Maximum Risk - The Forgotten Van Damme Twin Movie

 It’s late in the month, but this is still just my first movie article of January, so it’s Van Damme time again. I always get pretty burnt out at the end of one year and the beginning of the next, and this year was no different. Add political bullshit and a pandemic to it, and I just can’t find the motivation to write much about movies. But I’m fighting through the burnout. After this article, I have three Godfather articles on the way. Then I want to check out the new cut of Apocalypse Now, and I’ll follow that up with The Age of Innocence and Barry Lyndon. This is pretty ambitious for me because these are all big, complex movies. So expect this to take a little bit, and also expect some random articles to get peppered in here and there. But before I get into all that, I need to write about another Van Damme twin movie.

A Darker Double Impact.

Maximum Risk is a Van Damme “twin” movie, but they never share the screen together, unlike in Double Impact and Replicant (from the same director as this film, but technically the twin is a clone). Because of this, Maximum Risk is the forgotten Van Damme twin movie. Well...it’s forgotten in general. I do consider this my least favorite of the twin trilogy, but it’s still a quality Van Damme movie. I like to think of it as an alternate version of Double Impact.

Double Impact was about twins unknowingly separated at birth. One ended up living a life of crime while the other lived a pampered life. It’s one of my favorite Van Damme movies because you get a typical Van Damme character and you get a borderline villainous Van Damme character. It’s the best of both worlds. 

Maximum Risk takes that basic premise even further by making the “good” Van Damme a cop. But rather than repeat the formula of Double Impact and have the two seemingly opposite brothers team up, Maximum Risk kills off the criminal brother, Mikhail, in the opening action sequence. Mikhail’s twin brother cop, Alain, then spends the rest of the movie trying to avenge the brother he never knew by infiltrating the Russian mob in New York, uncovering corruption, and seducing Mikhail’s girlfriend along the way. You know, typical Van Damme shit. 

Getting to see a Van Damme character actually die, especially in the opening scene of a movie, is interesting, but having an entire movie with two Van Dammes would have been better. I applaud the filmmakers for going the route they did to avoid ripping off Double Impact too much, but the film suffers for it. Instead of having two Van Dammes working off each other, we get Natasha Henstridge in such a girlfriend role that she just starts banging the new Van Damme, and we also get an annoying cabbie character for a few scenes just so Van Damme has someone to clash personalities with (and he’s killed off right when Henstridge joins the team).

It just doesn’t make sense. Why tease us with two Van Dammes? Who cares if the movie is similar to another Van Damme movie? Most people don’t know the difference between Kickboxer and Bloodsport (or The Quest, for that matter) anyway. And any movie with Van Damme as a set of twins is going to remind fans of Double Impact anyway. They should have just gone for it. The tone of the film is enough to warrant keeping both Van Dammes alive. Double Impact is a pretty goofy movie and Maximum Risk is fairly dark and serious. I would like this movie much more if it was simply a darker Double Impact. 

Titles Mean Nothing in Van Damme’s Filmography.

Van Damme’s movies typically have simplistic titles that work for the genre (Kickboxer, Bloodsport, Timecop, Sudden Death, etc.), but there are also some bland-ass titles out there that could apply to any action movie. Maximum Risk is definitely one of those. 

After watching the movie, I couldn’t figure out what the titular maximum risk was. Sure, the film was filled with risky situations, but it’s not like people kept telling the main character he was taking too many risks or something.

According to IMDb, the original title was The Exchange, but they were worried that audiences wouldn’t get the “subtle title.” So they changed it to Bloodstone (which doesn’t make much sense, either) and even marketed the film under that title. Then someone decided that didn’t work, either, and they settled upon Maximum Risk. The fact that the title could be changed twice after the film was complete says it all. And I honestly can’t think of the perfect title for this film, but I do know that The Exchange is better than Maximum Risk. Just for fun(?), here are some other non-titles from Van Damme’s filmography:

Kill ‘Em All - This might apply to the actual movie (I haven’t watched this one yet), but I feel like you could apply this title to at least a dozen other Van Damme movies (including Maximum Risk) and it wouldn’t matter.

Soldiers - This is the title on IMDb, but Full Love is listed as an alternate title, and the picture on the main page has the title The Eagle Path. And when you Google it, it claims the movie is called Frenchy. What the fuck is going on with this one?

Swelter - This one makes a little sense since the setting is hot throughout, but it’s not that integral to the plot.

Until Death - This one is about someone dealing with a near-death experience, but it’s still bland enough to work as a title for most Van Damme movies.

Wake of Death - This is a revenge movie, so it works, but there are plenty of Van Damme revenge movies that could use this title, too.

