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Jean-Claude Van Damme, François Damiens, Zinedine Soualem, Karim Belkhadra, Jean-François Wolff ... see more see more... , Anne Paulicevich

Jean-Claude Van Damme plays himself in this meta-crime comedy that finds him garnering mores headlines than he's had in years after stumbling into an in-progress bank heist. Down and out, with only st... read more read more...raight-to-DVD titles under his belt and a recent job lost out to fellow has-been Steven Seagal, the aging action star returns to Belgium a broken man fresh from losing a custody case for his daughter in Hollywood. Upon his arrival, the bad news continues with a disastrous ATM encounter that leads him into the bank and straight into a robbery situation, for which he's about to be blamed. Soon, crowds grow outside on the street, with the cops quick to point the finger at him and his fans cheering for his release. The film garnered a cult following during its festival run and awarded Van Damme his first theatrical release in the States in almost a decade. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

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71% liked it

20,981 ratings

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100 critics

R, 1 hr. 32 min.

Directed by: Mabrouk El Mechri

Release Date: June 4, 2008

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DVD Release Date: April 28, 2009

Stats: 2,383 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (2,383)

  • phubbs1
    October 23, 2011
    phubbs1
    Mr Van Damme finally makes the leap to a grown up film and some proper acting, the film itself is rather weak really, the plot is basic and its been done many times before, 'Killing Zoe' comes to mind. The acting is good but the characters are slightly cliched and the look is pre... read moretty thin on the ground.
    The best thing is indeed Mr Van Damme who does really serve up a slice of true inner acting from the heart. It does come across as a kind of ego trip for Van Damme as he seems to want us to feel sorry for him, there is one moment where he does seem to crack in front of the camera which is a very strong moment but it does come across as wanting sympathy, hard when your a big movie star.

    Still he does prove he can act seriously and could make better films, although he does sound better in French than English haha
    The start of something more interesting than martial arts maybe.
  • ironclad1609
    September 29, 2011
    ironclad1609
    The premise is fantastic: You have a former action star who didn't have a hit in years playing himself at rock bottom: law suit for custody, money problems, stalling career. While still being beloved in his home country of Belgium Van Damme gets in the middle of a bank robbery an... read mored one shouldn't give away more than that. The delivery of this insane idea is just as awesome, the great soundtrack, a fantastic opening sequence, non-chronological narrative perspective and very unusual camera work really make this work. To top it all Van Damme delivers what's easily the best performance of his career, really making you care for this man who has hit rock bottom. The highlight is a 5 minute monologue, that may or may not have been improvised, reflecting upon his career and life, when real life and fiction melt into each other. That's confusing, often funny, sometimes touching but extremely entertaining. Only the ending doesn't entirely hold up to the great promise, but that doesn't ruin the overall crazy experience this film offers.
  • TheMachinist
    April 1, 2010
    TheMachinist
    "It's hard for me to judge people and it's hard for them... not to judge me. Easier to blame me. Yeah, something like that."

    Those of you who actually read my reviews, have probably understood that I'm not a big fan of Jean Claude Van Damme. Until now...

    I've seen lots of Van D... read moreamme films, most of his earlier works and some of his newest. I'll admit that 'Kickboxer', 'Bloodsport' and 'Cyborg' are somewhat special to me because I was into martial arts in my teens and early 20's (before I got beaten up REAL good in the ring = grade A concussion). Van Damme with his roundhouse kick and splits! You gotta like it!

    But when I grew a brain and started to think of movies at a higher level, it came to me that Van Damme films actually suck. Just like all of the other B action stars like Lundgren and even Stallone. But this film' JCVD' changed everything.

    In 'JCVD', Van Damme plays himself. Troubles with money, child custody etc. A vulnerable man, not a bulletproof action hero. I'll say this once... Jean Claude Van Damme, "The Muscles from Brussels" can act. I'm not getting that much into the story but later on in the movie, Van Damme has a couple of minutes long monologue that made me kinda misty, weepy or whatever you may call it...

    The acting is, I still can't believe I'm saying this, top notch, especially the star of the film, Jean Claude Van Damme, gives a career best (and saving?) performance. The story is somewhat realistic and the director who was totally unknown to me, Mabrouk El Mechri, has done a fine job putting this film together. The camerawork is stellar with a bit too dark visual image. But all together, the production of the movie looks very good.

