akshay shah

Akshay Shah Reviews UNTIL DEATH (2007)

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In the late 80’s an action hero by the name of Jean Claude Van Damme hit the big-screen. He was also commonly known as the “Muscles from Brussels”. Despite an overdose of action hero’s at the time with Chuck Norris, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Wesley Snipes amongst others Van Damme managed to hold his own in the genre with hits like CYBOR, KICKBOXER, DEATH WARRANT, DOUBLE IMPACT, UNIVERSAL SOLIDER, NOWHERE TO RUN, and his finest HARD TARGET(directed by John Woo). However in the late 90’s Damme’s career started dying a slow death with films like THE QUEST, KNOCK-OFF, LEGIONNARE, and UNIVERSAL SOLIDER: THE RETURN. There were some odd diamonds in the rough like MAXIMUM RISK however these became the exception rather than the norm. Van Damme then did what most of his contemporary rivals like Wesley Snipes and Steven Seagel had done; hit the “direct-to-DVD B-grade action market”. And surprisingly one started seeing a conscious effort by Van Damme the “actor” as well as Damme the “action hero” icon. Now we’re obviously not talking Oscar-worthy stuff here, however his double-role in REPLICANT where one of the characters required him to play a non-human clone, a jail drama called IN HELL which had less action and relied more on Damme’s acting instincts which were surprisingly effective, and the best of the lot WAKE OF DEATH which proved that Van Damme surely has a more to offer. So what’s that leading to? His latest film UNTIL DEATH sounded like a hardcore action film from the plot and promo’s (certainly with a tagline like “They put him in a coma, now he’s going to put them out of their misery” one wouldn’t expect anything otherwise), however surprisingly what one gets is a rather graphic, moving, disturbing yet poignant drama which allows Van Damme the actor to truly come of age and deliver a performance which will leave even his most ardent critics stunned-THE MAN CAN ACT!

Jean-Claude Van Damme plays a dirty cop, fighting to capture his ex-partner. His character, Anthony Stowe, is a narcotics lieutenant addicted to heroin, has a bad attitude, and everyone hates him, including his soon-to-be-ex wife. His ex-partner, Gabriel Callaghan (Stephen Rea) is working to become the new leader of the gangsters in local organized crime. Callaghan sends his goons after Anthony, who’s shot in the head and comes very close to death, falling into a coma. Months later, he awakens from the coma with the idea of finishing off his former partner and becoming a better person, and better husband. Writers Dan Harris and James Portolese have written a story which clearly allows Van Damme a platform to truly sink his role and flesh out a character based drama which relies more on Damme’s acting than anything else. The first half of the movie is dark, sometimes borderline on Abel Ferrara’s glum world we often see. The second half follows the man as he gets his life back together, most action movies would have the hero gunning straight for revenge, however revenge is never the key focus here, its redemption. The movie follows Damme’s Stowe as he rights all the wrongs he’s done thus far to all those around him. The revenge takes a complete backseat much to one’s surprise though in this case for the better.

UNTIL DEATH is a dark, dirty, damn nasty and repugnant film, but in a good way. In a GET CARTER, DEATH WISH, MARATHON MAN kinda way. It’s a 70’s style thriller with all the grimy darkness, pessimism and degeneracy of so many great flicks of that time. Sure WAKE OF DEATH had that feel, but somewhere along the way with director Phillipe Martinez’s unsure hand, it attempted artiness, and relied far too heavily on the editing room, while also playing and drawing out needless scenes. Until Death is honed, grounded and above all consistent. All those who doubted Simon Fellow’s because of his previous two films, should note that both were filmed in Romania and that the notoriously iffy company Castel were responsible. Here however, under the guidance of Moshe Diamont, Fellows is given more freedom to express himself, and he keeps things simple, grounded, allowing scenes to play out. He’s far more sure of what he wants here, and delivers. He adds in a few touches that feel experimental, and a bit dangerous, and that only adds to the 70’s vibe. A 70’s vibe does not a good movie make, but it’s a welcome part of an overall good movie.