Van Damme Name Check - Separated Twin Edition 

Alain Moreau and Mikhail Suverov. Both are fine. Alain is a French cop, so that works and explains the accent. Mikhail also works as a believable name since he was adopted by Russians as a baby. 

Why Do I Own This?

It’s a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie.

Random Thoughts / Favorite Quotes 

What the fuck is with the neurotic-aspiring-author-cabbie? Does he attempt to get involved in the lives of every fare he picks up? 

"Wack accent!"

I get why Ringo Lam zoomed in on the dude's glasses in Van Damme's twin's old neighborhood (showing two Van Dammes in the reflection of the lenses), but damn is it out of place.

I always feel bad for the unlucky fucker who parks his car near a Van Damme fight. 

Did not expect a Bret Easton Ellis name drop in this movie. The screenwriter must be a fan.

Zach Grenier as an evil Russian mobster? I like it.

What a gentleman. Van Damme lets the makeout session with Mikhail’s girlfriend get to the point that she’s topless before he finally stops it.

Remember when Natasha Henstridge was a thing for about two years in the ‘90s?

The fuckin’ bad guy starts roughing up the cleaning lady about Van Damme’s whereabouts. They’re not in their room, and you were just in the lobby. Figure it out, shithead.

That’s a crazy amount of gunfire on a crowded New York street. There must be dozens of people dead or injured.

The cabbie definitely saved their asses, and his death is actually pretty sad. But from a movie standpoint, I was glad to see him go because his “I’m a writer” schtick was annoying as hell.

This must be the tenth movie with Van Damme being pursued by government goons.

When Van Damme’s beating the fuck out of the bald goon in his dead brother’s apartment, he tosses him into a jacuzzi. I have two issues with this. 1. The jacuzzi was in the bedroom. That seems...odd. 2. It was full. Did Mikhail leave it full before he left for France? Did the goons staking it out take a bath? What is going on here?

It’s not a Russian mob movie unless there’s a bathhouse scene.

Not that I’m wanting to see some dick, but those towels around their waists in the bathhouse fight scene must be tied with triple knots.

Eastern Promises is basically just a dicks out remake of this movie.

You know you’re shoehorning in a sex scene when it’s between a woman and her dead boyfriend’s long lost twin in a bathroom with two FBI agents in the other room.

Elevator opens to reveal Van Damme fighting a giant Russian with a knife. The giant Russian yells to the people, "Get the fuck out of here!" as if the people were going to seriously attempt to get on that fucking elevator. 

Who's chasing who in the final action sequence?

I did not see the ending chainsaw fight in a slaughterhouse coming…

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In Hell - Van Damme Goes to Prison...and Grows a Beard

Another month, another Van Damme movie. I’m still sticking with the more obscure DTV films for the moment, so that I can save some of the classics for later on. Plus, I don’t remember most of these films at all, so it’s nice to revisit them to see if I actually like them. In Hell was a pleasant surprise, even if the fight scenes were disappointing.

Bearded Van Damme

Despite In Hell’s plot involving revenge and organized prison fighting, it’s not really an action movie. This is very much a drama, as the film is much more concerned with the two types of prison: literal and of the mind. This is why Van Damme’s character ends up growing a beard. In Hell is about how prison can transform a person, and for Van Damme, that change is signified by his appearance. 

But before I delve too deep into Van Damme’s beard, I want to get into the literal prison in the film. When you title a film In Hell, you better make sure the prison is especially terrible. The filmmakers do a pretty good job at making the prison seem like the worst place on earth. The old standards are there: corrupt guards, rape, drug use, beatings, murder, etc. The fighting racket is a unique touch, with the prison officials condoning it and even inviting friends (and their kids!) to watch and bet on them. You truly get the sense that this place has no oversight and is completely controlled by the warden and the guards, and if you run afoul of them, death could be a mercy compared to other fates they have planned. 

Van Damme’s character, Kyle LeBlanc (good call with the French last name), is in prison before he ever reaches this terrible place. His wife is murdered in a random act of violence, and the murderer is set free. In a fit of rage, Kyle takes a policeman’s gun and kills the murderer in the courthouse after the acquittal. Already a broken man, he’s sentenced to life in prison (since the guy he killed was connected to the mob, and the judge is corrupt). 

In prison, Kyle suffers from constant flashbacks to his wife’s murder. He is thrown into solitary after attacking a man he envisioned as his wife’s killer. While in solitary (a typically disgusting cell with what appears to be sewage running through it), Kyle tries to kill himself multiple times, but fails. He is cursed to survive.

Kyle receives glimmers of hope, mainly through visions of his wife and a moth which seems to be his reincarnated wife. But it’s not enough and prison finally breaks him. To adapt, he grows a beard and begins furiously working out so he can fight. At this point, Kyle is more of a feral beast than a lost soul. He just wants to take his aggression out on someone. After some success in the fights, he comes back to humanity, but now as a much darker person, which is why he slicks back his hair and shaves his beard into a goatee. Before, he looked like some castaway from a deserted island, but his new look made him appear to be fitting in at the prison, which is worse than any other persona he has adopted.

