While his days as a big screen action hero seem to have passed, Jean-Claude Van Damme makes a damn fine villain, as illustrated in the new thriller Enemies Closer. While this reunion with director Peter Hyams will hardly match the commercial impact of such previous collaborations as Timecop and Sudden Death, it\u2019s the sort of efficient B-movie that would have made a fine bottom half of a double-bill in years past but is now relegated to a minimal theatrical release and VOD. <\/p>\n
Sporting an unflattering mop of red hair, the 53-year-old Van Damme is still a highly impressive physical specimen, even if he doesn\u2019t get to show it off here with nearly the same impact as his recent Volvo television commercial. The \u201cMuscles from Brussels\u201d plays Xander, a drug smuggler desperate to retrieve a huge stash of heroin that went down with a small plane in a lake off an island near the U.S.-Canadian border.<\/p>\n
Patrolling the island in solitary fashion is park ranger Henry (Tom Everett Scott), whose affable demeanor doesn\u2019t suggest the trauma he went through years earlier as a Navy SEAL. Even as Xander shows up with his gang of henchmen, Henry has to deal with a problem of his own in the form of Clay (Orlando Jones, who also co-produced), an ex-con intent on getting revenge for the death of his younger brother who was serving under Henry\u2019s command. <\/p>\n
The two men quickly form a reluctant alliance \u2014 hence the title \u2014 as they team up to battle the psychotically crazed Xander, a vegan who thoughtfully worries about his gang\u2019s carbon footprint even while they\u2019re mercilessly dispatching anyone who gets in their way.<\/p>\n
Clearly relishing his role, Van Damme once again shows off his flair for deadpan comedy, casually tossing off witticisms \u2014 \u201cHe\u2019s the one who needs help, he just doesn\u2019t know it,\u201d he says to one of his cohorts attempting to lend a hand during a brutal fight \u2014 and snapping necks with the elan of a chiropractor.<\/p>\n
The plot, which also involves a lone elderly resident (Christopher Robbie) of the island (\u201cKiss my geriatric ass,\u201d he taunts one of Xander\u2019s goons) and a comely hiker (Linzey Cocker) who takes a shine to Henry, is more convoluted than it needs to be, and the baby-faced Scott is never quite convincing in macho mode. But director Hyams, who also served as the director of photography, keeps things moving briskly with his usual solid professionalism. The numerous fight sequences are well choreographed and cleanly shot, displaying an exciting visual cohesiveness too often lacking in most of today\u2019s frenetically edited action films.<\/p>\n
Production companies: Lionsgate, After Dark Films, Signature Entertainment<\/p>\n
Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Tom Everett Scott, Linzey Cocker, Christopher Robbie, Orlando Jones<\/p>\n
Director\/director of photography: Peter Hyams<\/p>\n
Screenwriters: Eric Bromberg, James Bromberg<\/p>\n
Producers: Moshe Diamant, Courtney Solomon, Orlando Jones<\/p>\n
Executive producers: Bobby Ranghelov, Stephanie Caleb<\/p>\n
Editor: John Hyams<\/p>\n
Production designer: Phillip Harrison<\/p>\n
Costume designer: Irina Kotcheva<\/p>\n
Composer: Tony Morales<\/p>\n
Rated R, 85 min.