Director: Jean-Claude Van Damme
Screenplay: Jean-Claude Van Damme
Producer: Jean-Claude Van Damme & Eugene Van Varenberg
Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Claudia Bassols, John Colton, Josef Cannon, Chuck DiMaria, Adam Karst, Cal Rein
Year: 2010
Country: Thailand, Hong Kong & USA
Duration: 108 min
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!!! I, along with the rest of the packed out auditorium at the Olympia, wanted this to be a return to form for the struggling ‘Muscles from Brussels’, but we were to be sadly disappointed. In fact there were a large number of people who walked out of this film including a couple of previously excited French teenagers who had sat next to us for this screening. One of them muttered ‘this is shit’ to me as they got up from their seats before beating a hasty retreat to the exit. And I’m afraid that says pretty much all you really need to know about Eagle Path!
On a more positive note this film isn’t a complete disaster – it’s actually shot pretty well, for the most part, and a few of the earlier fight scenes are quite good. What destroys the film is probably what got it made in the first place – Jean Claude. Sadly, as his personal intro at the screening demonstrated, this is a seriously distracted man who I felt was having a midlife crisis in public, which is a real shame for fans, like me, who’ve stuck by him through thick and thin. JCVD wrote, directed and edited this film and watching the carnage on screen I felt he’d spread himself too thin. It’s obvious to me that he’d be better served by letting someone else direct and edit his films and just concentrated on one or two jobs. Of particular horror for me was the editing, which is shockingly bad at times and doesn’t do the somewhat confused story any favours whatsoever.
This is obviously a deeply personal film for Jean Claude and he must be applauded for casting himself as a severely flawed character in the film, but this reviewer can’t help feeling that the person behind the lead actor here needs to sort out his own issues in private before attempting to air them in public again. I, for one, wish him all the best and look forward to seeing his next project and hope he learns from the mistakes he made on this film.
Review by Justin Richards
