Until Death

This was a dramatic and interesting film. It has its usual Jean Claude standards though such as Graphic Violence, Language, Sex, and Drugs. But hey, that's why I and a lot of other fans watch these movies. I thought Van Damme was a vigilante on the loose in this, especially when he came out of that coma. Stephen Rea is also playing his usual confusing and mean character who likes to screw up people's lives just like in Fear Dot Com, which was a stupid movie unlike this one. I had hight hopes for this movie and it came through well. Since I was little I have always loved watching Van Damme and Steven Seagal movies, I just hope that they keep up the good work! 8 out of 10

To his credit, Van Damme made this film really good! And it wasn't his acrobatically motivated martial arts. There was more drama than action and he was pretty darn decent. I don't like spoilers, so..

The movie starts a little slow but the storyline picks up and the plight of Van Damme's character is apparent. It's him against the world that kicked him to the dirt and people want to step all over him. His character is submissive and weak but yet, still has the inner strength to do the right thing in the end.

Again, I was pleasantly surprised with Van Damme's acting and character in this film, not the typical Van Damme action movie, this one has heart, character and a good story. 7 out of 10 for me.

Yes, I watch dumb movies, sometimes finding intelligent ones. This happens even in porn, though the slog through is rough going.

Violent movies are porn, pure and simple. Segal, Van Damme, Conner, are simply action toys for three and four year old boys and viewers who wish they were. But this is a bit different. No, it blazes no new ground; in fact the notion of a late in life "coming of age" film with little violence has been well plowed. But its something rather important to see someone who we know is actually dumb and violent singularly shift his career path and do one.

The story is simple: broken man, broken heart. Very, very bad guys out there that he is singlehandedly battling, over the obstructive but typical black chief. (Is there a more prevalent film type than the honest, caring but tough black police boss?) He nearly dies, then revives, and settles the score. But instead of the simple "good guy is stronger so beats the bad guy's butt," we have a similar dynamic but with presumed growth. That seldom happens. The folding of battling with marriage and battling (the bad parts of) society is clear.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

If you rent or buy a Van Damme movie then you want to be entertained, right??? As long as you are entertained then you would be willing to let the quality of the acting or script slide a little, right??? Well, I have to say that this film did indeed entertain me and Mr. Van Damme even surprised me because he was rather good, even with a script that went a little overboard with movie cop-talk. For all of his critics,I say, give the man a break, he is making an effort and trying something different.

As an Irishman I was as surprised as anyone to see Stephen Rea in such a film as I hadn't looked at the full credits before watching it, but he was solid as usual.

I don't want to summarise the film for anyone because I watched the film without knowing anything about the story except that Van Damme played a dirty cop, and I found the story to be very entertaining ,even in spite of the poor dialogue at times. Please, do not go along and watch this film with preconceived notions of negativity towards Mr. Van Damme, just watch it with an open mind, and I think you may find yourself surprised.....

I watched this on DVD today and was stunned to see that it's a nearly scene for scene remake of one of my favorite Hong Kong films, the 1995 crime melodrama Loving You (ok, bad title) directed by Johnny To that starred Lau Ching Wan and Carman Lee. I don't understand why the original Hong Kong flick is mentioned nowhere in the credits but nearly every single scene and plot element and much of the dialog comes directly from the Hong Kong film. Until Death wasn't bad, but the problem is that Jean-Claude Van Damme isn't half the actor that Lau Ching Wan, the star of the original is and director Stephen Fellows is no Johnny To. The love story between the recuperating police officer and his pregnant wife is handled much more effectively in the original. I highly recommend that anyone who enjoyed Until Death (and can tolerate watching movies with English subtitles) seek out the original version, which was released last year on DVD in Hong Kong and can purchased from places like Ebay. It's a much better movie.