Maximum Risk Movie
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Storyline
TAGLINES
The Other Side of Safety.
The other side of safe.
The nearer he gets to the truth, the closer he gets to the edge.
A policeman takes his twin brother's place and inherits his problems and a beautiful girlfriend. He is forced to kickbox his way from France to the U.S. and back while playing footsie with the FBI and Russian mafia. Not just muscles with a badge, the policeman must find the answers to some tough questions, none harder than what the heck is an accordian player doing in a sauna.
| Jean-Claude Van Damme | Alain Moreau/Mikhail Suverov |
| Natasha Henstridge | Alex Minetti |
| Jean-Hugues Anglade | Sebastien |
| Zach Grenier | Ivan Dzasokhov |
| Paul Ben-Victor | Agent Pellman |
| Frank Senger | Agent Loomis |
| Stefanos Miltsakakis | Red Face |
| Frank Van Keeken | Davis Hartley |
| David Hemblen | Dmitri Kirov |
| Stéphane Audran | Chantal Moreau |
| Dan Moran | Yuri |
| Donald Burda | Nicholas |
| Rob Kaman | Morris |
| Herb Lovelle | Martin |
| Denis Costanzo | Innkeeper |
| Ringo Lam |
4.80 out of 10 (3514 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Strictly average JCVD action thriller.
posted on 13 Jun 2009Maximum Risk starts in the South of France where ex-Russian mobster Mikhail Suverov (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is killed in an accident while trying to escape from two FBI agents chasing him. The police become involved & detective Sebastien (Jean-Hugues Anglade) recognises Mikhail as his close friend & fellow cop Alain Moreau (Jean-Claude Van Damme), it quickly turns out that Mikhail & Alain were identical twins separated at birth. Wanting to know about his brother & why he was killed Alain follows a trail back to New York where he discovers his brother Mikhail was involved with Russian mobsters & a beautiful waitress named Alex Minetti (Natasha Henstridge), Alain also discovers the Russian mobsters want him dead not to mention the FBI who also want a piece of him...Making his American action film debut this run of the mill JCVD action film was directed by Ringo Lam & was the second time a famed Asian action film director made his American feature film debut with JCVD after John Woo made probably JCVD's best film Hard Target (1993) & JCVD would also star in Hark Tsui's first American film as well with the terrible Double Team (1997). Anyway, here the almost humourless script by Larry Ferguson feels like a collection of action film clichés loosely strung together with little regard for a plot, the narrative or the audience. There's the JCVD character who is not only a cop but also an ex-soldier just so he can really handle himself, there's evil mobsters who can't shoot straight, there's a pretty blonde woman who is entirely surplus to the plot & is included solely for her looks, there's various fights & chases, there's a 'big' tough bad guy who JCVD has to have a climatic showdown with towards the end, there's crooked FBI agents & not much of a plot to speak of. Most of Maximum Risk just feels like JCVD going from one fight to another on the basic pretence that they are after his twin brother & it just gets old very quickly & the whole plot is uninspiring, it's predictable, it's silly & it's throughly routine. I suppose it's watchable, there's nothing spectacularly wrong with it & it moves along at a decent pace but I just can't muster up much enthusiasm for it at all & I consider myself a JCVD fan. Maximum Risk was the second time JCVD played dual roles in a film the first being Double Impact (1991) where, like in Maximum Risk, he played identical twins & then he went on to play two roles in both Replicant (2001) & The Order (2001). Having said that his twin dies in the opening sequence so there are never two JCVD's on screen at once in Maximum Risk.I have to say that I didn't like the way Maximum Risk was shot at all, the fact I saw a pan and scan version rather than a full 2:35:1 widescreen edition didn't help but the camera angles are weird & they just don't capture the action that well, the length of shot is very short & the editing is just very bad & annoying as it makes it difficult so get a grip of what is going on & finally there's that horrible shaky camera syndrome which just adds to the general irritation. The action feels routine, the fights are alright but nothing special while the chases are ruined by being poorly shot & aren't much to begin with anyway. Also what does Lam have against plastic garden furniture? The amount of scenes in which he crashes cars into plastic chairs & tables outside cafés seems to be too numerous to be a coincidence.With a supposed budget of about $25,000,000 Maximum Risk really should have been better than this, I think it's a throughly routine & badly shot action flick that apart from one or two car chases & some expensive location work looks like it was a made-for-telly effort. The locations sound impressive having been shot in Paris, Canada & New York. The acting is poor, I think JCVD is terrible in this while all the Russian accents are unconvincing although at least Hanstridge is easy on the eyes & she goes topless briefly in one scene.Maximum Risk is one of JCVD's more routine efforts, I found it a really disappointing film that was badly shot & written. Having said that it passes the time & is nowhere near his worst although at the same time it's nowhere near his best. After several big hits like Universal Soldier (1992), Hard Target, Timecop (1994) & Sudden Death (1995) you can trace the demise of JCVD pretty much back to Maximum Risk.
