Heart Of A Lion, No Brain At All
Added 5/10/2009
When his brother is murdered during a drug deal gone wrong, Lyon Gaultier (Jean-Claude Van Damme) deserts his post at the French Foreign Legion and stows away to America. Arriving in New York, he must make his way across the country to his brother's widow (Lisa Pelikan, Return to Blue Lagoon (Full Screen Edition)), whom he hopes to support with proceeds won from illegal underground street fighting...all while contending with a pair of Legionnaires on his trail.
I've seen about half of Van Damme's films, and thus far, "Lionheart" is one of my least favorite for the fact that there's not enough action, and what's there is not very good. Van Damme has about seven hand-to-hand fights with various thugs and fighters of differing time lengths, but only one of them is against another martial artist (Paco Prieto, Only the Strong), and even it isn't exactly show-stopping. I'm not saying that guys like James Thompson (Gunhed), Jeff Langton (Final Impact), Stuart Wilson ("The Rundown"), Magic Schwarz (Over the Top), or Abdel Qissi (The Quest) don't look like tough guys...they just aren't very interesting fighters and don't give Van Damme a chance to show off his better moves. Since the fights were choreographed by Van Damme himself (and Frank Dux and Michael Qissi), I'm very much surprised that they're not showier, but the fact that they aren't kills at least half of this Van Damme vehicle.
The acting keeps the movie afloat, mostly through the efforts the vastly underrated Harrison Page ("Sledge Hammer!"), who plays the stereotypical role if ever there was one of Van Damme's sidekick/partner/comic foil but is very entertaining in doing so. The aforementioned Lisa Pelikan does well as the widowed single mother, as does Deborah Rennard ("Dallas") as the wealthy, scheming fight organizer who freely switches between using Van Damme as a gambling chip and a piece of meat. A young Ashley Johnson (What Women Want) plays Van Damme's niece, and Brian Thompson (Cobra) and Michael Qissi (Kickboxer) have small, minion-ish parts. Everybody does fine, but nobody stands out besides Page. Van Damme gives the usual performance that needs no elaboration.
Not much is to be said about the story; some folks claim it's one of Van Damme's better plots, but I don't agree that it goes anywhere. There is some social half-statement about the "sick aristocracy" whose members get off on watching the less fortunate pummel eachother, but again, it doesn't really go anywhere. In all, the storyline didn't keep me interested, and neither did most other things about the movie. As a fan of action/fight movies in particular, I was surprised that I wasn't more entertained by this kind of film, but seeing as there are plenty more Van Damme movies out there, I don't feel too bad about giving up on this one.
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Van Damme in a tear jerker!
Added 8/20/2008
I thought this was a pretty good movie. Great fight scenes, some corny little emotional moments, but definitely recommended for Van Damme fans!
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Lionheart!
Added 6/28/2008
Great movie!
If your a Van Damme fan, you've already seen it!
It was the "Fight Club" of the late 90's!
Recommended to all men!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Bloodsport, IN A POOL!
Added 6/28/2008
The Jean Claude Van Damme Review Matrix (JCVD-RM)
1. Who is he? Lyon Gaultier, a disgruntled, often disciplined French Legionnaire stationed in Africa
2. Which family member/friend must be avenged? His brother François, who gets torched to a crisp after reneging on a drug deal
3. Does he take his shirt off? As a stowaway on a ship to America, Lyon is forced to shovel coal into the boilers of the boiler room. And, whew!, does it ever get hot down there!
4. Does he have sex with a C-List actress? No, despite the fact that a rich, psychopathic, sadistic blonde fight organizer named Cynthia basically threw herself at him
5. Is there a tournament? More or less, only, winners advance to bigger and more lucrative matches with each victory
6. Is training needed for this tournament? Not specifically. His military training and hard labor already prepared him for battle.
7. Does he do the splits in training or in the tournament? Sadly, unless mid-air splits count, the answer is no.
8. Does he punch someone in the balls? With a well-placed single shot in his initial organized bare-knuckle fight, Lyon destroys the reproductive future for a guy who looks like the biker from the Village People.
9. Does he do a series of flying or 360 kicks? The question isn't "does he", it should be "where does he". The answer: In a racquetball court, under a bridge, in a nearly empty swimming pool, and a small arena with stands.
10. Is his enemy unbeatable? Atilla basically looks like the guy one-step-to-the-left on the Evolutionary chart. Additionally, he has saxophone-sized mutton-chop sideburns, which is scary in and of itself.
11. Does he overcome an injury or other hindrance? In a previous battle, Lyon sustains a broken rib, and some betting against him know it.
