The Order (2001)

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The Order (2001)

Dumb fun from Sheldon Double Impact Lettich in which Van Damme travels to Israel to recover his kidnapped father, an archaeologist whose discovery of an ancient map of Jerusalem attracts attention from a group of religious extremists known as ‘the Order’. Despite the tall tale, this is lighthearted throughout, and works all the better for it. Van Damme has perfected his cheeky rogue persona and hones up on his martial arts skills in a stocky bulk of action scenes, all of which make great use of the film’s middle eastern locations. And to prove the film’s comedy merit, there are even a few outtakes chucked in …

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Burning Paradise (1994)

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Burning Paradise (1994)

Ringo Lam, in a swift departure from contemporary crime thrillers, offers his insight into the period kung fu movie and produces an intensely brilliant portrayal of loyalty and brotherhood in the most trying of circumstance. Brutal, morbid and deeply sinister, Ringo’s cynical gothic film focuses on the misrepresentation of religion in the context of martial arts and centres on a set of longing characters void of virtue or righteousness.

Apart from our young hero, Fong Sai-yuk (Chi), an upright Shaolin monk whose overall blandness is compensated for by some electrifying kung fu skills. This vivid tale heralds back to the Manchu purges of …

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Profile: Ringo Lam Ling-tung

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Profile: Ringo Lam Ling-tung

Date of birth: 1955, Hong Kong

Date of death: December 29, 2018 (aged 63), Hong Kong

Occupation: Director, producer, writer, actor

Other names: Lam Ling Dung, Lam Ling Tung, Ringo Lam

Biography: Noted for his gritty directing style (in contrast to the balletic ‘heroic bloodshed’ of his contemporary John Woo), Ringo Lam is one of Hong Kong’s most celebrated ‘new wave’ action filmmakers.

Born in Hong Kong, Lam initially trained as an actor at Shaw Brothers’ television division, TVB, where his class friends included Chow Yun-fat. Lam soon rejected the idea of becoming an actor and accepted a position as a production assistant at the company. …

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Maximum Risk (1996)

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Maximum Risk (1996)

Starting with a car chase through the bustling market streets of southern France, a driver is killed and the police are quick to the scene. The body resembles that of Jean-Claude Van Damme, a twin no less, causing his French detective brother (Van Damme, again) to investigate. A trip to New York uncovers his brother’s ties with the Russian mafia and corrupt FBI agents, while a fling with girlfriend Henstridge adds a rather sexy edge. But this isn’t rocket science, and you get the impression it’s trying to be something that it’s not. A shame, really, because this was Ringo Lam’s Hollywood …

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Replicant (2001)

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Replicant (2001)

Sci-fi nonsense involving a genetic replica of sadistic serial killer Van Damme, manufactured by a secret branch of the US government to combat terrorism (!) and used as an experiment to gain a valuable insight into the mind of a murderer. Reckless cop Rooker takes in the replicant, developing his human side while simultaneously investigating his other self – a killer who targets single mothers.

In a dual role as both the clone and the killer (a murderer known as The Torch), neither of the characters are particularly endearing, and the fact Van Damme is surrounded by equally inept actors doesn’t help. …

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Taken (2008)

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Taken (2008)

In the pantheon of great Luc Besson headbusters (Nikita, Leon, The Transporter etc.) this is one of his best, a ripping kidnap yarn done with a post-Bourne sensibility and a surprising action turn from a reinvented Liam Neeson. As an aging ex-CIA operative, he adds gravitas to a project which could easily have been given to someone like Jason Statham, and there’s a giddy, comic relish in seeing the former Michael Collins and Oskar Schindler go batshit crazy with an arsenal of heavy artillery and lightening martial arts skills. It is testament to Neeson’s talents that you actually believe any of this carnage.

Neeson plays the divorced …

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In Hell (2003)

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In Hell (2003)

If cinematic history was anything to go by then they would have you believe not much has changed in the prison system for about 50 years. All the usual suspects are still there: the long serving wise sage, the boy who deserved better, the gang warfare, the relentless buggery and long hot summers spent digging up railroads (do they still do that?).

This is a cliché ridden slug fest, closer to Death Warrant than The Shawshank Redemption in prison movie hierarchy, and not as savagely articulate as Ringo Lam’s Prison on Fire films. That said, there is a similarly bleak and sinister tone to this fight …

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The Raid: Redemption (2011)

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The Raid: Redemption (2011)

Blistering action film that more than delivers on a small premise. An Indonesian SWAT team are ordered to take down a big time drug baron and his hoards of kung fu hustlers in a dilapidated tower block, before finding themselves locked in and forced to fight their way out. Evans takes all the best elements from his lumbering debut Merantau (namely most of the cast and his superb silat choreography) and sets phasers to carnage. In a breathless, relentless, head-crunching 100 minutes, extras are dispatched with violent efficiency, from grisly blade battles to point-blank gun fire. Iko Uwais plays the ace in the pack. He …

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Street Fighter (1994)

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Street Fighter (1994)

This bombed horribly when it came out, treading a similar path to other video game based flops like Super Mario Bros. and Mortal Kombat. Big money backed a very poor script, something that Van Damme struggles with at the best of times, while the cartoon-like fight sequences and exaggerated caricatures make it feel more like a Power Rangers film than a decent sci-fi actioner. But enough of what could have been. Here is what we are actually dealing with: a trite story, really, as psychotic General Bison (Raul Julia, in his last film role) attempts to build his Bisonopolis with a …

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Nowhere to Run (1993)

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Nowhere to Run (1993)

This one is difficult to pinpoint. Essentially a romance but with moments of action, Nowhere to Run does little to satisfy either genre. Harmon’s persistence on exploring two-dimensional characters make it hard going, and the occasional fisticuffs are a welcome distraction. Van Damme explores his sensitive side by playing a prison escapee with a heart of gold, chancing upon Arquette’s country ranch and young family desperately in need of a father figure. A clichéd story about ruthless property developers wanting to buy up the family land is soon what we’re dealing with, and Van Damme is seemingly the only decent chap around …

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