Leofwine_draca
The sudden prison craze of the late '80s (including flicks like Stallone's LOCK UP) is surely the source of inspiration for this entertaining slice of Van Damme action. You would be hard pressed to make this film look good in light of THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, but let's face it, Tim Robbins never gets to go around and kick people in the face in that film, even if it is ten times better made. I was pleasantly surprised to find this in the budget section, which is where most of Van Damme's films seem to be hiding these days. Made the same year as A.W.O.L. but not quite as good, this is still fun stuff. Van Damme gets to go through all the old prison clichés - homosexual inmates, transvestites, getting locked up naked in a cockroach-filled hole - in a manner which is never fun, but wholly unpleasant.In fact, the film seems to simply switch from Van Damme getting beaten up in one bad situation to just put him in another, and another, and so on until the end. Most of the film is dark and dank looking, so this ultimately makes for one majorly depressing movie, well that is if it wasn't for the cool action sequences.The cast is of the typical B-movie variety, with Robert Guillaume enjoying his role as one of those 'old black sympathetic guys' who seem to fill up just about every prison movie of the '90s. The actor playing the evil Sandman, Patrick Kilpatrick is also memorably over the top, with a manic laugh and even stranger features. Other memorable faces fill out the cast, but Cynthia Gibb has a thankless role as the token love interest who gets about five minutes of screen time and is pretty much degraded. Armin Shimerman (Quark from DEEP SPACE NINE) is the only other familiar face, as a corrupt doctor who faces gang vengeance.Thankfully, the interesting and unlikely plot about unorthodox organ donation is pretty fun to watch, and there are lots of fights and punch-ups to keep things moving along. The movie is pretty average, well that is until the ending, then it becomes something else entirely.Never have I seen a reel of film that is so over the top, but done in such a straight-faced manner. This is the ultimate in unintentional humour, the final fight between Van Damme and the Sandman is sheer brilliance because of the absurdity of it. It starts off with Van Damme having a huge spanner hit him across the wrists and head, then the Sandman whacking him in the chest and stomach with the aforementioned hammer. This would have killed most people, but has no effect on Van Damme who is being pummelled one minute and then up and running the next.The next fight involves a circular saw which just happens to be laying around, and the Sandman gets his hair sliced off in one cool and startling effect sequence, which I've been wondering how they achieved. After this Van Damme gets thrown off a ledge and hits the ground some thirty feet below, only to groan and grunt a bit, then he gets up and keeps on fighting! The Sandman uses a broken light bulb (which in reality would be extremely fragile and hardly effective) to lacerate most of Van Damme's body. But our favourite Muscles from Brussels eventually kicks the Sandman into a burning room, but the Sandman runs out, puts out the fire and keeps on fighting! This is hilarious stuff.Let's just recap here: by this time, the Sandman is suffering from third degree burns over 70% of his body, and would probably be unconscious with the pain. He definitely wouldn't be coherent, and he couldn't stand up either. Van Damme, meanwhile, has had his skull fractured and his arms broken with the spanner, his stomach crushed and mutilated with the same spanner (kind of like how Houdini died), he's been thrown off a ledge and had the rest of his ribs and bones broken in the resulting fall, and also he's had most of his body sliced open and must have lost a couple of pints of blood. Still, he's one tough guy, and he has just enough strength to kick the Sandman's head onto a handy spike, then breaks his jaw and kills him.In another hilarious moment, all the prisoners stand back to let him pass (despite the fact he's an undercover cop), because he's earned some respect from the fight. This has to be one of the best fight sequences I've ever seen, just because it's so damn funny and an unexpected treat. That's right: watch this film for the ending alone.
utgard14
Canadian cop Louis Burke (Jean-Claude Van Damme) goes undercover in California (?) prison to solve series of murders. Then a serial killer called the Sandman (Patrick Kilpatrick) shows up there. Burke put the Sandman away so they have things to discuss. It's a JCVD movie, so you pretty much know what to expect: kicking, kicking, and, not surprisingly, more kicking.By-the-numbers Van Damme actioner. Every prison movie cliché is on display. It's watchable enough. You get what you pay for. Robert Guillaume is good as the older inmate who helps Van Damme out. Cynthia Gibb is the requisite love interest who gets her pipes cleaned by the "muscles from Brussels." Cartoon-faced Art LaFleur is hard to take seriously as the sadistic prison guard. First movie from screenwriter David Goyer.
logantoxic
Probably the best action prison movie around. I am not talking about escape thriller type films. I am talking about high kicks, jump kicks, face punches, and people getting lit by fire. This was filmed during Van Damme's glory years with such classics as Kickboxer, Bloodsport and Universal Soldier (MY personal Favorite). Death Warrant is Top Tier Van Damme and he knows it. He has that early cockiness about him that he seems to lose as he gets older and his films steadily get worse and worse and eventually he only makes straight to video type films. Interesting tidbit, Death warrant was written by David Goyer, who has also written Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy, for those starving Batman fans who need more. This film is dark and gritty but still has that 90s flare which I think brings a nice balance to the movie. If you are in the mood for some Van Damme Spilt kicks and don't want to think to hard then this is the film for you.You can get more info by visiting my Youtube Channel Logan Toxic or by visiting my page at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIsf-VfAAtU
