Disc Reviews

Enemies Closer Review

14th Jul 2014

Someone is answering prayers (or just fan email) somewhere. Jean Claude Van Damme has finally re-teamed with his Timecop and Sudden Death director, Peter Hyams (Outland, 2010, The Relic, Capricorn One). Anyone who thinks that opening statement is in anyway a cheeky joke at either Van Damme or Hyams’ expense can leave this room now.

Timecop and Sudden Death (daft as they may sound in name) are actually two of the “Muscles” greatest Hollywood achievements: One a comic book adaptation with a complicated plot and decent characterisation (not to mention the usual splits, roundhouse kicks and elongated war-cries) where Sudden Death was his “Die Hard in a Hockey Rink” which worked surprisingly well as an entertaining action flick.

So two decades later. Van Damme now in his 50’s, Hyams in his 70’s – the two have come back with this.

True this is not in the same league as the previous two efforts. And Van Damme takes a side step to play the villain (a trait he is becoming more and more familiar with after Expendables 2 and the last Universal Soldier movie).

Stepping into the hero role is Tom Everett Scott (That Thing you Do, An American Werewolf in Paris) who works as a park ranger out up in the middle of ass end of nowhere. Naturally he’s a former soldier with a haunted past and that past comes back to literally haunt him in the former of a vengeful Orlando Jones (also a former soldier with an axe to grind). But their face off is interrupted by a group of men lead by Van Damme who are there to fish a large shipment of drugs that splashed into the water nearby.

It isn’t quite Die Hard – but essentially the two “Heroes” have to buddy up if they are to survive against Van Damme and his pack of hounds.

Enemies Closer isn’t perfect by any means. There is a lot about it that is painfully predictable. Some of the dialogue is groan inducing. Supporting characters are largely forgettable – but despite Scott and Jones doing so fairly decent chop-socky (either at each other or at Van Damme’s men – it’s the man himself whop provides most of the entertainment. Probably because he is on very funny form. He could have “Segal-walked” his way through the part as it required very little of him. But instead Van Damme chooses to have as much fun as he can with the character making the venture all the more enjoyable as a result.

This Van Damme it seems isn’t concerned with critics, his ego or much about anything other than delivering his lines in a fresh way from normal and generally keeping his smile about him. He’d have to after being forced to wear that Mountie outfit at the beginning.