MAXIMUM RISK
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 3.0 Alternative Scale: *1/2 out of ****
United States, 1996 U.S. Release Date: 9/13/96 (wide) Running Length: 1:37 MPAA Classification: R (Violence, profanity, sex, nudity) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Natasha Henstridge, Zach Grenier,=20
Jean-Hugues Anglade
Director: Ringo Lam=20
Producer: Moshe Diamant
Screenplay: Larry Ferguson
Cinematography: Alexander Gruszynski
Music: Robert Folk
U.S. Distributor: Fine Line Features
All of the sudden, after years of languishing in art houses and=20 specialty film festivals, the luminaries of Hong Kong cinema are=20 breaking into the mainstream American market. Jackie Chan, one of the=20 best-known action stars in the world, scored a modest financial hit with=20 RUMBLE IN THE BRONX. Actor Chow Yun-Fat has been working on something=20 called THE REPLACEMENT KILLERS. Director John Woo already has two=20 English-language features under his belt (HARD TARGET and BROKEN ARROW),=20 and there are more to come. Now, another of Hong Kong's celebrated film=20 makers, Ringo Lam (director of CITY ON FIRE, which is the likely=20 inspiration for Quentin Tarantino's RESERVOIR DOGS), has reached U.S.=20 screens. His Hollywood debut is called MAXIMUM RISK, and everyone=20 eagerly awaiting the film's release is in for a big disappointment.
Watching MAXIMUM RISK, I had the feeling I'd seen the film before. =20 I hadn't, of course, but the generic nature of the plot and action=20 sequences, not to mention the presence of Jean-Claude Van Damme, made=20 everything seem all-too-familiar. If I hadn't known beforehand that Lam=20 was the director, I never would have guessed it. MAXIMUM RISK displays=20 little of the style that has gained the film maker an international=20 following. This is the kind of job that a hack director could have=20 accomplished.
The plot is rather convoluted, and frequently doesn't make sense,=20 but I'll try to present the cogent details here, for anyone who's=20 interested. Van Damme plays a dual role. He starts off as Mikhail=20 Suverov, a high-ranking member of the Russian Mob's American chapter. =20 When Mikhail is killed in a car chase in South France, a French cop who=20 looks eerily like the dead man is brought into the case. As it turns=20 out, the policeman, named Alain Moreau, is actually Mikhail's twin=20 (screenwriter Larry Ferguson must have been watching a soap opera when=20 he came up with this twist). The two were separated shortly after birth=20 when their mother realized she couldn't care for them both. Now, with=20 Mikhail dead, Alain is determined to discover all he can about his=20 brother's life and death. His investigation leads him to New York and=20 Mikhail's girl friend, Alex Minetti (Natasha Henstridge). Alain also=20 meets a sadistic gangster named Ivan (Zach Grenier), a bunch of ugly=20 thugs, and a group of crooked FBI agents. Soon, he and Alex are in over=20 their heads, and running for their lives. =20
We're talking pedestrian action here. There are all the usual=20 staples: car chases, foot chases through moving traffic, foot chases=20 across rooftops, fist fights (with a little kick-boxing thrown in for=20 good measure), and shootouts. I kept expecting Lam to do something=20 unique, but, by the time the end credits started rolling, I realized it=20 was a vain hope. This is just another story of Van Damme hunting, and=20 being hunted by, a variety of stereotypical bad guys. There's no room=20 in the formula for improvisation or originality.
Van Damme's presence is an immediate disadvantage (just ask John=20 Woo; the action star headlined his American debut, HARD TARGET, which=20 went down in flames at the box office). While the actor is capable of=20 handling action sequences, his acting range can charitably be described=20 as "limited", so any emotional component to MAXIMUM RISK is=20 irretrievably lost. We're supposed to believe that Alain is distraught=20 over the death of the brother he never knew he had, but Van Damme's=20 wooden expression doesn't get the point across.
Then there's Natasha Henstridge as The Love Interest. In SPECIES,=20 she didn't show much in the way of acting ability, but wasn't shy about=20 displaying her physical attributes. Here, this cookie-cutter role=20 doesn't exactly challenge her range, but it gives her another=20 opportunity to expose the assets that were much in evidence in that=20 previous outing. Beyond that, however, there's not much to Alex, and=20 any romantic heat that might have been generated is diffused by the=20 complete lack of chemistry between the leads. Henstridge and Van Damme=20 together couldn't light a cigarette.
It's reasonable to hope that Lam agreed to direct this movie=20 because it was a means of entrance into the American film market. Even=20 then, however, there's no denying that this is the most unpromising of=20 beginnings. It took John Woo three years to recover from working with=20 Van Damme. Let's hope the same misfortune doesn't befall Lam. As for a=20 trip to the theaters=85 instead of seeing MAXIMUM RISK, rent one of Lam's=20 Hong Kong films. They highlight the talent that is woefully unapparent=20 in this generic action flick.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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