Six Bullets

This is a Jean-Claude Van Damme action flick.

I've seen a number of his similar films over the years and feel that they have all been better than average. Meaning that if you like action movies, Van Damme delivers with ones that you will probably watch again sometime.

Like Assassination Games (2011), this one features his son and daughter (his daughter also produces). No, his kids won't win any acting awards either, but they turn in credible performances for their characters. For his part, Van Damme acts better than I have ever seen him act before as a troubled ex-mercenary who has built a reputation finding and returning kidnapped children. He also seems to have built one for leaving a lot of bodies behind, including innocents. Unlike most of his other movies where he does no wrong, this one has him a lot more fallible and even negligent. His realizations have him showing lingering regret that really spices up this plot.

While this film is vaguely similar to Taken (2009), there are more differences than similarities. It also shows what amoral lengths the family of a kidnapped child might be willing to go to to get their kid back.

This is a good action flick with some thought provoking moments about consequences and choices. I recommend it.

Finally ! Van Damme seems to be getting his act together and putting out a better product. This is one of the best "straight to video" movies he has done, kind of on par with Desert Heat and Legionaire, and dare I say almost good enough that it could have had a theatrical release. The plot borrows heavily from "Taken" and a few other movies but is pulled off well and JCVD is in good physical shape for this film, despite his haggard face. Could have used a bit more hand to hand fight scenes, but what we are given is filmed well. Definitely worth a view if you are a Van Damme fan, something that couldn't be said for most of his movies made in the 2000s. Let's hope he can maintain this momentum and have a bit of career resurgence like Stallone.

Jean-Claude Van Damme shines as Samson Gual, an ex-mercenary haunted by tragic accidents of his past job who seeks to redeem himself when he's approached by a MMA fighter who seeks Gual's help in getting his fourteen year old daughter back after she's abducted by sex traffickers.

While a bit hokey in places and some of the acting by the bit players leaving much to be desired, all the major characters do a very adequate job and the action scenes are very good. I found myself enjoying this "Taken"-esque film quite a bit. JCVD indeed has another winner on his hands.

Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in another above-par DTV outing, and proves that he's still relevant (at least more relevant than Steven Seagal). There's nothing too special about the story, seeing as it's been done before in various forms (e.g., TAKEN). Even the cinematography isn't too unique, and has a washed-out palette that is all-too-common in these types of movies. But unlike TAKEN, this movie actually takes the time to develop its characters and give you reason to care about them. In other words, it's not all ass-kicking and one-liners (and in fact, there really isn't any humor). The run time is a little overlong (by about 15-20 minutes), but it's spent with characters you can identify with and a story that has some dramatic impact. Definitely for JCVD fans, but also for anyone looking to branch out beyond the middling action fare that Hollywood churns out nowadays.

Hot off the heels of his great villainous turn in the Expendables 2, Jean Claude Van Damme delivers another straight to video action film 6 Bullets. Over the years some of his films seem to have gotten a bit better in both acting and quality. He still has a lot that get international theatrical release, but still end up on the video shelf here. Will 6 Bullets keep his streak alive after E2 has brought him back to theatrical prominence?

6 Bullets follows an ex-mercenary known for finding missing children is hired by a mixed martial arts fighter whose daughter has been kidnapped, but is still struggling with a failed assignment. For the most part this isn't one of his better films, but is a decent addition to his filmography. There is plenty of action that's pretty simple and only averagely executed, but mostly loses some of its effectiveness due to bad editing. Where this film lacks on some of the expected action, Van Damme delivers another character with a wide range of emotions. While still nowhere near the performance of JCVD, he really carries the film well giving the character more depth than his normal bad ass persona. The supporting cast including Stargate: Atlantis star Joe Flanigan and both Van Damme's son and daughter all do a decent job with what they are working with. The story is simple, but does add some clever twists here and there to give it a bit of an edge you may not expect. The foreign setting really helps this movie both visually and size to give it a bigger feel than it may have had being shot here in the US.

While this wasn't a great movie, it still delivers enough of a kick to entertain the hard core Van Damme fans out there. Over time Van Damme, much like the other action stars of E2 has seemed to really embrace his age and seems to have enhanced his performances a bit more. Worse case, this film will serve as good filler while fans eagerly wait for his next film Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning.

http://www.examiner.com/movie-in-dallas/bobby-blakey