Maidgethma Wonderfully offbeat film!
BoardChiri Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay
TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.
Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to of the 1%
tedg Yes, I watch dumb movies, sometimes finding intelligent ones. This happens even in porn, though the slog through is rough going.Violent movies are porn, pure and simple. Segal, Van Damme, Conner, are simply action toys for three and four year old boys and viewers who wish they were. But this is a bit different. No, it blazes no new ground; in fact the notion of a late in life "coming of age" film with little violence has been well plowed. But its something rather important to see someone who we know is actually dumb and violent singularly shift his career path and do one.The story is simple: broken man, broken heart. Very, very bad guys out there that he is singlehandedly battling, over the obstructive but typical black chief. (Is there a more prevalent film type than the honest, caring but tough black police boss?) He nearly dies, then revives, and settles the score. But instead of the simple "good guy is stronger so beats the bad guy's butt," we have a similar dynamic but with presumed growth. That seldom happens. The folding of battling with marriage and battling (the bad parts of) society is clear.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.
jhs39 I watched this on DVD today and was stunned to see that it's a nearly scene for scene remake of one of my favorite Hong Kong films, the 1995 crime melodrama Loving You (ok, bad title) directed by Johnny To that starred Lau Ching Wan and Carman Lee. I don't understand why the original Hong Kong flick is mentioned nowhere in the credits but nearly every single scene and plot element and much of the dialog comes directly from the Hong Kong film. Until Death wasn't bad, but the problem is that Jean-Claude Van Damme isn't half the actor that Lau Ching Wan, the star of the original is and director Stephen Fellows is no Johnny To. The love story between the recuperating police officer and his pregnant wife is handled much more effectively in the original. I highly recommend that anyone who enjoyed Until Death (and can tolerate watching movies with English subtitles) seek out the original version, which was released last year on DVD in Hong Kong and can purchased from places like Ebay. It's a much better movie.
lastliberal I am reminded of Steven Seagal in Hard to kill. He played a cop that came back from a coma to go after the bad guy. Same stuff here, but I really think that Van Damme did a much better job.Van Damme has been relegated to the direct-to-video market, but he must be choosing some better films as this is a police drama and not the martial arts action he is famous for. It really is a good story and Van Damme did a great job with it.Too bad that he did not have Kelly LeBrock to play his wife, as Seagal did. Selina Giles just did nothing for me. She showed no real emotion the whole picture.Stephen Rea (The Crying Game) showed a little more, but not much as the ex-partner turned crime lord.If you want to see how far van Damme has come, check this one out.
martin-1415 I am not afraid to it I am a fan of Jean-Claude Van Damme movies. As corny as most of them are, they are usually a pretty good example of the more showy aspects of martial arts. Most of them are simple revenge stories, with Jean losing a loved one (or several) and then relentlessly killing everybody until he gets to the big bad guy.This movie is a different kind of Van Damme vehicle. At the risk of sounding ridiculous, he gives a subtle performance here, even if it is yet another revenge movie. As a broken down cop, addicted to booze, heroin and sex, he's just not the hero. In real life Van Damme has had problems with drugs, and his face is now aged and somewhat tired-looking.There isn't as much physical action (martial arts) as you would expect, but there is significant gun play.While Until Death is a little too long (very common these days), it's a revelation to watch Van Damme actually act. At a few points you still get that feeling that he's overreaching his abilities as an actor, but for the most part his work in this movie is actually pretty impressive. I for one would love to see someone put him in a real A list movie, playing a character role, I really think he could pull it off after watching this one.New Orleans is practically a character itself in this one, with practically every cop corrupted in one way or another. On a side note, they should have gotten another actress to play his estranged wife, as the actress here has marginal talent at best. Recommended for Van Damme fans who want to see him grow up a little.
