THE QUEST
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1996 Michael John Legeros
(Universal)
Directed by Jean-Claude Van Damme
Written by Steven Klein and Paul Mones
Cast Jean-Claude Van Damme, Roger Moore, James Remar, Janet
Gunn, Jack McGee, Aki Aleong
MPAA Rating "PG-13"
Running Time 95 minutes
Reviewed at General Cinemas at Pleasant Valley, Raleigh, NC (30APR96)
==
So Jean-Claude is now an auteur. Well, why not? Segal, Stallone, and Schwarzenegger (in a TV movie) have all done it and emerged from behind the camera with their careers still intact. And, there's certainly more to this martial arts (near) epic than one might expect. In fact, the only particularly jarring moment occurs in the opening scene, when Van Damme, wearing old-age make-up, bellies-up to a bar and threatens to speak the word "rosebud." No, he never says *that* word, but he does recount the entire story in flashback.
Cut to a street scene in 1920's New York City, where Van Damme's clown-faced, stilt-walking pickpocket (!) is about to run afoul of both the law and the mob. Making his escape, he hops a freighter bound for (where else?) the Far East. Eventually, he finds his way to Tibet, to participate in a mountain-top martial arts competition between the greatest fighters from sixteen counties. Orphans, elephants, gun runners, and Sumo wrestlers, it's *all* here.
The period detail and location photography is very nice, as is the story's near-epic scope. Unfortunately, THE QUEST suffers from several fatal flaws, the most glaring of which is an absolute lack of dramatic tension. Nothing propels this movie. And you can take it from there. (Flaw #2 is the chemistry that the characters *don't* have. I can't decide who is less-animated: Van Damme or co-star Roger Moore. Phew. Flaw #3: missing scenes...) Martial- arts fans and video-game junkies might enjoy this one, but everyone else should save their money.
Grade: D
--
Mike Legeros - Raleigh, NC
legeros@nando.net (h) - legeros@unx.sas.com (w)
Visit me in MOVIE HELL
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