Assassination Games

Well if you have been a fan of Van Damme since the start, like me, your favourite movie are probably gonna be Bloodsport, Lionheart and Kickboxer, the movies he got a big role from. A lot of other Van Damme production caught my eyes, Double Impact, Replicant, and Time Cop where some good strong movies in the actor gender combining action and plots. If you are a fan of John Woo and gun fights, Hard target was maybe more your think.

Then after that Van Damme did a lot of direct to DVD movies with minimal martial arts and more action parts with guns and all, some where pretty good, some where not, depending. But The Sheppard, one of his last movies was actually very strong having him with the very well balanced Scott Adkins that can fit any roles. And i loved it. So i was looking for this one a lot since it was the first true van damme movie in a LOOOONG TIME. Lets say i was please and yet disappointed a bit. For example i loved the story, all characters played well, it was a very cool movie, but at the same time i was expecting a bit more with a movie staring BOTH Van Damme and Adkins(Boyka from Undisputed) I dunno... maybe i was expecting the big martial arts blockbuster when this movie actually not even aim for that... But well... Lets just say this movie works well for what it tried to be.... an action movie with a strong plot and a dark feeling, with SOME martial Arts. Now i can wait to see The Eagle Path since i have been waiting for it for a long time.

"This is what he does best, and he is the best." A corrupt Interpol officer makes that observation about Roland Flint, the character played by Scott Adkins in the riveting "Assassination Games." It's an accolade that truly applies to the film's star, Jean-Claude Van Damme, who has translated his experience as a global superstar into becoming one of the globe's best actors. JCVD is Vincent Brazil, a professional assassin and loner whose profession has intensified his self-isolation. Flint and Brazil become reluctant partners in a cat-and-mouse game against both Interpol and the European mob. Along the way, an unlikely girl next door named October invades Brazil's carefully protected personal space and forces him to provide her refuge from a vengeful pimp (depicted with effective menace by actor Attila Arpa). When October thanks Vincent with a kiss to the cheek, Van Damme displays the hit-man's resistance to affection with an emotion that is both telling and heartbreaking. It is a rare moment for an action film and a testament to the brilliance of Van Damme the actor. The relationship of October and Vincent becomes an effective dramatic anchor for the movie's unrelenting mix of tragedy and revenge. Increasingly, as his films showcase his dramatic talents, Van Damme creates movies that are both character driven and visually stylish without resorting to CGI tricks or action clichés. Experience and talent have enabled the original "Muscles from Brussels" to evolve into one of the most creative and uniquely effective forces in film making today. "Assassination Games" is another great chapter in the career of a triumphant and supremely talented Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Script and financial limitations can hinder the most precious of stories. For once, Scott Adkins played a character and not himself in his movies. I didn't like that to be honest but as an actor that is what Scott needs. I mean in this movie Scott gets taken down by so many guys who in reality he could kill with his bare hands. Van Damme is stuck with the monotonous monologue affected robotic hit-man which seemed tacky. But that is due to lack of histrionic skill. Kurt Russell did it slightly better in soldier. Arnie did it really good in Terminator. But that was aided by the requirements of the character. Adkins has improved as an actor since the awful Ninja. He has some variety now in his resume. In this movie, AG, Scott plays a really vulnerable man. Quite the opposite of the invulnerable Yuri Boyka, Scott's best role so far.

The movie synopsis given here is tardy, and seems to indicate the crazed stereotypical view of Americans that everything revolves around them. There is no DEA nonsense here. It is the Interpol whose dirty cops provide cannon fodder for the lead actors while the main villain is a despicable criminal leader (played well by the actor).

This movie had a lot of positives going for it in terms of potential. It was a lot better than the DTV releases the 2 lead actors have been used to recently. Van Damme's face looks drawn and destroyed beyond the skills of the most talented makeup artistes in the world. He could go the Charles Bronson reloaded route with that face.

The key here is that while both the lead actors combined could compile the most complex and comprehensive columns of a martial arts encyclopedia, this movie has stayed away from capitalising on the copious martial arts talents possessed by Adkins and Van Damme. It was fresh and new of course, but nevertheless it just added to a long list of things this movie lacked.

While this movie is worth watching once especially if you are a JCVD/martial arts fan, it is only an average action film that didn't maximize its potential. The remote controlled machine gun was a nice touch but it is just one of the momentary shades of quality in a film that can never be anything above underrated. The crew just tried too much in the name of freshness, and as a result the final product ended up in the doldrums, neither here nor there.

Scott would do good to get some serious acting lessons as would JCVD. A lot of people, including me, cannot keep watching Kickboxer/Bloodsport/Universal Soldier/Hard Target/Undisputed 2,3 again and again.

Interestingly, JCVD's kids play roles in the film. His daughter Bianca(a super stunner) plays Adkins' wife. His son, Kristopher plays one of the villains I believe.

The two major roles, played by Scott Adkins, and Jean-Claude Van Damme are something that you can relate too. One is fighting to assassinate his target because of love, fighting to try and bring justice for his wife. The second is the opposite. Everything thing is about work, and he is just doing a job. Vincent becomes more open to love throughout the film, as you see the change from the start to the end, and that was a good believable story.

The writing for this movie was great, good action sequences, though at times there was a little too much dialogue, they did make the movie worth watching, but also something that you won't regret having watched later.

Wow! I really got lucky with this one! A Jean Claude Van Damme film released in theaters for the first time in the United States since 1998 if memory serves right! A very limited release mind you, but he's finally made it back to the big screen! It hasn't been advertised here at all which is a shame because Assassination Games is an excellent film! So where do I begin? Well, the film was shot for $4,000,000 dollars in some Eastern Block country which would normally scare me, but it actually ends up looking a lot better than the above stated price tag. Say around the 15 to 20,000,000 dollar range. The camera and editing work was very well done and the musical score is excellent, non pervasive and flows with the movie in a non intrusive way that adds to the dramatic effect instead of taking away from it. The story is pretty well done. I'd give the dialog a solid B for an action movie and there were no detectable plot holes that I could find.

The best actor in the film in my opinion was probably Andrew French who plays Nalbandian who plays Devil's Advocate to Van Damme fallowed by Maria Kaijan, Jean Claude, Scott Adkins and Ivan Kaye. In fact, the acting was pretty much all the way around solid except for the interpol agents who's dialog and delivery was extremely weak.

The film goes about 50/ 50 on the action to drama ratio. It drags a bit after the first 5 minutes or so but the fight scenes are interspersed throughout the film well and are also followable which is more than I could say for some larger budget films like the Transformers franchise and I would definitely have to say that Jean and Scott make an excellent action duo as they have the whole fire and ice thing going.

If you happen to be within an hours drive of any of the theaters listed on the movie website, go and check the film out. It isn't as good as JCVD or the new Universal Soldier, but it's a very close third. So go check it out or just wait for the DVD. It'll be worth it! Thank you Jean Claude! I never thought I'd see you on the big screen again!