    So, I'm glad that I saw this movie. I've skipped a lot of Van Damme movies in the past and for a reason, but 'JCVD' was a pleasure to watch. It gives us a sight on what kind of a person Van Damme really is. I just hope that he mamages to give us good movies in the future, instead of all these 'Second In Command' or 'Double Team' kind of crap flicks.

    I'll recommend this movie to all fans or haters of Van Damme. A real surprise and come to think of it.. One of the better films of 2009.
  • YLOWBSTARDreturns
    February 10, 2010
    YLOWBSTARDreturns
    A great film with an amazing opening long -take and an even more amazing central performance by JCVD himself. He was definately snubbed for an Oscar nom last year.
  • allan913
    October 9, 2009
    allan913
    This film shows the action star in a way we havent seen him before. Not as a hero but as a regular broken down man with problems, issues, dept and emotions. A great drama that strips the character down to being seen as a very vulnerable and scared man, Van Damme portrays it beaut... read moreifully. Jean Claude Van Damme gives a riveting tour de force performance, he can actually act and what a hell of a amasing portrayel. A rough, nakedly emotional, remarkable, muscle stripping and very human performance. If he was ever gonna get an Oscar Nomination for best actor, this would be the tickett. A breathtaking, shattering and powerful film. A surprise gem. It's moving, groundbreaking, stunning and exhilerating. A teriffic and superbly original film thats well-crafted and incrediably well-performend. A pure knockout. It shines with humanity and brute force. An outstanding, funny, knowing and kick ass film that has a great style.
  • tsigur
    September 30, 2009
    tsigur
    I enjoyed the hell out of this movie. Sure, I had my problems with it, but to watch Jean Claude Van Damme deliver what is probably one of the most moving and raw monologues I have ever seen is worth the price of admission. He is astounding. If Mickey Rourke was a shoe in for an O... read morescar (how did that work out?) with his performance in The Wrestler, then, honestly, Van Damme should have been right there with him in the nominations. In fact, after watching both films now, I can honestly say that Van Damme's performance is better than Rourke's. My problems lie in the actors surrounding Van Damme who come off as cartoonish cut outs of characters from other movies (I don't know if the guy who looked like Cazale from Dog Day Afternoon was an homage or an impression of the guy in Killing Zoe). I have to say that this film has hit a soft spot for me because guys like Van Damme and Seagal introduced me to watching movies on a consistent basis. Seeing my hero from Bloodsport come full circle in a film like this was really cool.
  • deano
    July 6, 2009
    deano
    This action-alike documentary of Jean-Cluade Van Damme film is powerful action-packed, thrilling and even funny. It's easily the best film Van Damme has done in recent years. This is no spoof. I knew he could kick, but who knew he could really act?! I'm happy to hear about his la... read moretest film that brought Van Damme back to top because I like his own movies better than Steven Seagal.
    This is a coup de cinema, invoking the spirits of Fellini, Truffaut and Godard - no, seriously - which, like the rest of the film, shows two sides of Van Damme few have seen before: the human being, and the skilled actor.
    Cynics may doubt the film's sincerity, detecting the whiff of a fallen star's vanity project, despite a darkly funny, partly improvised script that doesn't always show him in the best light. But there's no mistaking the gusto with director-co-screenwriter Mabrouk El Merchri shoots the siege, imaginatively photographed by the brilliantly-named Pierre-Yves Bastard. Ultimately, what could have been a direct-to-video curiousity becomes a highly unusual and strangely compelling collision of Being John Malkovich and Dog Day Afternoon.
  • CrookedlittleB33
    July 1, 2009
    CrookedlittleB33
    Not bad, Monsieur van Damme...not bad at all.

    It definitely has that wry french - BELGIAN - humour to it...and there are other parts...where we see that even actors can be desperate at times..in the most drastic of measures.

    ...but that soliloquy...that was just bloody incredib... read morele.

    Review? TBC! :P
  • DrZeek
    May 12, 2009
    DrZeek
    J.C.V.D.: . This... this is me today. I used to be small and scrawny. And I took up karate. Hence the Dojo, hence respect, thou shall believe people who say, "Oss!" It's Samurai code. It's honor, no lies. So this guy in the US, it's not the same thing. No one says "Oss" to you. S... read moreometimes people in show business say, "We're gonna' fuck em'". I believed in people, in the Dojo. I was blessed and had a lot of 'wives'. I always believed in love. It's hard for a woman with three kids to say, "Which one do I love more?" A mother... If you have 5, 6, 7, or 10 wives in a lifetime, they've all got something special, but no one cares about that in the so-called media. What about drugs? When you got it all, you travel the world. When you've been in all the hotels, you're the prima donna of the penthouse. And in all hotels the world over, traveling, you want something more. And because of a woman... well, because of love, I tried something and I got hooked. Van-Damme, the beast, the tiger in a cage, the "Bloodsport" man got hooked. I was wasted mentally and physically. To the point that I got out of it. I got out of it. But... it's all there.