I wanna be Van Damme!
posted on 02 May 2009Holy crap, Van Damme is a lucky guy. Having the Species girl, Natasha Henstridge, press her naked breasts against your chest is nothing to complain about.Great movie, though, even without the girl. Van Damme has got to be my favorite action star. Well, Arnold comes pretty close...hard decision. Oh well. Watch this movie for the fight scenes, if you are in it for the action. They are more realistic than usual, because nobody takes fifty spinning kicks in the face and a hundred punches to the the ribs before falling down, then gets up after ten seconds, like normal action-movie fights go. Kinda sucks to have someone stab you through the toe of your shoe, too.
Who gives a van Damme?
posted on 25 Feb 2009Jean Claude Van Damme is clearly one of the most limited actors working today. His pronunciation is awkward, his emoting lacks conviction and any subtle twitches that he manages to convey are usually purely coincidental. But that's not much of a problem, since he belongs in the Stallone/Schwarzenegger category of actor: a big guy with a big gun and a penchant for fast justice. However, what amazes me about Jean Claude is that he has this extraordinary tendency to go for scripts where he is required to play dual roles. First, in Double Impact he played his own identical twin; in Time Cop he shared time zone revisits to, er, himself; and in Maximum Risk he once again assumes the role of .... his twin brother! Why does such a limited performer feel the need to hog the screen so much?This one is familiar action stuff. Van Damme's brother (Van Damme!) is murdered at the start, so his twin comes to New York looking for the culprit. Why he gives a damn is hard to ascertain, since the pair haven't seen each other in ages. However, care he does, and before you know, French cop (Van Damme again) is shooting up half the city as he investigates the killing, leading him into deep water with the Russian Mafia.The film is energetic enough, and there's a decent nude scene featuring the lovely Natasha Henstridge. However, the good points end there. The pacing, scripting, editting and acting are rather clumsy. The violence is excessive. During the quiet moments there is little to occupy the viewer's mind. There's too much macho posturing during the action sequences, just so we get a long, good glimpse of how chunky and macho our hero really is. In all honesty, Van Damme has done too many of these brainless action flicks and they now bear signs of weariness. Time for a new action hero, I feel.
Actually Quite Well Made
posted on 17 Jan 2009Ringo Lam has put together a wicked film, that has to be viewed in the state of mind that it is virtually a Hong Kong film. Ringo Lam is a well rounded director, giving his films a unique visual style. This one is no exception. You may say Van Damme acts like a plank of wood, but Maximum Risk wouldn't work without him. Give this film a chance.
