the heart and will to win. CYBORG is such a movie.

Scary future indeed! An underrated classic.
As far as JCVD movies are concerned this is terrific, and anyone expecting Schindlers List stay clear. I will recommend this movie to people who are fans of movies like Soldier (Kurt Russell) and even the other Albert Pyun movie Nemesis. Hey, i would go as far as saying that this film shares many qualities as Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. They both take the cake for having the best villians in the history of cinema, Fender and Vernon Wells. This movie really is a guilty pleasure and also contains many disturbing scenes and religious undertones predominant in the sci-fi genre; such as Blade Runner, but it also manages to understand clearly what kind of movie it is trying to be - a gritty and scary martial arts flick! I'll back this film up and also the underrated Christopher Lambert flick Fortress till the day I die. Just don't expect an intellectual martial arts film, I even doubt if there are many, except for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix and any other that takes itself too seriously. Just expect a good old fashioned B-Movie to watch with a couple mates and a 6 pack of beer with some intelligent (arguable) ideas padded throughout. The DVD is worth purchasing, as it features an interesting 8 page booklet, a fine non-anamorphic widescreen transfer with occasional grain, but rather clean and sharp with vivid colours. The dolby surround is a little dissapointing but still throws a lot of sound into the rear speakers. This works wonders with the terrific music score! Long live JCVD. A truly underrated star who has a deserved cult following. I know he's not the best actor on the planet, but his films have a cheesy charm all the same. I liken him to Keanu Reeves, a man who can't act well, but is damn entertaining nonetheless.

One of Pyun's best
I hope you will forgive me when I tell you I have a crushing headache as I write this review. Why? Because I devoted several hours of this sunny day thinking about not one, but two, of Albert Pyun's films. Pondering the importance of "Ticker" and "Cyborg" to the cinematic world wore me out in ways I would not think possible. Pyun, if you are not familiar with his oeuvre, constructed his B movie credentials by releasing such classics as "The Sword and The Sorcerer," "Nemesis," "Mean Guns," and "Postmortem." He's a hack's hack in the hack world of zero budget schlock. Not to pound you over the head with it, but watching a Pyun film often resembles in no little way craning your head out the window to see that car accident on the freeway. Initially, you are intrigued by what you might see only to realize later how low you feel as a human being for looking at scenes of abject horror. Ok, I am exaggerating slightly. "Cyborg," the 1989 film that launched the dubious career of Jean-Claude Van Damme, is one of Pyun's better efforts. In fact, it is one of the few movies in his canon I can watch on a regular basis and not feel too badly about it the next day.

Here's another film dealing with life in a post-apocalyptic world. Gibson Rickenbacker (Van Damme) arises from the ruins to play the part of a Good Samaritan. He tries to help survivors of a plague flee from the ruined cities to the countryside, hopefully so they can reconstruct some semblance of a normal life. Rickenbacker, as the hero, of course has an unpleasant memory of one of his missions. He tried to save a family and ended up falling in love with a woman. You don't need me to spell out what happened next. Ever since this unfortunate incident, Gibson struggles with what he should do next. When he runs into a woman named Pearl Prophet (Dale Haddon), a cyborg attempting to carry a cure for the plague back to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, he must decide whether to resume the role of hero. Why not take part in helping Pearl carry the antidote? This mission could turn Rickenbacker into the savior of the world. Unfortunately for Rickenbacker and Pearl, Fender Tremolo (Vincent Klyn), a scary looking dude with weird eyes and a mechanical voice, and his gang of like-minded cyborgs have their own ideas. They think if they can capture Pearl and get her to Atlanta, they will control the future of the world.

