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Cast:
Jean
Claude Van Damme
Lawrence
Taylor
Carlos
Gomez
Lloyd
Batista
Manol
Manolov
Chris
Moir
Billy
Rieck
Action:
David
Leitch
Kaloyan
Vodenicharov
Producer:
Danny
Lerner
John
Thompson
David
Varod
Director:
Ringo
Lam
Score:
  
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IN
HELL
AKA:
The Savage
Year:
2003 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
Upon
it's release, 'In Hell' appeared to divide critics right down
the middle. Hardcore Van Damme fans were concerned that
this was another huge leap away from the action films that
made him a star whilst more casual viewers felt it was a
refreshingly dramatic alternative and was the best film that
the "Muscles from Brussels" had done in years.
For myself, a self confessed Van Damme fan, it lies somewhere
in between the two.
Kyle
LeBlanc (Van Damme) is just your everyday guy, he works hard
by day and goes home to his loving wife by night. That
is until on one horrific night a man breaks into his house and
murders his wife. Luckily, LeBlanc is able to chase the
man down and the case is taken to court. As it turns out
though, the murderer is part of a rich family and he is set
free so LeBlanc takes the law into his own hands and shoots
the man dead on the courtroom steps. LeBlanc is then
sentenced to life imprisonment in a Russian jail that is ruled
by the mafia from the inside and littered with corrupt and
excessively violent guards. The new inmates soon learn
the ropes and realise the only way to survive is to use your
fists in organised fights to entertain the governor. As
LeBlanc finds himself getting dragged deeper and deeper into
the dark lifestyle, he realises it is time to take a stand and
try to regain some of his self respect and attempt to get
himself out of this hellhole!
As
I've already mentioned, 'In Hell' is certainly a very
different vehicle for Van Damme and as such, produces what is
perhaps his most impressive acting role to date. This is
largely due to the film's concentration on the more dramatic
elements of the story with Van Damme portraying a man driven
by anger rather than just another invincible superhero.
Thankfully, he emerges from this radical change with quite a
large amount of credibility as he is never tempted to ham it
up with one-liners or over-flex his muscles which I would
imagine is due to Ringo Lam's input. When the two
combined their talents for 'Replicant',
the result was a solidly produced and intriguing thriller but
Van Damme was still hindered by his established image that is
now extremely unpopular. However, with 'In Hell' there
is much less restriction placed on the star and Lam's
typically dark perspective helps to mould a stylish film
around him that plays to his strengths whilst still stretching
him just enough to make it interesting.
In
keeping with Lam's Van Damme restyling, the action here is
also far removed from what we are used to and takes a firm
second place to the story. The brawls that are
incorporated (of which there are quite a few towards the end)
are much more akin to wrestling matches than anything martial
arts related, with two hugely built competitors grappling in
no holds barred bouts to the death. Although perhaps not
as pretty to look at, they are far more in keeping with the
setting and prevent the viewer from being too distracted by
flashy techniques.
As
you would expect though, despite it's several merits for
pleasing direction and acting, there are some fatal flaws here
that cannot go by unmentioned. The most important of
these is the chosen plotline that is far from original.
The tale of a harshly treated criminal placed inside a corrupt
prison is an extremely familiar one and there is little on
offer here that deviates from this well-trodden path.
Perhaps this would have not been so noticeable were it not for
the often irrelevant dialogue (so much so that you could
easily watch the film with the sound off and still follow the
story) which only seems to highlight the film's
predictability. My other main issue is with several
outskirt characters, such as the token American drug addict,
come across as very underwritten and lack the polish required
to ever make you care about them.
In
closing one would have to say that, flaws aside, 'In Hell' is
a pleasing change of pace for Van Damme and certainly displays
his acting ability in a more favourable light. The
majority of this has to be attributed to Lam's dark
directorial style that turns a mediocre script into something
far more elaborate whilst keeping his star firmly in check.
As a result, the film will surely appeal to a wider audience
than just the usual Van Damme fanatics and perhaps another
collaboration between director and star will see them uncover
the missing ingredient that produces a commercial hit.
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