Van Damme & Van Damme (Again)
posted on 18 Dec 2008The good thing about two of Van Damme's films is that they've opened the doors into the American film industry for such Hong Kong giants as John Woo and, director of 'Maximum Risk', Ringo Lam. 'Maximum Risk' itself is probably best described as a fast-paced Hong Kong film with a Hollywood production behind it, and in many ways, it works. It works in the same way 'Broken Arrow' and 'Face/Off' worked in the sense that it brought that kind of cinema to people who'd never seen it before, a new Western audience to the brilliant work of people such as Ringo Lam and John Woo. When most people think of Hong Kong films prior to the release of the films I mentioned a few seconds ago, they think that it's all Hong Kong chop-sucky and Kung Fu, but it's not, these films take a lot of influence from the classic Noir films of the 30's and 40's, Triad films, gangster films, the classic films of old that any cinephile loves.When I first started doing these series of Van Damme reviews, I promised myself that I'd only do the films that had a theatrical release, but I broke my promise and decided to just do every single one of them, mainly because I have nothing else better to do with my time but also because I think I owe it to our beef-caked Belgian who shows his butt off in just about every film he's in.'Maximum Risk' is a good film from Van Damme because he is working with a director who is a master in this type genre, the fast-paced Action/Gangster/Neo-Noir film. The only problem I have with it is that it's clearly a French/Russian joint venture and yet neither of these languages are heard throughout. I had the same problem with 'Lionheart/A.W.O.L' and how (despite it being in the French Foreign Legion where it is quintessential to be able to speak French) the language is never heard, and this approach is quite insulting, particularly for people who look at these films for the filmic qualities rather than see them as empty-headed action films. I think it's insulting to anybody to assume that we can't understand French or Russian, or can't even read subtitles when necessary. That said, this film is actually quite good, it's certainly not 'Chinatown' or any other modern Noir film, and it doesn't rank highly amongst Ringo Lam's other films (notably 'City on Fire'), but it is actually quite a good film for all people to be able to check out latter day Van Damme films, and it's not a bad Ringo Lam film either. The premise is actually quite simple too - French detective (Van Damme) finds out that he has a twin brother from Russia who was separated at birth. Van Damme's brother is found dead and Van Damme wants to find out why, so he travels to America to investigate his brother's mob ties there.It's quite a simple film, nothing really complicated, and in some ways it's a lot like 'Romeo is Bleeding' only not as good, but it's not bad either. Sure, some of the dialogue is a bit stupid, and the idea that all Russian and French people speak English is a little insulting, but hey, I'll get over it. Not a bad Van Damme film at all.
A great Van Damme film that's up there with one of his best it's well plotted with some excellent action i really enjoyed it!
posted on 28 Sep 2008The 1st couple viewings I didn't like this Van Damme film, I thought it was too talky and dull, however my recent viewing has changed my views on this film dramatically, it's also one of Van Damme's best performances too in my opinion. It has some incredible car chase scenes(especially the one at the beginning), and There is a very realistic and fight scene at the fire scene in the elevator, plus it had me gripped and on the edge of my seat the whole time!. Natasha Henstridge did Good with Van Damme as they made a good pair, and the action set pieces are really quite impressive,however the only major gripe I had was the villain should have been better as I thought he was pretty weak in my opinion!. This film is also very underrated as it's often been criticized, and I love the scene where Van Damme snaps and almost kills the guy!, plus his scenes with the cab driver amused me as well!. Overall this is a great Van Damme film that is highly enjoyable and I say it's almost a must see for every Van Damme fan!. ***1/2 out of 5The Acting is pretty good!. Jean Claude Van Damme gives one of his finest performances here, he plays the twins again for a brief time, but He really did good in the acting department this time, he really held his own with Natasha, and was really intense in some scenes I really loved his performance here, his fight scenes were excellent as usual. Natasha Henstridge is gorgeous and did fine as the love interest, she had some pretty decent scenes and had good enough chemistry with Van Damme I liked her. Jean-Hugues Anglade is OK as the partner and did what he had to do adequately. Zach Grenier is so so as the villain he wasn't menacing enough for me and that was one weak part in the film for me
Van Damme's maximum best besides Double Team
posted on 11 Aug 2008This Movie is surely Van Damme's MAXIMUM best besides Double Team. It has a good story, cool music, and some pretty interesting and exciting action sequences. I am a fan of Van Damme's acting and martial arts skills but I haven't liked many of his movies. Not because of Van Damme himself, but because of cheap plots and bad action sequences. But this Van Damme movie hits the bullseye and it's worth watching.Van Damme stars as a policeman in France who finds out that he had a twin brother that he never knew who had been murdered. Wanting to dive more into the mystery of his brother's death he travels to New York and takes his brothers place in hope of some answers. But he gets a lot more than he hoped for because thugs are trying to kill him left and right, so he delivers extreme action, and gives them something to think about(that is if there not all dead yet!). So see this movie if you haven't yet or see it again if you have. If you like Van Damme I'd also recommend Double Team.
Maximum risk, but it's okay, this is France.
posted on 08 Aug 2008We plunge straight into a ferocious chase sequence in which Van Damme gets off to a cracking start by demolishing a balcony in the south of France. He then grabs one of those horrible French delivery scooters replete with oodles of that bountiful fruit you always see in France which then flies everywhere. A chase ensues in which many French people run screaming in terror. Various tables and chairs from French cafes take a tumble. More French citizens dash this way and that in a state of blind panic. A little later a French apartment block goes up in flames. Van Damme sees a women trapped in a burning room. Is it Juliet Binoche? Sadly no, and Van Damme saves her anyway. There is smoke everywhere. More French people run howling in a horrible state of distress. My God, is this the best film ever made? No, that's 'Fight Club'. This is the second best film ever made. AND Natasha Henstridge is in it.
