Damme!

JCVD would make a great double bill with My Name is Bruce. Both are about washed-up action stars who get caught up in real life action. In JCVD, that washed-up actor is Jean-Claude van Damme.

Out of rehab, losing his daughter in a messy divorce, bankrupted by legal fees and losing roles to Stephen Segal (the ultimate degradation), he returns to his native town in Belgium to straighten out a problem at his bank. We don't see what happens when he goes into the bank, but someone starts shooting and it looks like van Damme is involved.

Of course, the police assume that van Damme, broke and angry, has snapped and tried to rob the bank. Of course, he did not, and is being held hostage with the other customers, including a mother and child in jeopardy.

The style is pretty straightforward - almost documentary (sign of a low budget?), with some flashbacks to liven things up. Van Damme does almost no karate - mostly just straight up acting. And, you know, he's pretty good. He has a beautiful monologue in the 4th act that really ties it all together.

Now, My Name is Bruce was completely over the top (like all of Bruce Campbell's movies?), but JCVD has a subtler touch. That's part of why Bruce made me want to see a lot more of his old movies, but JCVD, well, not so much. But I'm curious about what he'll do next.