When Prophet falls into the hands of Tremolo's gang, Rickenbacker decides to get her back. With the help of a mouthy young lady he picks up along the way named Nady Simmons (Deborah Richter), Gibson lurches from one violent confrontation to another. Thugs fall to the ground like leaves as the two pursue Tremolo with malevolent intent. Numerous showdowns in burnt out and broken down buildings provide Pyun and Van Damme with plenty of opportunities to showcase martial arts madness. Kicks, punches, and blunt and sharp instruments-anything you can think of that will cause damage to a human or cyborg body finds a use in this movie. And for the most part Pyun carries off the action well, much better than he has in many of his other movies. You are surprised that you actually root for this guy who speaks English like he just walked off a boat. Before feelings of giddiness carry you away, however, you need to reconcile yourself with a few of the cheesy aspects of the movie. Nearly all of the characters are named after musical instruments, the outfits look like the film crew robbed a New Wave band's wardrobe closet, and the dialogue tends towards the insipid. Still, "Cyborg" entertains as few Pyun films do.

"Cyborg" works largely due to the gritty, blasted urban background that the characters move through. It is here, in the ruins of civilization, where most of the action takes place. Moreover, the picture quality of the film (probably as a result of poor film stock) has a dirty look to it, which actually gives the movie a better, more realistic atmosphere. I even thought Pyun tried to inject a philosophical statement in the film (yeah, right) when we see Rickenbacker staked to that ship's mast. Is Gibson a Christ figure "rising" from the grave to help save the world? Maybe, but I'm probably reading more into "Cyborg" than the director intended. Sure, the acting could be better-lots better-and the fight scenes are a little over the top, but why else would you watch this movie? You don't expect Oscar performances and you don't get them. What you do get is an entertaining way to spend eighty plus minutes (the movie doesn't run for even an hour and a half).

The DVD version is strictly bare bones. If memory serves me correctly, the only extra on this disc was a trailer. Too bad, but a bit surprising considering this is officially a cult classic. It's interesting to note that none other than Cannon, the company that released TONS of low budget action flicks in the 1980s, helped fund this effort. Charles Bronson benefited from Cannon's attentions back then, so why not Van Damme? I recommend "Cyborg" not only to fans of action films, but even to fans of science fiction since the movie takes a stab at incorporating both elements under one umbrella. Is it intelligent cinema? Nope, but who says it needs to be?

This Movie Has a Message
I realize this movie is campy by today's standards, so only someone who watched it back in the day when it was a different era in movie making can appreciate it. I'd say you'd have to be at least 25 to enjoy it, because of it's sentimental and nostalgic atmosphere.

If you can get past that, it's actually really good. I've always enjoyed postapocalyptic reality-of-life depictions. The music is a bit much, but it does portray survival of the fittest in a realistic sense. The characters beat each other up a bit unbelievable and the breaking-himself-off-the-cross scene was absurd even then, but the fight scenes are well done and closefaced showdown scenes were gold. Definitely one for the collection. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as maverick cop Lou Burke, the only lawman tough enough to go undercover in a prison recently plagued by suspicious deaths. Posing as a hardened con, Burke stands up to sadistic guards and makes martial arts mincemeat out of brutal inmates, all the while investigating those mysterious murders. Following the standard Van Damme formula at the height of the actor's B-picture popularity, the script essentially inserts him in a series of increasingly nasty situations from which he then has to kick, punch, and chop his way out. For services rendered, the Muscles from Brussels gets to kiss Cynthia Gibb, who plays a lawyer assigned the dubious task of posing as Burke's wife. With Van Damme safely tucked into his story formula, a slightly more discriminating viewer can find pleasure in a supporting performance from Robert Guillaume (as an aging inmate), while freakier types will enjoy top-drawer nemesis the Sandman (Patrick Killpatrick), a psycho killing machine who forces poor Burke to break a sweat. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (15)

Another Van Damme punchfest
Jean-Claude is at it again as a cop who goes undercover in the prison system to investigate a plot involving corruption among the cell guards.

The film heats up when Van Damme's arch-rival, a psychopathic killer who for some reason, which is never explained, can withstand bullets and other fatal moves, shows up at the prison and exposes him as an undercover cop.

If you're in for Van Damme, you know what to expect though this is a lot slower and less action-filled than a lot of his other features.

