Sony unleashes the latest Van Dammage B-picture on an unsuspecting public (well, okay, maybe we had our suspicions) in the form of “The Hard Corps” - which teams up “superstar” Vivica A. Fox with the aforementioned Van Damme.
I remember reading months ago that this was supposed to be the film that combined the formidable talents of Jean-Claude Van Damme with Wesly Snipes but, darn it, Snipes wised up and opted out. So who did they get to replace Wesly Snipes? Why Raz Adoti of course, who you may remember in such films as “Second in Command” and “Haven” (heh, Troy McClure...get it?).
Snipes and Van Damme would have been quite the team-up, but I think we all can appreciate the surrogate team-up of Van Damme and Vivica A. Fox we get instead, right guys?....um, guys?
But all is not lost as the writing and directing chores were handed to none other than Sheldon Lettich who prides himself on being Van Damme’s writer and director of choice. His credits you ask? Prepare yourself, peeps, prepare yourself. The man directed Lionheart, Double Impact and The Order and wrote Blood Sport and Legionaire. You guys are clamoring for more? Say no more. He also went uncredited for editing Cyborg. I think we can all appreciate talent when we see it. (End Sarcasm)
Now that I got my sarcasm out of the way, let’s move on. I must admit that I was somewhat of a Van Damme fan early in life, watching Bloodsport and Kickboxer more times than I care to mention in junior high, but looking back at these films and his filmography in general, I come to find out that the closest thing I can recommend is Timecop and Universal Soldier.
Mediocre films with some great ideas. But there’s no denying that he has a faithful fanbase out there so I’ll try to look at this film from that viewpoint. When in Rome if you will…
Van Damme stars as Desert Storm Special Forces veteran Phillip Sauvage recently returned from tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. Aimless and living in a ghetto veteran’s home, he and his military pal Clarence Bowden (Julian Christopher) find a second career in being bodyguards for the rich and famous (alas, Whitney Houston is nowhere to be seen).
They get hired to protect a retired world heavyweight champion turned entrepreneur Wayne Barclay (Raz, or Razaaq Adoti) and their first gig is at a hopping, dance club. Things are not going to well for Phillip at first as he seems to rub Wayne’s sister Tamara (Vivica A. Fox) the wrong way and a wartime flashback in the middle of the club didn’t seem to help matters.
But as Wayne and his posse exits the club, a drive-by happens, yo. Phillip proves himself capable of fending off the gangsters but loses a close friend in the process. Seeing the man’s talents and also feeling a little guilty about one dead Clarence, Wayne and his sister hire Phillip to head up their personal security. A wrench is thrown into Phillip’s already pathetic life, however, as the Uzi he was using to fend off the gangsters was illegal.
This is intercut with our villains story, a rap music mogul/gangster (heh, is there any other kind?) recently released from prison where he was sent due to evidence provided from Wayne Barclay. Needless to say, our P.Diddy wants some revenge, straight-up gangster style and the only thing standing in his way is the muscles from Brussels!
I tried guys, I really did and I even created a new drink for the assist (I call it the T&C, tequila and coffee…not too shabby), but when I wasn’t bored, I was sleepy and when I wasn’t sleepy, I was wasted yet I still couldn’t see anything but tired clichés backed up by tired actors.
Van Damme seems to want to stretch his thespian skills in his golden years trying to convey the guilt and anguish of an ex-soldier and he comes off okay…but there’s not much for him to do here. Vivica A. Fox at this point seems to just be taking the cash and cell phoning it in.
This being a Van Damme flick, however, it’s the action everybody is concerned about so how does this flick stand out? Well, the shoot-outs are done competently enough but who the hell wants to see Van Damme shooting a gun and when did gunplay become the focus of his action scenes? Not to compare Van Damme to Bruce Lee or Jet Li, but martial-artists should you know, kick and punch stuff, not shoot guns. I mean, I guess Bruce Lee could’ve blown Chuck Norris away with an Uzi at the end of “Return of a Dragon” but then he wouldn’t have been able to pull out any chest hair and what fun would that have been? There’s only one physical scene of note where Phillip goes up against Wayne (by the way, note to self: do not kickbox boss in head) and it’s no surprise this is the most entertaining scene in the film – like finding crackers in the desert. Maybe he’s just not as agile as he once was…
The film is presented in 1.85:1 widescreen and is enhanced for widescreen televisions. The only special features consist of a trailer gallery featuring 8 other straight to video action pic previews from Sony Entertainment.
I’m sure the Van Damme faithful will find enough of what they enjoy in his previous films to make this a worthy rental but I can’t recommend it. There’s nothing that sticks out as being particularly bad but it’s all so banal and humorless that it was forgotten as soon as I feebly pushed the eject on my DVD player. I mean c’mon, only one roundhouse kick in a Van Damme picture?! Remember the good ‘ol days, when one could play a drinking game to the plethora of kicks found in his earlier films?
The Hard Corps is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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