Review: The Hard Corps


Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as a troubled Desert Storm vet hired by Vivica A. Fox to act as a bodyguard to her wealthy boxer brother Raz Adoti, who is receiving death threats from a rival. No one trusts the unstable Van Damme, especially Adoti, but when his co-worker and buddy is killed in the line of duty, Van Damme’s all they’ve got left.

 

Y’know, I’m still amazed that JC puts a genuine effort into his performances these days, long past when his big-star status has left him, and especially when one considers how lazy Steven Seagal has become. But not all of the films the Muscles from Brussels has made post-cinematic career are worth seeing. This bland 2006 action-drama is not one of the better collaborations between Van Damme and frequent director Sheldon Lettich (the watchable “Double Impact”, and the excellent “Wrong Bet/Lionheart”), with Lettich also writing the screenplay. It’s a pretty uneventful affair that not even a fine lead performance from Van Damme nor a slumming Vivica A. Fox (who certainly doesn’t seem comfortable around Van Damme) can save.

 

Plot-wise it’s a bit different to what you might’ve seen Van Damme in, but that’s not enough to entirely recommend the film to anyone but that most committed of JCVD fans out there. This one’s pretty ordinary, even by the usual standards for this kind of thing.

 

Rating: C

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