Jean-Claude Van Damme turns action-hero stardom on its head in JCVD, playing a semi-fictional rendition of himself in a send-up of the genre that made him an international star. Still in fighting shape but now sporting the world-weary visage of a recovered coke addict who's been chewed up and spit out by Hollywood, the so-called “Muscles from Brussels” has returned to Belgium, hoping to revive his career after an extended losing streak of straight-to-video turkeys. Divorced, nearly broke, and frustrated with his lousy agent (he keeps losing roles to Steven Seagal), Van Damme walks into a post-office/bank in Brussels, kicking into high gear JCVD's premise: namely, can a washed-up action-movie star snared into a real-life hostage crisis live up to his big-screen persona? Considering the comedic meta-possibilities of this set-up, JCVD should have been better, but there's still something seductively clever in the way French director and co-writer Mabrouk El Mechri fractures chronology (á la Pulp Fiction) to examine our hero's plight from various perspectives. The real question here may be whether an aging yet still-appealing star can be redeemed and reinvented as a European arthouse attraction. Van Damme's surprisingly nuanced performance suggests an intriguing range of possibilities. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include five minutes of deleted scenes, and trailers. Exclusive to the DVD release is a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a small extras package for a reasonably entertaining meta-fictional film.] (J. Shannon)
JCVD
Peace Arch, 97 min., in English & French w/English subtitles, R, DVD: $19.99, Blu-ray: $34.99, Apr. 28 Volume 24, Issue 3
JCVD
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