Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

JCVD
2008
**½
Director: Mabrouk El Mechri
Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, François Damiens, Zinedine Soualem, Karim Belkhadra, Jean-François Wolff, Anne Paulicevich, Saskia Flanders

Washed-up action star Jean-Claude Van Damme leaves the frying pan of Hollywood, where he is fighting for the custody of his daughter, and ends up in the fire back home in Brussels by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Mabrouk El Mechri's metafictional crime comedy opens with a long and amusing tracking shot on a film set, and the 20-30 minutes that follow are rather enjoyable. JCVD makes fun of his public image. There is no sign of the tough and determined action hero, only a squeamish everyman who seems permanently out of his depth. However, the premise turns out to be far more interesting than the actual film. When Van Damme walks into a post office and turns from an innocent hostage to a suspected robber, this fresh and surprising twist sadly turns out be the whole rest of the story. The second half is slow-paced and tedious, and the monotony is broken only once when Van Damme addresses the camera in a long and unusual scene which is simultaneously moving and somewhat embarrassing.