Van Damme takes it to a whole new level...
If you would of said Van Damme back in 1990,people would of responded he was in Bloodsport or Kickboxer which were simply martial art type of films.Van Damme stepped up to the level with Schwarzenegger and Stallone in this box-office hit.Even though jail movies have been done before like Stallones "Lockup" and Sean Penn's "Bad Boy's" Death Warrant took it into overtime,having a convincing villian in the "Sandman" and a believing hero in Van Damme.An undercover cop in jail?Dangerous if you ask me but Van Damme fights the odds and comes up victorious in an all out supercharged war.With fast pace kicks and fight sequences Van Damme is your ticket to nonstop action...

A LITTLE MEDIOCRE AT FIRST, BUT GIVE IT SOME TIME
A COP [VAN DAMME] IS ASSIGNED TO POSE AS A NEW INMATE AT A PRISON TO INVESTIGATE THE REASONS BEHIND A SERIES OF MURDERS THAT'RE HAPPENING AT THE PRISON. IT STARTS OUT KINDA BORING, BUT AFTER A WHILE, IT GETS BETTER. THIS MAY NOT RANK AMONGST THE BEST MOVIES THAT VAN DAMME HAS DONE, BUT IT IS A LOT BETTER THAN MANY OF THE VAN DAMME MOVIES THAT'VE CAME OUT IN RECENT YEARS. IT'S WORTH RENTING IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY SEEN THIS.

WOW!! Van Damne is in prison
I liked this movie, filled with a couple of fight scenes.At the end he fights the sandman,across Van Damne kicked his ass.This is a good slambanging Van Damne flick.

Van Damme in Prison!
Van Damme (immortal genius) goes undercover to investigate mysterious murders in a prison. That's the whole plot. How genius of the writers and director. He encounters "The Sandman" and fights him in front of the whole ward. "The Sandman" thought he was smooth by breaking a lightbulb and trying to hurt Van Damme with it. He didn't succeed and Van Damme kicked him with his trademark noise and facial expression. Ultimate appreciation for that lord. The man wouldn't go down; Van Damme tried everything, until an ultimate Van Damme kick sent him to destruction. Astonishing! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Having based so much of his career on the films from the region, Jean Claude Van Damme heads to Hong Kong itself for Knock Off. Set in the 72 hours running up to the British handover to China (and released a mere year after the actual event), the film's action centers around the colony's thriving bootleg business, tied in with a rather convoluted plot concerning the CIA, Russian Mafia, and an attempt to hold the United States ransom through covert attacks. The opening section unwisely tries Van Damme's hand at knockabout humor with partner Rob Schneider but merely proves that the star is severely lacking the sort of humorous touch that Arnold Schwarzenegger has so successfully utilized. Once Knock Off descends into more familiar Van Damme territory, the film--and its leading man--are on surer ground. There are a good deal of spectacular fight sequences, some amazing stunts, and a feisty female sparring partner in the form of Lela Rochen. Even the always-reliable Paul Sorvino pops up. Director Tsui Hark hits upon some interesting and initially invigorating visual effects but soon overdoes them, actually highlighting the lack of decent story rather than enhancing it. There is an incredible film to be made about this period in history but this isn't it. Knock Off is merely another undemanding, high-kicking, high-octane vehicle for Van Damme. --Phil Udell

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Reviews (40)

How did this movie flop?
This was a really cool movie with great stunts, great comedy, and great camera views. This was plain and simply one of the best JCVD movies ever. I find amazing how this film, Leigonaire, and Universal Soldier:The Return all did not revive his career. It is a total mind F*** to figure this out. The plot was a little confusing at first but if you really pay attention you will get the idea of the movie.

Great Performance by Van Damne
I rented this movie on video like 4 years ago,my whole family watched it and we were all pleased.And like a year ago i saw it on DVD and i loved watching it again.I think this movie will go in the top 10 of Van Damnes best movie but not the top 5. Im gonna name the top 5 Van Damnes best movies. Kickboxer, Bloodsport,Lionheart,Desert Heat,Hard Target.Im like the biggest Van Damne fan,and this one is worth watching.It deserves****A very good movie.

his funniest of roles!
this is one of my favourite van-damme movies and its definatly his funniest!, his opening scene was classic!. This movie is pure fan martial arts action with plenty of comedy along the way. Van-damme should do more comedy, it suits him excellently.

