Review by: Andrew Chan FCCA AACTA FIPRESCI
Review Date: 17th December 2013

Directed by: Peter Hyams
Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Orlando Jones, Tom Everett Scott, Linzey Cocker

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You must give it to Jean Claude Van Damme. A guy who is well known for his limited range of acting, have once again stretched his own limits to produce yet another surprising acting turn. In “Enemies Closer”, Van Damme plays a madhouse of a villain who lives to kill anything that he walks across. There is the twisted mental head of a Joker and even resembling the great Javier Bardem all rolled up in his latest role. You can tell that the man himself is having a lot of fun doing this role. The good news is that Van Damme’s performance here is the best thing in the movie and his ability to steal every scene possible is quite an achievement in itself.

Teaming with his long time corroborator in the tune of director Peter Hyams, who previously directed Van Damme in “Timecop” and “Sudden Death”, who goes about the action in a straight forward and brutal manner. This allows Van Damme to shine through despite being the villain. The weak link goes to the leading role and hero of the film played by Tom Everett Scott who lacks both physical and acting presence for the role. The same cannot be said for the rest of the casting, which are either uninspired or rather out of place. Having said that the old man hiding in the cabin reminds me of a cranky Clint Eastwood in “Grand Torino”.

All in all, “Enemies Closer” by no means cinematic magic nor will it revive Peter Hyams’s aging career, but it provides the audience with what you will call mindless entertainment. An over the top performance from the usually stoic, but ever improving Van Damme will delight fans and the brutal action will surely adds to the entertainment value. Nothing special as a film, but a lot better than what Van Damme have come up with in the past decade or so. (Neo 2013)

I rated it 6/10

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