Enemies Closer - Nemici giurati

When I first sat down to watch this movie; I was certain Jean-Claude was going to disappoint me in his old age. Boy, was I wrong. While certainly not a blockbuster, This film is sure to entertain. At first Glance, Some of the acting seemed a bit cheesy, and poorly done; take for Instance when One of our female characters meet with the protagonist, I knew something was being foreshadowed by the way they had this particular eye contact; and of course was later revealed. Not many movies nowadays I can honestly say I would enjoy viewing again, this is one of those. And Jean-Claude's ending line was hilarious; most definitely setting the movies ending.

'ENEMIES CLOSER': Three Stars (Out of Five)

Jean-Claude Van Damme and director Peter Hyams team up for the third time (after 1994's 'TIMECOP' and 1995's 'SUDDEN DEATH') to make this 'buddy action movie', with Van Damme once again playing the bad guy. It also stars Tom Everett Scott and Orlando Jones as it's action hero leads and co-stars Linzey Cocker and Van Damme's son Kristopher Van Varenberg (who appears in all of his father's films as of late). The script was written by first time film writers Eric and James Bromberg and their inexperience shows. The most clever thing the filmmakers came up with (for this movie) is it's title; which is about the two main characters being enemies at first and having to team up to fight a more dangerous foe (referring to the popular phrase 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'). People don't watch a Van Damme movie for the writing usually though, if you're a fan of his performances you won't be disappointed here (it's one of his better ones).

The story is set on the US-Canadian border where (as the film opens) a plane goes down containing a large shipment of drugs. Van Damme plays Xander, a crazy drug dealer who leads his ruthless cartel into the forest, near by the crash, to retrieve the missing drugs. Everett Scott plays an Ex-Navy SEAL turned forest ranger named Henry who becomes Xander's biggest obstacle. Henry's biggest obstacle (at first) is surviving the attempts on his life by a man named Clay (Jones), who blames Henry for the death of his brother (during combat). Henry and Clay must of course put their differences aside in order to outwit Xander, and his men, and save a young woman (Cocker) who recently took a liking to the ranger.

It's interesting how Van Damme went from always playing the good guy hero in B action flicks to always playing the villain (in B action flicks). He started out his acting career playing the main bad guy in the 1986 karate film 'NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER' and the 1988 martial arts action movie 'BLACK EAGLE' but after he hit it big as the hero of 'BLOOD SPORT' (also in 1988) he became known as a likable good guy. Ever since then he's kept that image in movies, until his turn in 2012's 'THE EXPENDABLES 2'. He followed that up (the same year) by turning his good guy role (Luc Deveraux) in the 'UNIVERSAL SOLDIER' franchise into the bad guy in the fourth film 'UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING'. Now, with his performance in this movie, it seems like he loves playing the villain; he's so over the top and darkly comedic that he steals every scene he's in. He's the only real reason to see this movie (that and Hyams direction; he used to be a really good director). Everett Scott is horrible as the action hero lead (in this) and Jones is wasted. The young Van Damme and Cocker are all right but their parts are too small. The movie is worth seeing for Van Damme though; you'll love it if you're a fan!

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Just watched this and was not expecting much as JCVD's movies seem to be cheap these days and shot somewhere depressing in eastern Europe and badly cast with the exception of 6 bullets witch was halfway decent at a push. well enemies closer is by far the best JCVD movie excluding his role in Sly's Expendables sequel which was also cool. the cast in this movie is a lot better i really enjoyed Orlando Jones in this iv never seen him in anything before tom Everett scott was probably the weakest character not that he's a bad actor he just seemed the least likeliest guy to play the part he did. However Mr Van Damme was awesome i really enjoyed his character he was a nut bag he seemed really into it there was plenty of action good fight scenes and a decent plot to follow with a little twist JCVD seems to have a new handle at acting without having to Kick his way around a movie it was good to see him in a decent flick. its not the 80's van damme but the guys nearly a senior citizen. there's a sub plot also with JCVD's passion for our planet and nature he makes a really good effort and why not good for him. i applaud this movie and would recommend it. a good 7/10

"Nothings gonna stop this thing, you hear me." Henry (Scott) is a former Navy Seal who is working as a forest ranger on the US/Canadian border. When a drug cartel led by Xander (Van Damme) shows up they want help finding their drug shipment that has gone missing. At the same time someone connected to Henry's past shows up with a grudge against him looking for revenge. This is a hard movie to review. It is a Van Damme movie so you know what to expect even though this is a little different then most of his recent films. The big difference in this is that he is a bad guy. I think its because of his age but the action sequences in his new movies aren't nearly as cool as they used to be. The movie itself though isn't that terrible and in terms of B movies its OK. The most interesting aspect is between Henry and the man who threatens him. Its pretty predictable but in a Van Damme movie that is expected. Overall, Van Damme fans will like this, everyone else may enjoy it. I expected worse. I give this a C+

This straight-to-DVD Jean-Claude Van Damme action flick is distinguished by a "name" director (Peter Hyams; '2010', and JCVD flicks 'Timecop' and 'Sudden Death') and somewhat recognizable B-list faces in Tom Everett Scott and Orlando Jones. I don't know that they make the film any better, but they certainly give it a sheen of credibility so often lacking in these affairs.

But the real star here is Van Damme. Years of hard living has left the once matinée idol looking like a hobo with a gym membership, but he brings a quirky energy to his rare villain role.

'Enemies Closer' is an efficient, moderately entertaining little action movie, and a good step or two above the usual straight to video trash flooding the bargain bin at your local Wal-Mart.