When Kyle transforms he has given up on leaving the prison, both literally and figuratively. The prison is his home now (which is why he tells his brother-in-law to forget about him), but more importantly, he has entered the prison of his mind at this point. He’s no longer living for his wife; he’s living for the prison, leaving him dead inside. It takes the final words of a dying fellow inmate to wake Kyle up. He protests the fights, and eventually escapes the prison completely with plans to expose the corruption he experienced.

All of this is presented very unambiguously, which is the main weakness of the film. Prisoners say things like, “He is fighting...for himself,” “Don’t let this place turn you into something you’re not,” and “Do you even know who you are?” It’s too obvious at times, which is unfortunate because these moments could be easily cut out. It just weakens the film because it assumes the audience will be too dumb to realize what’s happening. This doesn’t ruin the film, but it definitely takes you out of it (all that’s missing is Damon Wayans from Don’t Be a Menace… popping in and yelling, “Message!”). 

Van Damme’s understated performance overshadows the weakness of the script, though. Much like in another film directed by Ringo Lam (Replicant), Van Damme is able to accomplish a lot through conveying convincing suffering. What sets this role apart is his ability to portray a broken man in silence. Van Damme’s face, especially as he’s aged, is his best performance asset. You look at him just sitting silently in the yard at the prison, and you understand that this man is devoid of hope.

Van Damme’s performance is why I can give this a film a pass for not featuring some truly badass fight scenes or really any martial arts from Van Damme. Once you get past that this is not your typical Van Damme film, you can see that it’s a rare attempt at a character study. It’s unfortunate that In Hell is a rarity, because every time Van Damme is given the chance to flex his acting chops (like in Replicant or JCVD), he nails it. Hopefully as time progresses and action roles become less believable for him, more parts like this will become available. Van Damme will one day be unable to do the splits and nail a roundhouse kick, but he’ll never be too old to grow a drama beard.

Why Do I Own This?

It’s a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie. Although owning this is easier since it is part of a three-pack along with Derailed and Wake of Death.

Random Thoughts

Whoever put this three-pack together is a fool. Derailed gets its own disc, but In Hell and Wake of Death are on a fucking flipper?

And they mislabeled the sides of the flipper disc. In fact, they only mislabeled one side because the other side is blank. I bought this off Amazon, but it’s giving off a real street vendor in Pakistan vibe.

This is directed by Ringo Lam, who also directed Maximum Risk and Replicant. He’s more remembered for his earlier work in Hong Kong, but these three Van Damme movies are solid. And I consider Replicant to be one of Van Damme’s best.

The only other issue I have with the plot is the Shawshank element at the end with Van Damme leaving with documents meant to expose the prison corruption. We’re repeatedly reminded of the fact that this is a Russian prison, therefore it’s insanely corrupt. It’s not like this one particular prison has a bad rap. This is assumed to be happening at any Russian prison. Odds are no one’s going to care about those documents, despite the film’s happy ending claiming that the prison was shut down in a year. It just felt tacked on. I guess it’s a bit of character development in that he has a new reason to live, but it just felt a little too sappy for a movie called In Hell.

Being the wife of a Van Damme character is the most dangerous job in the world. You have a 75% chance of being raped, kidnapped, and/or killed. And it doesn’t matter if Van Damme is a cop or a criminal or a steel mill engineer…

Being his kid is no walk in the park, either. Thankfully, he’s childless in this one.

The weird techno music that starts when Van Damme chases after his wife’s killer is odd, to say the least. We just went from opera music while his wife was viciously murdered to what sounds like the score to a Matrix rip-off.

I completely forgot the part where Van Damme becomes a human speed bump for a moped.

Most of these DTV Van Damme movies have at least one random notable co-star. For this one, it’s Lawrence Taylor...as a murderous prison poet.

David Leitch (who’s gone on to work on John Wick and direct Deadpool 2 and Hobbs and Shaw) did stunts and has a small part in this movie.

“I’m going to make you my favorite sucker.” Listen here, you Russian scumbag: Van Damme doesn’t suck dick, he gets his dick sucked!

The fucking Russian mobsters who show up to watch the prison fights bring their kids for Van Damme’s fight. It’s like a Yakov Smirnoff joke: in America, you take children to Disneyland; in Russia, you take them to prison fights!

I like that Van Damme has to train to become a badass. In too many movies, he plays a regular guy who is somehow a martial arts master. Here, he has to work at it.

“He should fight.”

“He is fighting...for himself.” That’s a bit too hokey coming from two inmates in a Russian prison.

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