Black Water

In appreciating and evaluating "Black Water", you need to make some nuances. If you are a fan of JCVD and Dolph Lundgren, there's no doubt you'll at least applaud the concept of this flick and appreciate what they are trying to do here. But you'll also be all the more disappointed, as the movie does not live up to it's excellent set-up. Largely because of what seems to me an overall lack of funds: the set, the writing, direction, and the vast majority of actors are sadly sub-par, bringing the movie down to something painfully average at best. That doesn't mean it's not enjoyable as an action flick, especially if you're a fan of Van Damme or Lundgren. But it has some painful flaws that actively hurt the viewing experience and in no way does it live up to the very hype concept.

So, what's good and what's bad? The short opening scene is extremely pleasing and exciting. It's mysterious and has a slight horror-aspect to it, kind of like Pound of Flesh with Van Damme. But it's also amusing thanks to Lundgren's character, which was obviously a role written with him in mind. And above all it gets you pumped for a good action flick with two icons. Are JCVD and Lundgren going to have to escape an under water jail? Is this going to be Death Warrant meets Under Siege meets The Expendables? Whoever thought of the basic idea for this movie, knows what's up: this is exactly the kind of concept you want for a cool old school action movie with a few of your favourite old action stars.

Sadly the second scene, which is a flashback to how Van Damme ended up where he is, is one of the worst in the entire film. It involves one of the weakest aspects of this movie: the shoot-outs. This scene was supposed to be a big action-packed shoot-out, with an emotional finale. Sadly it doesn't deliver anything: it's boring, has next to no cool action moments. It just feels ridiculous and unbelievable, and not in a good funny way. The gun-action feels uninspired and has no impact.

This movie feels like a really good idea executed poorly. You could blame the director, the cast, or whoever's in charge of casting, or the set. But I think we should just blame the budget. If this had been a big budget film the action scenes, the cast, ... all those aspects would have been way better. The movie does have some good moments, and it's in these moments that you feel what this movie should have been. What this movie needs? 1: Re-writing of the scenes and especially the action scenes. I KNOW Van Damme has still got it. Why doesn't he do cool looking kicks in this film? 2: a better, more impactful villain, 3: more screen-time with Lundgren, 4: better actors for the crew and female agents.

I still love the idea and attempt. I love that Van Damme still makes movies. Because of that, and because it was in the end 'okay' for the most part, I still gave it a 7/10 through nostalgic glasses. I would recommend watching it at least once, it will likely give you some enjoyment and laughs, but don't go in expecting a great revival of old-school action. For that the action itself is too lacking, not to mention the other flaws.

One for JCVD/80s action fans for sure, but this film really delivered a whole lot more than I was expecting!

It's a little slow to begin with, not due to lack of action, but because the storyline takes a little while to develop. Just accept 'Good Guys vs Bad Guys' and then you can enjoy the story. The plot is fast paced and keeps you interested until the very end, and for the most part the acting is at a good enough standard. Visually it is quite impressive, which is a shock considering other non-blockbusters categorised alongside this one.

Martial arts and gun fights galore, this is really all you'd expect from this genre. The suggested split billing of Van Damme and Lundgren is very misleading, this is 100% a JCVD film with Lundgren popping up along the way. They're cheesy together, yes, but the chemistry is good.

Finally, don't expect any reality. I'm not an expert on submarines, but I'm pretty sure that amount of machine gun fire is less than ideal for ones integrity.

Well this is a low budget starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Do you enjoy his other low budget movies? If you do, you will probably enjoy this one. It ain't any special, and Van Damme has better movies even in his post 2010 resume, but its competent and does the job. Lundgren has a rather small role despite being showcase on the cover as much as Van Damme. I wouldn't say its a cameo but his screen time is small. The other main actresses does a fair job with her character as well.

I would say honestly its a rather competent spy/action movie with a decent plot and enough action to keep you interested. Its aimed at the fans of Van Damme before anything else wich i am.

I am a big van damme fan, I enjoy most of his b-movies. This one was not very good. Bad fighting, it was like van damme was fighting like an old man. Not much lundgren in the movie either, just a small side role. A forgettable C-movie, I just enjoy seeing JCVD in action because I am a fan.

By the way, 2 years before the movie van damme did "Jean-Claude Van Johnson" series, that was JCVD in his best performance ever, watch that instead!

I've never seen such a ridiculous movie in my life. The guys were machine-gunning inside the submarine, the woman was shot through the flames, and continued the film through to the end. Damme, with that scene of not being able to see, used it 3 times. Tough history, no plot, no good pictures, no nexus. A trash. Damme did a bad job with this movie, it was a very close career.