JCVD 1997 - 1998

Double Team.


Tsui Hark directed this one. Another great Asian director (Woo, Lam and now Hark!)


JCVD teams with Dennis Rodman in this enjoyable film. I mean lets face it, its not the best movie of all time, but it was fun to watch and Mickey Rourke is the bad guy! Way before his comeback with Sin City.


The final match up in the movie is pretty cool and I just had fun. This was the beginning of the end for JCVD movies coming to theatres. And I am not sure why.


I mean I thought this was a cool movie and it seemed to be a full house when I saw it in theatres, but for some reason, maybe the double starring role with Rodman messed this up?


Who knows, but it’s worth a look.


3.5/5


J-Man.

Legionnaire.


Didn’t get released in theatres here, which sucks because I think this would have put JCVD back on the map. He is not a martial artist in this one, he is a Legionnaire. He starts of as a boxer, but then when he goes against a crime syndicate he has to escape and ends up joining the legion.


There he learns that you have to march or you die. He gains a friend and learns some valuable lessons along the way.


But because there isn’t a fight in the movie, (besides the boxing match – which his short and not JCVD’s style) everything relies on JCVD’s acting, and I thought he was really good!


Maybe the distributors thought no one would care if JCVD wasn’t doing karate in it, but I think they would’ve given this a chance. It’s a solid movie with a good performance from JCVD, so what the heck.


This is a good one!


4/5


J-Man.

Knock-Off.


Tsui Hark directed JCVD in this one right after Double Team. This is the second last of his theatrical releases (until JCVD of course). JCVD has been very luck to work with some of the best Asian directors of all time! I mean this guy is crazy – all 3 of those guys Lam, Hark and Woo have done WICKED films and I think JCVD was the only one to work with all three – although I think Chow Yun Fat also worked with them all, although his Hark film escapes me at the moment.


This movie has a lot of neat stuff and really cool editing and style – something American audiences weren’t used to I guess, so it didn’t perform well, but I think this was one of the better JCVD movies to come out after Hard Target.


This is a must have for me, and all JCVD fans.


4.5/5


J-Man.