still awaiting his return to theaters, go van-damme!!

another Van Damme flop
purely for fans of crappy Van Damme movies again like I says. really corny from beginning to end. Paul Sorvino is totally and utterly fat and moronic in this one. Rob Schnider is wasted and WHY THE HELL WAS HE IN THIS I will have no clue. Van Damme kicks more butt and does more corny things then he did in Double Team. with horrible dialouge and a plot that seems like it came from some guy wiping his ass with a piece of toilet paper and then saw it on the piece of paper and said HEY!!!! damnit, lets make a movie about this piece of crap right here.

Fun Van Damme action...
Jean-Claude Van Damme is one of those actors you either are a fan of or you despise. Me? I'm a big fan, so that makes me a little less qualified to rate this film, but I'll review it nonetheless. It takes place in Hong Kong, where the market for "knock offs," or imitations of an original product, is blossoming. Van Damme and Rob Schneider play two business partners who are caught up in a nasty circle with the Chinese mafia, renegade CIA agents, and big bad guys. The action and direction from Tsui Hark is awesome, especially a scene where Van Damme slides around on a boat while beating up bad guys. Rob Schneider is not too annoying in this film, which is a good thing. The bad guy, however, was a bit underwhelming, but his demise works. Van Damme films are never any cinematic accomplishment by any means, but they can be, and usually are, plenty of fun. This is no exception. ... Read more

Reviews (39)

Such Wit!
This is a witty team that should go in the record books: Van Damme (deity) and Dennis Rodman (no ability). You might think this movie is awful and hideous, but it's truly a comical look about an action star kicking major stern as usual and a basketball player trying to be an action star. No, basketball players should stick to playing basketball or in this case, cross-dressing. Van Damme carries the ball 'n chain in this movie and makes it work, as expected. He fought a buffed out Mickey Rourke, a man with a knife in his toes and a tiger! Heroism! He was an agent who started fresh with a new agency and had to look for Stavros (Rourke). Rodman got in the way too much and actually made an airball. Terrible. Van Damme made fun of him and his hair, 'who does it? Siegfried or Roy?' Pure hilarity. Go Van Damme, don't take any garbage from that creature. Yes! A rare comedic performance from a deity.

Cool movie, but not the best action film, but the mote fun.
Not the best action movie made in the U.S. by a Hong Kong director, but not worst on the other hand. Jean-Claude Van Damme plays a covert agent or wath ever who is set to this top-secret island facility called "the colony" were he escapes, then hunts down a terrorist (Mickey Rourke) with the help of a weapons expert (Dennis Rodman), and the film goes on and on and on. The best scene is with Van Damme fighting Xiong Xin-Xin. This film is does something, but it is too hard to say in words.

1997. RCA. 93 MINS.

Rated R for Nonstop Action Violence.

Rodman? What did he do do throw basketballs?
Naw, Jean-claude could have done this movie by himself. Rodman needs to stick to basketball.

One of Van Damnes best
This was one of Van Damnes best, he joins forces with Dennis Rodman, what a team.Even though he didnt fight in a competition,the movie was really good.Alot of explosives and stunts, my fav part of the movie is when hes hanging from the airplane now that cool.

a slam banging Van Damme..no wait...this aint good at all
one of the worst Van Damme movies of all time, this one and Derailed and Replicant and Knock Off, come of Van Damme baby, make good ones and have good directors too. this one has Van Damme after Mickey Rourke who Rourke ends up killing him or he thinks he killed him, then Van Damme goes to an island of lost dead agents and villians(corny). he escapes retardedly and then goes back to save his wife and his up and coming child(who Van Damme and Rodman almost indanger the poor kid, bastards). Van Damme gets help from puke and choke Rodman and they have awesome adventures and eat lots of candy, no wait, thats what I was thinking and then, no. but there's some, I SAID SOME, good action, but then it dies and sits there. the end with an oiled up shirtless Rourke and the tiger lets the suspense and action down. strickly for fans of the movies Van Damme was crappy in. this is repuked up snot on a seseame seed bun ... Read more