Now in my honest opinion, I found this to be Van Damme’s best film overall, period (and I’ve seen everything the man has done so far). At the same time it’s hard to even call this a Van Damme movie. It’s like a lost movie from Bronson or Eastwood, circa 70’s. It’s like Siegal and Peckinpah joined forces and took on the reckless abandon and excessiveness of Michael Winner. Those who want the new BLOODSPORT or KICKBOXER will not take this to their hearts as Van Damme’s pinnacle, but still, they should enjoy Van Damme in a film with genuine atmosphere, in a role he stamps real authority on. Van Damme, minus the flashy kicks, plays a walking turd! He’s a degenerate drug addled morally abstruse cop, and a borderline maniac who the viewer absolutely hates. Corrupt to the core in terms of the pure “mean” factor Damme holds a candle to Washington’s dastardly Alonzo from TRAINING DAY.

Van Damme has a role split into two halves if you like, pre-coma, post-coma. Pre coma is the dirty cop Stowe who’s lost all regard for the people close to him, and his co-workers. He lives only for himself, and only to bring down ex-partner Callaghan (Rea). He’d sell his own mother to get the collar. Van Damme gives his best performance. He’s really playing an unlikable character whose judgment has become clouded. He thinks he’s doing right, trying to do right, but loses track of the right and wrong ways to get what he wants. Van Damme is just a mean, badass machine in the first half of the film, not a man to be crossed at all. When Stowe wakes from his coma, having been left for dead by Callaghan, he wants to turn his life around, while he has to fully recover from his injuries. Here Van Damme is equally good. The film is a real departure for him. He really immerses himself in the role and vanity is so far from his mind here. Van Damme looks outta shape (and should do), and early on is really made to look disheveled. Elsewhere Stephen Rea kind of flitters in and out in an extended cameo, but he gets to really chew scenery in a great scene at the end, when he and Stowe come face to face for the first time since Stowe’s resurrection. Rea is simply picking up his paycheque, but he gets the one scene to let loose and deliver, and he leaves a lasting impression. Selina Giles as Stowe’s wife enters the film with a bang! It’s not a good one either, because she’s not delivering a good performance. However no sooner than Van Damme gets shot in the head, she begins delivering a fine performance. It’s quite strange in that respect. There’s also decent support from Adam Leese and Gary Beadle.

The action is short and swift. It’s supposed to hit hard, and hit fast. They’re simple scenes but they pack a punch, in a way that THE HARD CORPS and SECOND IN COMMAND were lacking. Ditto WAKE OF DEATH, while supremely violent was a letdown in the action. Here though it’s all about the violence. It’s efficiently choreographed and edited and it has impact. When people die, you know they’re dead. Those eagerly awaiting plenty of hand-to hand will be disappointed it, there’s only a few quick little flourishes, but for this film Van Damme is far better armed with a shotgun than unleashing his kicks. The action isn’t meant to be over the top, drawn out and excessive. It’s about the forceful violence dished out. To see what I mean simply check the end action sequence in STRAW DOGS or THE WILD BUNCH.

Doug Milsome’s cinematography is the best in a Van Damme movie for a while now. It looks great, and really keeps that dank 70’s vibe going. There’s also great sound design and Matthew Booth does a good job piecing everything together in the editing suite. A real standout though is the score from Mark Sayfritz, a blend of orchestra and synch effortlessly combining. Occasionally there’s a real Massive Attack vibe in the music. It’s arguably the best score in a Van Damme film, and Sayfritz will be a welcome returnee for Van Damme’s next film, THE SHEPARD. All in all, those who like a good gritty action thriller with some vicious violence, need look no further than Until Death. Those who saw WAKE OF DEATH as a turning point were seeing a false dawn, because this is Van Damme’s career defining moment. It proves he’s now an actor and that WAKE OF DEATH wasn’t a flash in the pan and neither was FROM HELL. This is the best “direct-to-DVD” movie I’ve seen in a very long time and trust me I’ve seen a lot.

Overall Rating=7.5/10.0

A.Shah

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