12. Does he win? Yes, and it's a near perfect ending.
It's uncanny how talented JCVD is at making this type of movie. If it were anyone else, the corniness would be much worse. It's almost as if his poor acting (despite this being his best acting job) makes this type of movie better. JCVD is like epicac; under normal circumstances, it's not great to chug a bottle, but when mixed with the consumption of something sure to turn your stomach otherwise, it's perfect. Best of all, the little girl who plays Lyon's niece Nicole (Ashley Johnson) is absolutely adorable (later went on to be Mel Gibson's daughter in What Women Want), and adds a real humanistic aspect to the movie without getting in the way of the tumultuous action.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Without question Van Damme's best movie!!!
Added 6/10/2008
Not only we get to see him doing what he does best, which is kicking and fighting, but he really acts in this movie.
The story is touching: he's a french legionnaire in Djibouti when he gets a letter from his brother's wife that his broter has been severily injured, so he leaves for the USA, without money and with the french secret service behind him. When he gets there he has to fight to earn money for his brother's family, the brother's wife and his niece ( a beautiful little girl ).
The fight sequences are great, the last fight is one of the best Van Damme's fights ever.
Harrison Paige's acting is really good, and his character is really well done. His dialogue at the end of the final fight is one of the movie's best moments.
If you like any other Van Damme movie, then you have to buy this one.
If you don't like Van Damme at all, but like martial arts movies, then you have to buy this one, because the fighting scenes are great.
If you don't like martial arts movies, then you have to buy this one, because the story is interesting and touching.
What can I say? It's a great movie!
So...buy this movie, hightly recommended.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Heart Of A Lion, No Brain At All
Added 5/10/2009
When his brother is murdered during a drug deal gone wrong, Lyon Gaultier (Jean-Claude Van Damme) deserts his post at the French Foreign Legion and stows away to America. Arriving in New York, he must make his way across the country to his brother's widow (Lisa Pelikan, Return to Blue Lagoon (Full Screen Edition)), whom he hopes to support with proceeds won from illegal underground street fighting...all while contending with a pair of Legionnaires on his trail.
I've seen about half of Van Damme's films, and thus far, "Lionheart" is one of my least favorite for the fact that there's not enough action, and what's there is not very good. Van Damme has about seven hand-to-hand fights with various thugs and fighters of differing time lengths, but only one of them is against another martial artist (Paco Prieto, Only the Strong), and even it isn't exactly show-stopping. I'm not saying that guys like James Thompson (Gunhed), Jeff Langton (Final Impact), Stuart Wilson ("The Rundown"), Magic Schwarz (Over the Top), or Abdel Qissi (The Quest) don't look like tough guys...they just aren't very interesting fighters and don't give Van Damme a chance to show off his better moves. Since the fights were choreographed by Van Damme himself (and Frank Dux and Michael Qissi), I'm very much surprised that they're not showier, but the fact that they aren't kills at least half of this Van Damme vehicle.
The acting keeps the movie afloat, mostly through the efforts the vastly underrated Harrison Page ("Sledge Hammer!"), who plays the stereotypical role if ever there was one of Van Damme's sidekick/partner/comic foil but is very entertaining in doing so. The aforementioned Lisa Pelikan does well as the widowed single mother, as does Deborah Rennard ("Dallas") as the wealthy, scheming fight organizer who freely switches between using Van Damme as a gambling chip and a piece of meat. A young Ashley Johnson (What Women Want) plays Van Damme's niece, and Brian Thompson (Cobra) and Michael Qissi (Kickboxer) have small, minion-ish parts. Everybody does fine, but nobody stands out besides Page. Van Damme gives the usual performance that needs no elaboration.
Not much is to be said about the story; some folks claim it's one of Van Damme's better plots, but I don't agree that it goes anywhere. There is some social half-statement about the "sick aristocracy" whose members get off on watching the less fortunate pummel eachother, but again, it doesn't really go anywhere. In all, the storyline didn't keep me interested, and neither did most other things about the movie. As a fan of action/fight movies in particular, I was surprised that I wasn't more entertained by this kind of film, but seeing as there are plenty more Van Damme movies out there, I don't feel too bad about giving up on this one.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Van Damme in a tear jerker!
Added 8/20/2008
I thought this was a pretty good movie. Great fight scenes, some corny little emotional moments, but definitely recommended for Van Damme fans!
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Lionheart!
Added 6/28/2008
Great movie!
If your a Van Damme fan, you've already seen it!
It was the "Fight Club" of the late 90's!
Recommended to all men!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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