Replicant

Replicant is a movie where a mask murderer goes on crime sprees killing innocent women. Not only that, this sick murderer (Jean-Claude) actually takes pictures of these sick crimes. That's where Jake comes in (Michael Rooker), Jake is a undercover cop who has been chasing Garrett (the murderer) for 3 years, after one particular night he calls it quits and retires from the force at a early age. After he starts getting on with his life he gets an insulting call from Garrett and is given the opportunity by the CIA to help them bring down the murderer. He accepts and heads down the there headquarters. He finds out that they aren't actually the CIA, their Special Forces Unit and they have a DNA sample of the killer and they will use that to create a Replicant (clone) of the murderer. After many tests they are finally able to put the Replicant out of hibernation and into the real world.

The Replicant is suppose to have the brain capabilities of a 40 year old (the murderers approximate age) and if given enough time, it could remember how exactly the murderer went about the killings, how he escaped, who he is, and where he lives, and that's what they want to get out of him. But the Replicant is like a baby, he needs to learn how to eat sleep, walk, talk, everything. That's where Jake comes in again, Jake is basically suppose to baby sit the Replicant until he can remember the crimes. The Replicant grows to care for and accept Jake, while he doesn't trust anyone else.

During the movie we find out more about the murderer and kind of get an inside scoop of how this murderer lives and why he's doing all these killings. I'm not going to spoil it for you but let me tell you, this guy is a sick puppy, anyone who has watched Van Damme movies in the past will be shocked at the role he's playing now. The Replicant meets up with the murderer a few times and each time the Replicant starts to bond with the murderer, since he can think how the murderer thinks, and given enough time, he could read the murderers mind completely. At first the murderer doesn't know who the Replicant is but then he eventually finds out.

The Replicant is not like many creatures, it copies what people do and say, in one part of the movie where they try to apprehend the Replicant they end up losing, why? Because anything you show him he learns, if you punch him he learns the exact punch you did, if you put him in a head lock he learns that exact head lock, and that's what he used to defeat them. I'm still not going to spoil all the movie but Jake and the Replicant track the murderer down many times, and each time the murderer tricks the Replicant into thinking that their brothers and that Jake is the enemy, The Replicant starts to show his true color by allowing the murderer to escape and apprehending Jake at that. But then the Replicant learns the murderers true colors and turns on the him and that's what allows Jake and The Replicant to defeat this sick murderer.

The movie had a tight budget but it doesn't show it at all. Good special effects, good action, good plot, good story. Good Movie.

Jean-Claude Van Damme sure believes in that adage of "the more Van Damme, the merrier". Also see "Maximum Risk" and "Double Impact" for examples of movies in which you got double the dose of Van Damme for your money. Here he plays both a sick serial killer, nicknamed The Torch, who has deep-seated mommy issues, and the result of a cutting-edge government program. This program creates genetic doubles of characters like The Torch for the purpose of getting inside their heads / memories / thought patterns. Or some such nonsense. The hard-driving former homicide detective put in charge of the child-like Replicant is grim-faced Jake Riley (Michael Rooker). Unsurprisingly, the Replicant has more of a sense of decency, so obviously he's not an *exact* copy of the psycho. Inevitably, the fight will be on.

Filmed in Canada, under the guidance of a capable director, Ringo Lam, who also worked with Van Damme on "Maximum Risk", this is rather routine entertainment, but it's watchable enough. Watching JCVD play these differing characters is basically fun, as it was in "Double Impact", and the martial arts / action icon clearly is enjoying himself as the psycho, decked out in greasy wig and leather jacket. Rooker typically adds some value with his usual patented coiled-spring intensity. The rest of the cast are so-so no-names, although Marnie Alton is delectable as your standard-issue "hooker with a heart of gold". JCVD fans need not fret, as you do get to see him strut his stuff in action and fight scenes, and it will create some amusement watching him attempt to delineate the mentally slow but good-hearted Replicant.

Overall, it's passable, although I'm sure it's far from Van Dammes' worst. It does go on for a bit (clocking in at 101 minutes), but there's still enough hard-edged violence and explosions to help combat short attention spans.

Six out of 10.

I think there is a Zen of encountering movies, not unlike encountering people. You need to get beyond the fact that they are incompetent at carrying who they are and dig into the essence of the person.

Art is all in the carrying, I think so you might find yourself admiring something that is incompetent, unartful, even repellently stupid if it has an engaging heart.

This disaster of a movie has an interesting kernel I think. It is only a disaster because the director and support crew thought that its center was in the thud of flesh between two brutes, a simple serial killer and a simpler cop. But you the viewer have the power to relocate that center to the encounter with self.

(For those who don't know the story, evil killer exists. Shadowy federal agency makes a clone and lends it to the discalced cop who is on the case. The cone has "memories" that are used to track the killer. The clone "grows")

Set aside the bizarre notion of the US government fighting terrorists by making more of them from scratch. (Insert your own political commentary here.) And set aside the notion that memories convey by genetics. The cool idea here, something like in "Faceoff" or "Purple Rose" or "Last Action Hero," or even "Thirteenth Floor." is that a personal stumbling through life has his stumbles fabricated from blows from the world, but has the ability to see them from the outside.

Encountering self is an old idea... in film and literature, and much deeper and more clever notions have been spun than this. But this ain't bad, at least in theory. And for my taste Van Damme is no worse than Li or Arnie and unless you get a real actor everyone else is roughly as good.

If they could just have more Schrader and less Harlin.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

Replicant stars Van Damme as a killer who is cloned by scientists so that the clone helps capture him.

Van Damme scores his best since Sudden Death in this better than average DTV movie. Ringo Lam delivers some great action scenes and explots Van Damme's physical ability to great affect making Replicant a good movie.

Overall Replicant would have been better if it wasn't so long but in anycase Replicant is a nice change of pace for the muscles from brussels. *** (Out of four)

I have always been a fan of Van Damme. I was one of the few who enjoyed his theatrical movies, and one of the few who like or have seen his DTV movies. In the past few years I was getting nervous. Sure I liked Van Damme, but some of the recent movies were getting kinda bad. Now I have only seen 1 or 2 truly bad movies, I usually like all movies that I see, because most of them have a great scene here or there. Lately some of the VD flicks were even getting kinda bad to me. I liked Universal Solder 2 but it was pretty bad when compared to his other flicks. I was a little leary about Replicant, but after the first few minuted I knew that everything would be OK.

I really enjoyed this movie! The plot was very cool and it kept you thinking and wondering what would happen next. Also Van Damme really acts in this movie!!! Unlike his other movies where he just kicks and punches to the plot he actually does some good acting. I really felt for the "Replicant." Unlike some movies that I have watched recently, this movie really held my attention. Uusually I am checking my watch but not this time.

To sum it up, I reallly think that you should see this movie. If you are a Van Damme fanatic you MUST see this. And if you are a Van Damme hater you Must see this. It is just that good. 10/10 best Van Damme movie ever!