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There’s no denying that even with the massive issues he had in the 90’s, Jean-Claude Van Damme is a true action icon. JCVD’s name deserves to be mentioned right alongside Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris just to name a few of action stars who paved the way for rejuvenating the genre and instilling a successful floorplan on how to do action and martial arts right. In the less few decades, Van Damme has steered away from the martial arts genre that made him household name, but he still always manages to incorporate a little of that Van damme swagger when it comes to action design in his films. Sadly, the days of seeing the Muscles from Brussels execute a flawless helicopter kick are long gone (although he did do it one more time in Expendables 2), but the action star will always give the fans a little something, something to remind us just how great he is.
Van Damme is back this week in director James Cullen Bressack’s dark and foreboding crime tale titled Darkness of Man and JC’s fans (like me) will revel in delight as this is some of the most brutal Van Dammage we’ve seen from the star as of late. The film is a noirish crime pic that centers on Van Damme as a washed-up ex-cop who must navigate a deadly gang war between the Russians and Koreans to honor a promise, he made to an informant years earlier. Van Damme plays Russel Hatch, a bunt out former Interpol agent who takes it upon himself to protect the son of the informant who he was in love with when the son gets tangled up in the gang war. What transpires is a relentless and bleak picture showcasing the action icon at his brutal best.
Bressack, who came from directing a host of horror films, shows his love for this type of thriller and doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to showcasing the bleakness of it all. A Majority of the movie takes place at night, and we see the worse that the city has to offer with a slew of unforgiving scenes and characters that are bad to the bone. The cinematography paints a dark and ominous canvas but that’s what Bressack is conveying here among the violence and unsympathetic situations that play out during the movie’s running time.
Van Damme is at his best here as he portrays a damaged hero that seeks redemption for all the mistakes he has made. JC plays Russel Hatch as sympathetic if not seriously flawed. He drinks, he binges, and he is in a relationship with a lovely veterinarian named Claire, played with fresh optimism by genre favorite Kristanna Loken, where he never lets her stay the night after they make love. Hatch has already loved and loss and that’s why he is adamant about not letting anyone else inside expect for Jayden (Emerson Min) who is the now teenage son he has vowed to protect. Jayden lost his mom and since then, he is lost as well, and he seeks to make Hatch’s job that much more difficult.
Loken has a smaller role here as Claire, but it is important as she basically shines as Hatch’s moral compass. She’s like the lighthouse to Hatch’s ship showing him the way to safety. Loken dazzles in a role that doesn’t ask any physicality of her, but it is still great to see her on screen. Hardcore rapper and actor Sticky Fingaz plays a small role as Hatch’s former partner Yates who tries to get the burnt-out agent back into the game when a deadly gang war surfaces. Sticky is only in a handful of scenes, but he makes his presence felt with the street swagger and gravitas he is known for.
Fans going into Darkness of Man expecting a full-on action pic will surely be disappointed as the movie is more of a slow burn potboiler with brutal and chaotic beats of action peppered throughout. The film does drag at times, but it is for good reason as Bressack wants you to take this ominous ride with these characters as we navigate the hell of the city with them. Many will be turned off by the pacing but those who stick it out will be rewarded with some of the best and most brutal Van Dammage ever put on film. JC gets his knuckles bloody one more than one occasion in a string of close quarters battles that include a hellacious altercation in an alley and an even more unforgiving affair in the stall of a public restroom. The latter has Van Damme blocking an opponent’s fists with his knuckles creating a wincing moment for viewers and each altercation seeks to top the last in brutality and chaotic fever with another standout showing off Hatch dispatching villains while the viewer watches from inside a van. Another sequence has Hatch going full on sniper with bloody mist results.
The finale is quick, decisive and painful but it serves the story well. There is no extended altercation with the main bad guy. Bressack opts for a more realistic conclusion and while the bullets di fly and the blood flows, it’s over in the blink of an eye. Would I have liked a little more bloody knuckles from JC? Absolutely, but it’s still satisfying in how it all plays out. Remember, this is Van damme who has lost a step or two and most of the action plays that up throughout.
The movie is abysmal for 99% of its running time but I will say that the ending is filled with an abrupt positivity and sense of healing. I interviewed Bressack along with Loken and Sticky for the movie (you can see 3 interviews below!) and each of them hinted at a potential sequel which I would not have seen coming. Personally, I felt the movie ended on a good note but if we get another opportunity to see Van Damme do Van Damme things in the future, then I’m all for it.
OVERALL, even though the trailer would lead you to believe that Darkness of Man is more action oriented then it is, Van damme still carries the film and delivers some of the best action to date especially with the fisticuffs. The supporting cast including Loken and Sticky serve a very important purpose and the film never deviates from what it wants to be. It is slow in many places, and some might start to look at their phones, but I feel a majority will still get something out of it in the end.
This is still Van Damme, and he is still one of the best in the game. The action when it hits, strikes with a force of blunt force trauma and the brutality of it heightens the viewing experience. In the end, this isn’t an easy movie to watch but fans of the action star will still get what they want from the icon.
VERDICT 3.5 OUT OF 5 STARS
Van Damme still has it in a potboiler crime thriller that delivers brutal beats of unforgiving action
Darkness of Man hits Digital on May 21st!
Darkness of Man Interviews!
