Death Warrant

Like I keep tellin' youse guys....ya watch a Van Damme flick, ya can't expect any MORE than a Van Damme flick. Why watch the thing then complain "another Van Damme stinker"...that's a no-brainer! To quote Rocky "It ain't so bad!" Van Dumb plays a Canadian undercover cop sent in to root out a whole heapa jail corruption - see? there's a realtime story line - don't knock it!

Patrick Kilpatrick as "the Sandman"....is the star of the flick anyway, even if he HAS nothing whatsoever to do with the story at hand! A mega-tough inmate if ever there was one..."Sandman" looks for all intents and purposes like a close relative of Michael Myers and his climactic set-to with Van Damme is worth the price of at least a small carton of popcorn. "You can't kill me Burke, I'm the Sandman" he utters, shortly after stepping nonchalantly out of a raging furnace no less, totally aflame but otherwise quite unbothered. Naturally Van Dumb proves him wrong on that point! Comical but entertaining stuff.

Certainly not one of JCVD's worst!

Dare I say that when this movie was made JCVD was at the peak of his physical shape ? He really looks awesome in this movie. He's a pretty good actor as well, which is evident when you compare Chuck Norris' movies from the same era.

Although the movie is more than 20 years old, it doesn't look dated. The movie is also not a mindless martial arts movie either. It has some good story behind it. Even compared to "Lionheart" made the same year, this movie is way ahead in terms of quality.

Amanda Gibbs is gorgeous in this movie. Too bad that we didn't get to see her during the '90s asides from this movie.

Seriously, this is one of the best JCVD movie made and is recommended for viewing even if you're NOT a JCVD fan.

This was an intense prison movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme as an undercover cop. "Louis Burke," trying to solve a crime inside a tough prison.

There is excellent suspense, some surprisingly-good photography with excellent closeups and slow-motion. Language-wise, I liked the fact there wasn't a lot of the usage of the Lord's name in vain. All of that help make this better than I anticipated.

The final fight scene is a little long and is Rocky-like ridiculous in that both combatants get viscously beaten to a pulp.....but keep coming back and not even having their hair messed up!! That notwithstanding, it was an entertaining movie and a cut above most martial arts fare.

"What is a death warrant?" you may ask. I'm not too sure myself. I assume it must like an arrest warrant, but instead of arresting the target of the warrant, Van Damme gets to kill them. Pretty simple really. I mean, if Jean-Claude was only intending to ARREST the antagonists, it would be a pretty boring movie, right?

Van Damme plays Louis Burke, a Canadian Mountie who never wears the proper Mountie uniform, which is a damn shame because those Mountie hats are cool. Burke is on assignment in Los Angeles, tracking down a villain known as the Sandman, bullet-proof serial-killer extraordinaire. After taking down The Sandman in the first few minutes, Burke is given another assignment: The inmates of the local maximum-security prison have developed a nasty habit of being killed by ice-pick to the head. Burke's assignment is to go undercover (naturally) and find out where all these ice-picks are coming from and who is behind it. Is it a prison-gang war, or a massive conspiracy involving corrupt officials and mad scientists? Have a guess.

Naturally, one would assume that a Van Damme movie - set in a prison - called 'Death Warrant' would be action packed. Unfortunately, 'Death Warrant', much like 'Legionnaire', proves that not all Van Damme movies are excuses for a showcase of spin-kicks. It is a shame that 'Death Warrant' is not as action packed as I would like it to be. There are some cool fights, but it is a fairly slow movie, and the less said about the scenes involving a character called Priest (Abdul Salaam El Razzac), the better. Priest is a weird, weird fellow. I'm pretty sure he is really some sort of alien replicon from the beyond the moon...

Now, I'm trying to judge 'Death Warrant' harshly, I really am. There just isn't enough action, but I just can't speak ill of any movie that was made in the 80s, is about the 80s, or features music and fashion from the 80s. In this case, 'Death Warrant' has 80s music AND a mad scientist. Both big bonuses in any movie's favour. Granted, the mad scientist's screen time is almost negligible, but the presence of a mad scientist makes the coolness metre of any movie shoot straight up.

Sure, 'Death Warrant' may be slow, lack action, and feature a lot of Van Damme acting rather than fighting, but it is entertaining enough (what with the 80s music and all), but it is only for Van Damme fans - 6/10

A police officer goes undercover in a prison to discover why inmates are disappearing at a fast rate. The investigation is going all fine and dandy until the serial killer that this particular cop caught is transfered therefore putting him in jeopardy and blowing his cover. Good thing the cop knows kickboxing. This is one of Jean-Claude's lesser efforts, it lacks the overall excitement of Bloodsport and Kickboxer as well as the visceral enjoyment provided by his later movies like Universal Soldier and Hard Target. The story itself is too routine and although at times Death Warrant has a grisly twist that give it a jolt, Death Warrant is very forgettable stuff. I myself enjoy a good action flick but I like them more upbeat and it's only the action sequences which make this mildly diverting.

* * out of 4(Fair)