Van Damme's Best.
posted on 18 Jun 2008"Maximum Risk" is not just a good Van Damme movie, but it's also probably one of the better action movies in the last few years. The story is well written (for an action movie), and is fast paced. Director Ringo Lam ("City on Fire") impresses the viewer with excellent action sequences. This is definitely Van Damme's best turn as an actor. Natasha Henstridge does a rather decent turn as the damsel in distress, and creates good chemistry between herself and Van Damme. I don't see why this was a huge flop in theaters; it's surely Van Damme's best and at heart an exciting action flick.
The same Damme thing
posted on 30 Jun 2007First of all, I'd like to apologize for the very bad pun I put in the one line summary, but it's late, and I swear, it sounded much better in my head. However, it is fairly accurate; the film is exactly like every other movie Van Damme has done. The lame one-liners, the cliché dialog, the stereotype characters, the decent-at-best action... I was honestly barely paying attention to this film, partly because I had seen it before, once, and couldn't remember if it was good or not(believe me, had I remembered it, I never would have watched it), but mainly because every time I did pay attention I almost instantly wound up mocking and laughing at what went on on-screen. It's just so typical and by-the-numbers that it's ridiculous. Every single action scene involved stuff that we've seen before(and more than enough of), every line of dialog tried to be clever but wound up being embarrassing, each of the "cool" villains were just too damn stereotypical and the whole thing was so preposterous and predictable that it was laughable rather than anything else. The plot is predictable and poorly paced. It's about... uh, Van Damme #1 gets killed, Van Damme #2 finds out #1 existed, some tame unrealistic fighting ensues, Van Damme breaks bones with the ease that only he and Steven Seagal can manage... eh, something else happens... like I said, I wasn't really paying very much attention to it. The one good thing I can say about this, and a lot of people will probably crucify me for saying this, but I have to say it; Natasha Henstridge looks hot as hell in this film, and if you are ever forced to watch this for whatever reason, or you find yourself being half bored by the film, stay awake for the sole reason of seeing her getting her freak on... the one bad thing about is that Damme is there too, but that is tolerable to see Natasha like that. If you're having trouble sitting through it, think of Natasha, look forward to the scene, or, even better, do what I did; laugh. Laugh at every single cliché-like and stereotypical thing that happens in the movie. That'll take you through it. What else is there to say... cinematography is uninspired, dialog is badly written, action is tiresome and not particularly well-choreographed, acting is decent, characters are cliché-like and stereotypical with not one shred of personality or development. What can I say; a decent at best typical Van Damme movie. I recommend it to fans of Jean-Claude Van Damme and anyone who are willing to sit through about 100 minutes of bad action flick to see Natasha Henstridge naked. 5/10
Over-plotted.
posted on 07 May 2007This Van Damme vehicle is plotty, yet the plot is mostly uninteresting, and ultimately cliched. The car chases are spectacular but repetitive, and that repetition quickly grows tiresome. Fight sequences are mostly impressive, but when Van Damme faced the same (great) opponent for the THIRD time, the thing started resembling a parody. Best reason to see the film is, as the first reviewer points out, the presence of the smashingly beautiful and athletic Henstridge. Van Damme's performance is OK, as always.
Beware! Only lousy full-screen Version!
posted on 29 Apr 2007Unfortunately, when ordering this item you will receive only a full-sreen version (aspect ratio 1.33:1)! There is no widesreen version on the disk as promised in the product details. Also, the Disc has not the black-and-white cover shown above but the dark orange-brown cover shown in the customer images.
I knew it would be good!
posted on 13 Apr 2007Jean-Claude Van-Damme is cool! I still think he's cool! "Maximium Risk" is awesome. I'm a fan of Hong Kong directors, and when I heard Ringo Lam, I knew this would be good. Van-Damme is not a bad actor. Working with a Hong Kong director would give you pointers on acting, and I think Van-Damme got them. Van-Damme did a good job in this movie. I liked the fight scenes for one thing. Van-Damme does that classic moves where he foot sweeps a guy who's standing on a car. Natasha Henstridge is so beautiful. She and Van-Damme made a great pair. I would like to see her in future movies. The story was good too. Sometimes we need movies that don't have very complicated stories. Not that that's bad, but I like my brain.
