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For an action film from the eighties, starring Sho Kosugi and Jean Claude Van Damme, there was a lot of hype surrounding when it came out. Seeing as the director previously worked with Chuck Norris in The Octagon one would assume it would do well. Sadly, that is not always a correct statement.
Black Eagle’s plot is initiated when an American F-11 fighter jet gets shot down. The jet’s fuselage sinks somewhere in the Mediterranean ocean close to the coast of Malta, and the United States government is hellbent on recovering it. Why you may ask? It contained an important new laser-tracking device that, if put into the wrong hands, could be disastrous for the country. To assist with the situation, the CIA calls in their top gun, Ken Tani, who is famously played by Sho Kosugi. He is sent to Malta where his children, portrayed by Sho’s real life children, Kane and Shane Kosugi, have been told they are on holiday. They meet with gun specialist Patricia Parker, who has been working with Doran Clark as well as a priest and oceanology expert known as Father Joseph Bedelia (Bruce French). The expectation is that with Bedelia’s assistance, Tani would be able to retrieve the laser tracker from the ocean floor.
Naturally, some Russians have surfaced in 1988. Col. Vladimir Klimenko (Vladimir Skomarovsky) and his sidekick Andrei (Jean-Claude Van Damme), the knife throwing splits artist, try to capture the same prize. This result in plenty of face kicking, and butt showing from JCVD. It looked like a contractual obligation in late 80’s and early 90’s Van Damme movies, and why not – if at one’s disposal flaunt it. His employment of it is utterly laughable.
Black Eagle had the makings of an epic movie, yet failed to hit the mark for some reason. It is not completely unwatchable though. As far as the eighties action movies go, the pacing is quite slow in the middle section and the story can get quite messy at times. The cinematography of The Maltese Islands were quite beautiful and set an exotic mood that made the film feel more high budget than it actually was. It was pretty cool seeing Sho and JCVD go head to head in three different matches. During their final battle, Sho was drenched in black oil as they fought in front of a huge fire. There were all sorts of cool moves performed, including numerous spin kicks, some Sho like ninja action, and more bad acting than you could expect.
Kosugi, while clearly laboring through English lines, comes off rather charming here. As dumbfounded as I am watching him beach backflip teach his Heathcliffe comic reading kids how to do Taco Bell title page turns, I can admit there is some charm in it. Admittedly, Van Damme’s acting range here did not require much. He gets to stare blankly at people while he kicks them, which I contend is the best way to engage with the world. He does, or did, get to have sex with a Russian girl, slack some splits, and like most, he enjoys throwing knives for fun. Nirvana said “Come as you are”, but it makes no sense how he does not own a single shirt and dry humorously enforcing violence. Supporting work from the mini-Kosugi’s is exactly what you want from child actors in an 80s action movie. Bruce French and Doran Clark are pretty good for their secondary roles and try their best at playing quite dull characters.
It should’ve been more interesting than it was. For one, no one seems to bleed when shot which indicates there might be some financial constraints that take away from the action set pieces, and the pacing could have been handled in a much better way. However, the cult of Sho should be glad that he has a lot of screen time in this movie, and that he gets to play the good guy too.
Consider that this disc contains both the ninety-three minute theatrical cut, as well as the one-hundred-and-four minute uncut extended version of the film. The quality of both cuts is about the same, however, the extended cut does elaborate some of the specific points. In my opinion, the extended version adds more plot points and while the theatrical version has better pacing.
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