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JCVD
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MPAA RATING: R for language and some violence
Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, François Damiens, Zinedine Soualem, Karim Belkhadra, Jean-François Wolff, and Anne Paulicevich
JCVD is an action-packed, comedic satire of the life of movie hero Jean-Claude Van Damme. Playing himself, Jean-Claude finds himself out of money, fighting for custody of his daughter and losing every good action role to Steven Seagal. In an attempt to escape, the aging star walks away from his shrinking spotlight and returns home to his native Brussels. But when he is thrown into a real-life hostage situation, everyone sees a side of Van Damme they've never seen before as he takes on the police, battles the perpetrators and creates a media firestorm that captures the attention of the world. (Peach Arch Entertainment)
| GENRE(S): | Comedy | Crime | Drama |
| WRITTEN BY: |
Frederic Benudis
Christophe Turpin |
| DIRECTED BY: | Mabrouk El Mechri |
| RELEASE DATE: | Theatrical: November 7, 2008 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 96 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | Belgium | Luxembourg | France |
| LANGUAGE(S): | French | English |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 15 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Dennis D gave it a10:
Wow! He almost had me in tears at one point. I was so incredibly blown away by his performance in this movie that I went to see it twice. I've been a huge JCVD fan for as long as I can remember. I knew he could act ever since I saw him in Wake of Death. Now he finally had his chance to prove it to the world. I'm glad that JC is finally getting the respect he deserves.
Tasha E. gave it a8:
Sure, Seagal's never been a strong actor, but he had it all over Jean Claude when it came to martial art flicks--as a master of Aikido and a writer/director, he was a triple threat. But the thing Seagal lacked (to his detriment) was a sense of humor; and the Muscles from Brussels has it in spades. Jean Claude has such a good sense of humor that when he was approached to play a has-been action hero involved in a bank robbery, he didn't get offended (as Seagal may very well have done). Instead, he peeled back his tough guy exterior and really delved into what it meant to be, well, him at this stage of his life--a washed-up star with money troubles and custody woes--and in doing so, he achieved the one thing Seagal could not, a powerhouse performance. Surprisingly, his acting was a real pleasure to watch and, like a rug to a room, it really tied the film together. See it for him, see it for the unexpected laughs, see it for the interesting storyline...but really, you should see it.
Marco M. gave it a9:
I grew up watching JCVD in movies like, "Blood Sport,” and, "Time Cop." JCVD is a great martial artist, but his movies seem to get old as he played the same character each time, always the action hero. Never being able to see JCVD truly act without the shroud of marital arts was a shame until now. I saw the trailer to JCVD about two months ago, and it intrigued me seeing him in a role loosely based on his life. Finally JCVD came to the Bay Area, so we went to go see it last night, and from beginning to end I was inside the mind of JCVD. From his heartfelt storyline of an out of work has-been to a failed father really carried the movie. The added action twist brought a new face to JCVD. When you go see JCVD you will experience a new side of him like never before. This guy can really act, and I won't be surprised if more serious roles come his way from this movie. The emotional range, which he goes through during a key monologue, will get you on board with JCVD if you weren't before.
Jizzle gave it a10:
Histerical and moving. It forces audiences to take Van Damme seriously for the first time in his storied career. Gotta give the guy major props for being gutsy and putting himself out there and telling it like it is. Nobody is perfect and JCVD's uplifting story asks the audience to consider that through all the fame and fortune, all movie stars are human, just like us.
Ursula gave it an8:
Happy to see that this rare treat is released in the US! I saw it here in Germany at the Fantasy Filmfest and enjoyed it enormously! Jean-Claude Van Damme plays himself with so much self-mockery, I would have never expected that from him! Normally, German audiences are very rarely applauding during a movie, but here the audience erupted into applause and laughter a bunch of times. Go see it if you still remember who JCVD is! ;-)
Ziggy Z gave it a0:
Wow. Failed horribly.
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