"JCVD" shows the world's favourite action hero as you have never seen him before...living the life of an ordinary guy.
Enthralling, highly original, hyper-real comedy drama which features one of the most unlikely comebacks in cinema history: Yes, the rumours are true; Jean-Claude Van Damme is a great actor, that's right: "a great actor". And as hard as that may be to fathom for anyone who's ever seen one of films; 'The Muscles From Brussels' defies expectation to turn in a superb, revelatory performance as an exaggerated version of himself. 'JCVD' sees the burnt out action star caught up in an energy sapping quagmire of custody hearings, tax problems and losing B-movie roles to Steven Segal: "He promised to cut off his ponytail". To make matters worse, the down-on-his-luck Belgian finds himself in the middle of a heist gone wrong at a local post office, which soon attracts a media circus and pushes the already stressed out star to the brink of a nervous breakdown. Young auteur Mabrouk El Mechri does an excellent job in balancing wry humour with pathos; we get a pair of amiable Arab film buffs in the video store commenting on Hollywood bias in action movies, before exalting Van Damme for having "never hit Arabs", moments before the man himself rolls up outside in a surreal scene better suited to Godard's 'Pierrot le fou' or 'Bande à part'. 'JCVD' is 'Dog Day Afternoon' (one of the robbers even resembles the late / great John Cazale) meets 'The Wrestler' with a little 'Being John Malkovich' surrealist satire thrown in for good measure. Bénudis & El Mechri's screenplay is taut and entertaining with Van Damme's triumphant, one take monologue at its centre (set up within an impressive inverted crane shot). His powerful, heartfelt speech breaks the forth wall for six minutes and lingers in the memory long after. If you hate Van Damme; watch 'JCVD', if you love Van Damme; watch 'JCVD', if you're indifferent to Van Damme, still; watch 'JCVD': the best thing to come out of Belgium since Waffles.
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2008 crime comedy starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Unlike most of his other films, this is not an all-action thriller but instead an opportunity for Van Damme to play a meatier role. The role he plays is himself, but in a kind of parallel universe. Unable to find work in Hollywood, broke and involved in a custody battle for his daughter, the eponymous JCVD returns to his native Belgium, where he still enjoys hero status. Once there he finds himself caught up in the middle of a hostage drama and acting out a different sort of role to the ones he is used to playing in films.
Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. Washed-up, fighting bankruptcy and caught in the midst of a desperate struggle to win his daughter back from the jaws of a bitter custody battle, Van Damme unwittingly becomes embroiled in a dangerous bank robbery led by a gang of armed and violent criminals. Trapped inside, Van Damme is framed for the robbery and the murder of innocent hostages. Now he must win the approval of the crowd as well as the trust of the police if he is to survive this deadly heist! With a killer mix of action, murder, mayhem and no shortage of laughs JCVD delivers with the impact of a roundhouse kick to the face! Van Damme is back and this time he's taking no prisoners! Actors Jean-Claude Van Damme, Francois Damiens, Zinedine Soualem, Karim Belkhadra, Jean-Francois Wolff, Anne Paulicevich, Francois Beukelaers, John Flanders, Saskia Flanders, Dean Gregory, Kim Hermans, Vincent Lecuyer & Raphaelle Lubansu Director Mabrouk El Mechri Certificate 15 years and over Year 2008 Languages French - Dolby Digital (5.1) Subtitles English Duration 1 hour and 36 minutes (approx)
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