Strictly formulaic
posted on 24 Feb 2007The Story: Alain, a French policeman, is shocked to discover that he had a twin brother when his body is found in Nice. Investigating the murder, he finds out that he was in possession of a list that details the deeds of the Russian Mafia. Helped by his brother's girlfriend, Alain dodges Russian gangsters & corrupt FBI agents while trying to find the list."Maximum Risk" is another one of the long list of action films that feature Jean-Claude Van Damme. As far as things go, it is strictly formulaic. The script sticks to the clichés & the acting is mediocre. There are some nicely done action sequences, with an inventive car chase, a fight in a burning building, an escape through rooftops, a brutal fight in an elevator & JCVD fleeing his enemies over an elevated train line. Director Ringo Lam keeps everything going at a reasonable pace.
A deeply absorbing and merciless thriller.
posted on 16 Jan 2007A deeply absorbing and merciless thriller as a somber and possibly very melancholy French detective (Jean-Claude Van Damme) who comes to New York City's Little Odessa suburb under his dead twin brother's identity and not only gets his brother's girlfriend (Natasha Henstridge). He also becomes involved in a sticky situation with some nasty Russian mobsters which includes his brother's ruthless and bitter rival (Zach Grenier) and a pair of crooked FBI agents.What makes "Maximum Risk" so great and highly entertaining is that director Ringo Lam, who is a veteran of the Hong Kong action films like John Woo, never lets the characters become predictable. Also notable are the stunts and some of the car chases aren't only wild, it's clever, too. It's nice to see that Van Damme doesn't have to carry the film by himself and has a reliable international cast to back up. Van Damme gives, without a single doubt, his best performance here and that's not an understatement. It's the truth.
Good & Bad Of 'Maximum Risk'
posted on 24 Oct 2006This Jean-Claude Van Damme action vehicle gets good marks for sound, low profanity, some very good action scenes and some interesting characters that keep your attention. It loses marks for excessive violence, too much "Rambo" mentality (good guys don't get hit despite a barrage of bullets) and, yet, another modern-day film in which the FBI is corrupt. This is also another of these action films that has TOO much action. It would be better with some more lulls. It almost gets ridiculous in spots. Nevertheless, some of the scenes such as car chases, fires and explosions are so well-done you have to admire the great stunt work in here. Man, those stunt men earn their money!You would be hard-pressed to find two leads in any film with the bodies of Van Damme and Natasha Henstridge and neither are shy about showing them off, so you have the usual gratuitous sex scenes, but they are brief, as is the profanity. This is a loud film. If you have good speakers, be ready to have the room shake with lots of bass.Overall, it's about 100 minutes of mindless but entertaining diversion.
A surprising quality departure from Van Damme's usual formula movie
posted on 18 Sep 2006I've been a Van Damme fan since Blood sport, but sadly most of his movies I find are *really* bad and steadily decline. (exceptions=Kickboxer, Lionheart - formula movies but good nonetheless). I'm not sure what the background of this movie is, but it has a much higher degree of production quality and suprisingly realistic feeling stunt and action sequences. The fight scenes are great, you can sense a sincerity in the punches and blows, and the stunts are Jackie Chan quality. My favorite stunt is when the antagonist hit man throws him through the window of a building and he is barely hanging on - very well done. Plus it boasts a European car chase scene that goes through the streets of South France. Its no Ronin, but it holds its own.Unfortunately, the action sequences are interspersed with long slow dragging parts, but they at least create a serious tone that makes the movie feel more credible.All in all, a surpising blip on the Van Damme radar that sets it apart from his usual formula junk.
Damme Good Action Movie!!!
posted on 04 Aug 2009THIS HAS TO BE ONE OF VAN DAMME'S TOP 3 MOVIES. There is plenty of action and excitement that will make you want to watch it over and over again. Natasha Henstridge is down right sexy and georgeous. She played a perfect role in this movie. The movie was well-acted and thought it deserved a 5 star. This movie is a must-own on DVD. The sound quality is great as well as the picture. *Van Damme kicks plenty of...