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In Hell

AKA: The Savage

2003

Director: Ringo Lam

Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lawrence Taylor, Lloyd Battista, Carlos Gomez, Emanuil Manolov

Holy crap, In Hell is a Van Damme straight-to-video movie that doesn't suck. In fact, it's the "Muscles from Brussels" best film to date. That might not mean too much to that many people, but I will admit that I've always had a soft spot for the big lug -- he does have some skills in the fighting realm -- and it's nice to see that he's willing to adapt. Unlike a lot of the other 80's beat-em-up stars like Seagal, who seem determined to cling on to their former shreds of glory at the cost of discerning action fans, Van Damme is willing to try out new things, and In Hell is the first film where this new Van Damme -- a guy who can actually act along with kicking ass -- has fully emerged.

Even though the plot (which has Jean-Claude as an American put into a rough Russian prison and then forced into a series of shoot fights) is straight-up '80's, the script and Ringo Lam's direction make In Hell into something a step above your usual "guys in prison" action fare. Lam was, of course, the director behind the seminal Chow Yun-Fat movie Prison on Fire, and a lot of the elements of that film appear here. The prison life is rough and unforgiving, and Van Damme reflects this in his character. Unlike previous attempts such as John Woo's Hard Target or Lam's Maximum Risk to make Jean-Claude a more gritty action star, in this film Van Damme actually seems vulnerable -- and that makes his "comeback" at the end that much more believable, and that much more exciting.

Don't get me wrong -- In Hell is not a hard-ass action film like Full Contact. It emphasizes dramatics much more than bloodshed. Even though there are a few good fight sequences (finally, a director has realized that Matrix-style stuff is more played out than Carrot Top), the excitement here come through the acting. That's right, I said the excitement in a Van Damme movie comes from the acting. Not only does Jean-Claude do a good job, but most of the supporting cast shines as well. Of particular note is former football player Lawrence Taylor, who manages to overcome the seemingingly impossible hurdle most sports stars/actors have stumbled on, and makes a character who is both intimidating and likeable. Along with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Taylor is one of the handful of jocks who could really be stars if they wanted to be.

All in all, In Hell is a tight drama/action flick that deserves a look, even if you're typically not into Van Damme's body of work. If this is where he's headed in the future, then I welcome it. This is a much better effort than most of the big-budget crap like Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (more like a full throttle of my toilet) Hollywood threw at us last year. Even though I would love for Ringo Lam to keep working in Hong Kong, I (and many other fans) would rather see this kind of film from him rather than fluffy efforts like Looking for Mr. Perfect. Even though that movie was entertaining, this seems closer to the true spirit of Lam, and closer to the spirit of the Hong Kong films which many of us came to know and love. Even though there have been many big-budget attempts to synthesize US and HK film-making, this little-known effort is definitely one of the most successful, and is something well deserving of a rental at your local video shop.

RATING: 7

A review of the DVD for this movie can be found here

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