LEGIONNAIRE 1998
A film review by Timothy Voon
Copyright 1998 Timothy Voon
2 out of 4 for Arabia but not Lawrence
Directed by Peter MacDonald Writing credits: Sheldon Lettich, Rebecca Morrison Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Steven Berkoff, Ana Sotrenovic
This movie is one in a long line of Jean-Claude Van Damme action flics which unfortunately, hasn't reached any pinnacle. The focus in this movie is on boxing, shooting, comradeship, desert, forlorn love rather than martial arts. The theme is the ‘French Foreign Legion', meaning brown uniforms and LOTS of marching. It is very reminiscent of older war epics like ‘Khartoum'. A good proportion of the movie highlights how well the men in the Legion are able to march across desert, with a mixture of heroics highlighted by Van Damme, who includes Dumas' themes like ‘All for One', but without the Musketeers. If this movie was intended to capture a ‘Lawrence of Arabia' feel about it, it fails in the area of cinematography, the sand isn't as white, the kurds not very menacing (except for blowing up a fort and dragging a man across sand) and Van Damme is not romance personified. This is not to say he doesn't try, and this is probably one of his better films – at least he has dared to venture out of the formula that has been a millstone in disguise. The ending is abrupt and leaves the viewer wandering whether they ran out of footage or budget and is the film's weakest point.
Timothy Voon
e-mail: stirling@netlink.com.au
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