
It was only after watching Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Darkness of Man that it dawned upon me that it is not so recent since this veteran actor has featured prominently in an action movie. True, there was The Last Mercenary (2021) which is a pretty fun film, but that one was more of a spoof based on the action genre where Van Damme acted in an image spoof like he did in JCVD (2008) and Jean Claude Van Johnson (2016).
For a true hard hitting, Van Damme vehicle, you would need to turn back to the likes of The Bouncer aka Lukas (2018) or We Die Young (2019), both of which gave him as much opportunity to show off his performing abilities as they did his action ones. Just like the aforementioned films, Darkness of Man is not a full-bore action piece as those that made Van Damme famous in the first place, but there is still a moderate range of grimy combat sequences and gun battles to satisfy both Van Damme and action fans in general.
In Pound of Flesh, Jean Claude Van Damme plays ex-Interpol Agent Russell Hatch who is an alcoholic Michaloto who has lost everything. On one hand, he seems to be a consuming fire fueled by alcohol because of the unbearable loss of informant Esther but there is one thing he holds on to a promise that he made to keep it clean for Esther’s son Jayden. He beats Esther’s grandfather and keeps him safe.
Mr. Kim’s son Dae Hyun (Peter Jae) bonds the fact that his father, seems to do nothing against the Russian gangsters ethnically clashing in their space, so he decides to do violence which connects Dae Hyun and Jayden with the danger. With the Russians coming on a rage, it’s Dae Hyun who wants to do what it takes to get the Russians out.
When I saw that Darkness of Man was directed by James Cullen Bressack, I have to confess that I was not excited. I have nothing against this prolific director, but all I knew Bressack from was a few Geezer Teaser movies – which were, let’s be honest, not the best pieces. They claim to have stars like Steven Seagal, Bruce Willis, and Mel Gibson but these launch names have been pushed to the side as has been the case with Beyond the Law, Survive the Night, and Hot Seat.
Fortunately, this is not the case for Darkness of Man. Van Damme is in the spotlight where he belongs. It is hard to think of a single framework that can still be seen in the current performance. He personifies a lot of characters and gives them a rather stuffed and emotionally muted performance. His character Russell obviously has a lot to share. The portrayal of Russell is done with much weightage as it is best utilized by Van Damme\’s age. Although he still has the ability to participate in the thick of action, this is not the balletic husband we had in our childhood. At times he even takes more blows than he actually dishes out.
Unlike Seagal, Van Damme has always put in the effort to meet the expectations of his fans, and this has not changed even here, as he even contributed to the writing of the story. Just like the damaged characters he played in the aforementioned Lukas and We Die, Young, Darkness of Man was a movie that allowed Van Damme to express a multitude of emotions as his character Russell was mourning over the death of his wife Esther and his duty to protect her son Jayden, who is antagonistic toward him. It certainly does not help that Jayden is portrayed as one of those annoying little movie kids who screech and mistreat the hero.
Aside from appearing in practically all of the film’s shots, Jean-Claude Van Damme sounds over the loudspeaker in a voice action sequence that is not essential but still adds to the dark-sounding atmosphere that Bressack wished the movie to have. Another factor that contributes to the dark and neo-noir look is that most of the action scenes of Darkness of Man are set during the nighttime, with the streets either being soaked in rain or blood.
It’s quite evident that the film has a digital look. However, cinematographer Pascal Combes-Knoke was able to capture some good shots even sparingly dosing the film with neon silhouettes which was nice. It is commendable that many DTV/VOD films try to achieve a visual style but often some budgetary constraints tend to sweeten the deal around here. Some terribly done rear projection techniques are utilised here that seem completely out of place. Would it have been too much to ask to have Van Damme film a shot of him wielding a gun at night rather than unsuccessfully trying to greenscreen him into a nighttime scene? As expected, there are some poorly done muzzle flash effects, though not as many as there could have been with a lot of the gunthering and blood effects holding their own.
As regards the blood effects, Darkness of Man kept getting more and more interesting as it focused on finger shots, head explosions, and players getting blasted so much their guts flopped out. I mean it’s not Rambo’s (2008) territory, but still commendable to see Bressack push the boundaries of violence that far.
In addition to delivering a solid performance, Van Damme, as expected, also appears in a number of notable fight scenes. Luke LaFontaine, who took care of the fights in last year’s outstanding Boudica (2023), is responsible for a couple of brutally intense action sequences in this one. What I am stressing is, that the fights are somewhat different in their tone. The action is less stylized, emphasizing the punches and kicks less.
For me though, the highlight is the fight in a garage between a bunch of van Damme and his wannabe gangsters. The entire fight is captured from inside a car, and the camera moves around the car, alternating between the different angles. Bressack, thanks to some excellent style combined with very well-executed camera techniques and blocking, manages to execute the scene very convincingly for the viewers, with certain parts appearing as if they were filmed in a single take.
Also, the way the artist shoots the action also makes it possible for Van Damme to be doubled when necessary, though this is rather less obvious than it sounds. One of the reasons for this is that in most of the fight movies, including Sudden Death (1995) film, the filmmakers have sensibly used the Valencians plus multiple coach Todd Senofonte.
Perhaps there could have been one or two more action sequences added during the film. What is included is more than capably done but perhaps more action could have added to the pace of the film. While there isn’t a section of the film that is boring in nature, there are particular portions that could have been cut for the sake of the smoothness of the film as a whole.
One of them is the addition of some irrelevant characters. Apart from Kristana Loken, most of them look like needed to be there so they do not waste the screen. Sticky Fingaz appears as Russell’s ex-Interpol partner but he is hardly useful in the scheme of things except for the fact that he attempts to pull Russell back in. Even Peter Jae who is supposed to be the main bad guy of the film does not come across as menacing as he is intended to.
At least they have more to do than action star Cynthia Rothrock who turns up for one useless scene as a nurse. Similarly, Shannen Doherty and Kris Van Damme appear in a single useless scene which makes one think they will be seen later but do not even get to share any on-screen space with their father. A customer at a taco van is even more bizarre when Eric Roberts makes a brief appearance. His appearance would have been worthwhile if it served to enhance the storyline or was humorous but nope, he just ordered tacos.
These revenues, bills, and appearances are part of my primary concern with the film. I understand that Jean-Claude Van Damme is an amazing actor, but there aren’t any interesting actors to work with him. The story is of typical and amateurish revenge plot where one can find too many action movies with almost the same narrative. However, almost all of them manage to be unique in one way or another, this being their combination of great characters and definitely good dialogues. This is something that Darkness of Man is unable to do and is what prevents it from being a true action masterpiece.
The major highlight of the movie is the presence of Jean-Claude Van Damme. That is also probably what will draw most audiences to this film. Being a huge fan let’s say of Van Damme, I was pleased to see him on screen again but even then still remains cut out of the equation. It is nowhere near the legendary status that he enjoyed at his prime or for that case, any of his later DTV performances. But still, there is enough Van Damage to justify the time spent sitting through the movie.
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