This fight movie is more measured than some of Van Damme‘s previous stuff (Kickboxer, Bloodsport) and scrapes through the dramatics better than you’d think. With Van Damme’s drug-dealing brother being torched to death and our French legionnaire abandoning his camp to go to Los Angeles, the film’s immediate focus centres around a revenge plot. However, Bloodsport writer Sheldon Lettich focuses more on the A.W.O.L. hero supporting his struggling sister-in-law and her baby daughter, raising the cash the only way he knows how: by becoming an illegal bareknuckle fighter. This is B grade stuff – basic locations, overacting, overblown sentimentality, and predictable storytelling, but there are clear signs of Van Damme starting to come good on his promise, and honing his inimitable on-screen charisma. Interactions with single mum Page and his hustler manager accentuate a more compassionate side, and the consistent string of punch-ups ensure we never forget what he’s really here for.

AKA: Lionheart; Wrong Bet.