Nowhere to Run

Escaped from prison, Van Damme camps out near a widow's home in the woods.

Sure there's some action in the movie with quite a number of punch 'em outs but the movie really should have been in the drama section, not the action section of rental stores. This is quite a change for Van Damme as he becomes a father to the fatherless, nice guy, gentleman, and town savior.

So the story was really good and damn Van Damme did a good job at his nice guy part. The funniest part is when he and the boy go into town for motorcyle parts and the sherrif dude asks him questions. Listen to how Van Damme pronounces 'motercycle' and 'Quepec'.

"Nowhere to Run" is a 1993 action film with decent action star Jean Claude Van Damme. Although good for fans of the genre and Van Damme, it may be a let down for others. Why I myself am not a diehard Van Damme fan (at least he did "Hard Target"), I thought this movie was good. Why, you ask? Because it has Ted Levine as the bad guy.! Anyway, this movie caught me by surprise. I thought it would be one of those bad movies where stuff explodes just so you can watch stuff explode. But I found it to be a decent vehicle for it's stars, and you never can go wrong with Ted Levine. It's a nice little movie. 6 out of 10.

This is a very engaging thriller, and I'm a big fan of the muscles from Brussels! All to like.

"NoWhere to Run" is another pure 90's Van Damme action flick & it's a decent film with a good performance by Van Damme as the lone hero, man-on-the-run convict who stumbles upon a nice farmland & farmhouse to hide out & ends up helping the a single mum (Rosanna Arquete) & her kids. This is a nice story actually & Van Damme is good in the acting department & in the action department. Damme ends up helping fight back against some land developer villains (a great Ted Levine) & protecting the family.

Yes there's some cheesy bits but it's an action Thriller with a heart.

Now the 90's wouldn't of been the 90's without Van Damme & his movies!!!! Growing up as a teen during that great time i was massively into Van Damme & couldn't wait for his next movie to come out & i would buy it straight away on video, Awwww Nostalgia & big love for my childhood hero Van Damme.

Yes i grew up on Schwarzenegger, Stallone & Seagal too but it was Van Damme's films that i watched constantly & consider some of his as Action Classic's & some of my all time favourite films like his Apocalyptic Action Masterpiece CYBORG (1989) that's a true childhood Classic of mine, also the John Woo action extravaganza HARD TARGET (1993) & the fun & action-packed DOUBLE IMPACT (1991) & the gritty & tough A. W. O. L (1990) & the brutal prison Action Thriller DEATH WARRANT (1990) plus many more that i genuinely love too like Time Cop, Sudden Death, Maximum Risk & Universal Soldier. Van Damme was such a big part of the 90's & my childhood.

Nowhere to Run is another good action Thriller & a nice 90's time capsule of those better times.

Van Damme has a reputation as a kickboxer or an ass kicker and a martial artist. No one really thinks he can act and the only reason he has a career in the movies is because he can do all those things and because women swoon over him. Being the quintessential guy, I am pretty much in the category of guys that likes to see him in films that are loaded with kicks to the head and punches to the stomach. It is a guy thing to want to see guys like Van Damme, Arnold, Sly and Seagal kick some major butt. But I have to admit that as much as I like some of his films that are action and nothing but, this film really blew me away. I was completely convinced with the love story and I felt for the characters. Jean Claude gives his best performance in here. And the sript being written by Eszetheras is perfect. This is a film that relies more on character and dialogue than it does kickboxing skills. And perhaps that alienates die hard Van Damme fans but for the rest of the audience out there this is a great step in the right direction. I have heard people that love his smashmouth style of film say that this is a more tame Van Damme and they don't like it that much, but when your films only gross about the same amount as a typical Friday the 13th film, it's safe to say that there is room to grow and Nowhere to Run is definitely growth. The only reason that people didn't go to see it is because it is Van Damme. But this has so much more to offer than just your typical action flick. The romance is fresh and Kieran Culkin is excellent as the young tyke who grows attached to Van Damme. It's just too bad Claude couldn't make more movies like this one because I really think people would warm up to this style of movie from him and eventually his box office appeal would grow. But as long he continues to make movies like Universal Soldier 2 and Knock Off, he will forever be stuck in that mold.

Nowhere to Run is a great film and when it came out in 1993, I remember making out my list for the ten best films that year, and yes, this one was on it. I highly recommend it. I think you will be surprised. However, if you are hard core and like to see his films with lots of kicks and blood and cheesy lines from guys like Bolo Yeung, then don't go see this one, it is too much of a movie for you to enjoy.