| Legionnaire (1998) Cast:Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Berkoff Van Damme stars as a boxer who doublecrosses a mobster and finds himself marked for death, his only way of escape is to join the legion which he does, along the way he gets more than he bargained for as not only does he have to deal with hitmen sent by the mobster but also a lethal arab army in this old fashioned yet compelling war movie which shows Van Damme can act when he wants to. After the terrible Knock Off Van Damme goes back to the basics to headline a war movie which has more texture than anyone could possibly expect. Legionnaire is a movie that sadly got a direct to video release, mainly due to the Star's ring of flops as well as Van Damme's not so appealing real life struggles, the whole movie is about redemption and in a way it seems only fitting for Van Damme, who cleaned up his act and seeked out more ambitous movies, unforunately the equally underrated Replicant they tell a character driven story that helps serve the purpose of action. Unfortunately though movie studios chose to release the noisy and obnoxious Universal Soldier:The Return instead As it stands though Legionnaire is a better than average Van Damme vehicle which proves quite compelling. D.Peter MacDonald*** |