    A great concept that delivers on its premise. A movie about a broken down action star being taken hostage, actually being played by the broken down action star.

    Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as himself. After a great opening sequence where JCVD is in the middle of filming one of his Direct-to-Video projects, perfectly lampooning his action status as he barrels through multiple bad guys and dodging explosions, all in one long shot, we find JCVD at court battling a nasty custody case.

    Soon after this, JCVD appears in downtown Brussels, heads to the bank, only to suddenly be taken into a hold up situation. Further problems ensue when the police arrive, all convinced that it is JCVD that is the hostage taker/bank robber.

    This is a very intriguing film. It has a low lit, grainy quality and scoring that gives it the feel of a 70s exploitation flick. At the same time, the movie is very much a human drama that has JCVD as the anchor, and he proves that he does have the chops to pull off much more than just split kicks. The vulnerability that is shown by him is quite effective, letting this film achieve its goal.

    Its a strange film, with a plot that could be seen as silly, but I loved the concept and the courage that Van Damme had to be involved in this flick.

    J.C.V.D.: It's all there. It was really tough. I saw people worse off than me. I went from poor to rich and thought, why aren't we all like me, why all the privileges? I'm just a regular guy. It makes me sick to see people... who don't have what I've got. Knowing that they have qualities, too. Much more than I do! It's not my fault if I was cut out to be a star. I asked for it. I asked for it, really believed in it. When you're 13, you believe in your dream. Well it came true for me. But I still ask myself today what I've done on this Earth. Nothing! I've done nothing! And I might just die in this post office, hoping to start all over here in Belgium, in my country, where my roots are. Start all over with my parents and get my health back, pick up again. So I really hope... nobody's gonna' pull a trigger in this post office... It's so stupid to kill people. They're so beautiful! So, today, I pray to God. I truly believe it's not a movie. It's real life. Real life. I've seen so many things. I was born in Belgium, but I'm a citizen of the world. I've traveled a lot. It's hard for me to judge people and it's hard for them... not to judge me. Easier to blame me. Yeah, something like that.
  • Beefy
    March 4, 2009
    Beefy
    While the framing story isn't as compelling as I would have liked, Van Damme's performance makes this a must see. Yes, you heard me. He's terrific. A life of celebrity, of being mocked, of difficulties with his personal life, all laid bare with an astonishingly honest performa... read morence. This deserved a better reception in theaters.

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Critic Reviews

Bill Goodykoontz
January 29, 2009
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

Van Damme is so good, and El Mechri's storytelling so entertaining, that JCVD takes its place alongside The Wrestler as one of the unlikeliest but most welcome comeback vehicles in ages. Full Review

Colin Covert
December 12, 2008
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

This is not only a Van Damme movie that will make you laugh -- on purpose -- it could very well make you cry. Full Review

Roger Moore
December 4, 2008
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

If you know Van Damme's work in the least, if you have any sympathy for the plight of the third-rate action screen hero whose days come to an end, JCVD will amuse and touch you. Full Review

John Anderson
November 21, 2008
John Anderson, Washington Post

It's hard to resist: Here's a battered superstar who has occupied so many fantasies, but in his fantasies he's just like us. Full Review

Steven Rea
November 20, 2008
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

A clever art-imitates-life-imitates-art send-up of celebrityhood and the state of the action-hero genre, JCVD juggles humor with whomping martial-arts moves and a kind of melancholy star turn from the... Full Review

Ben Mankiewicz
November 17, 2008
Ben Mankiewicz, At the Movies

Rreally inventive. Full Review

Ben Lyons
November 17, 2008
Ben Lyons, At the Movies

What if I told you that one of the coolest and most creative films of the fall starred.... Jean Claude Van Damme? Full Review

Ty Burr
November 14, 2008
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

JCVD is what you might get if a French deconstructionist decided to make a drive-in flick: It reverse engineers the mayhem until it locates the humor, the sadness, and the insecure void at the heart o... Full Review

Liam Lacey
November 14, 2008
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Put JCVD into the category of films that no one saw coming. Full Review

Sam Adams
November 14, 2008
Sam Adams, Los Angeles Times

It might be the most impressive stunt of his career. Full Review

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