Jean Claude Van Damme He was one of the biggest stars in action movies of the 90s, but his most splendid stage has long since been left behind. That has prevented him from continuing to work regularly, but it is also true that the vast majority of his latest jobs have gone unnoticed, so his signing for Netflix To headline ‘The Last Mercenary’ it was presented as a golden opportunity to return to the front line.
For the occasion, an action comedy has been chosen in which the famous Belgian actor has no problem laughing to a certain extent at what he represents himself. It is not something new, because he already embroidered it in ‘JCVD’ and also left good feelings in the short-lived series ‘Jean-Claude Van Johnson’, but here he does not give life to a fictionalized version of himself. The result is quite discreet, although the Belgian actor does measure up.
The best, Van Damme
“The Last Mercenary” is an action comedy that rarely manages to be funny beyond what Van Damme contributes. He is inspired by his role as an absent father who returns to protect his son but without telling him who he really is. That allows him to show some insecurity rather than being another invincible character with little to contribute beyond the scenes in which he distributes tow.
However, it is a pity that the moments reserved for their physical appearance are not more abundant. It is true that the montage of ‘The Last Mercenary’ is not especially inspired by enhancing the show, but the protagonist of ‘Timecop’ shows that still in top shape at 60, especially in the sequence that takes place in an arcade that is the most charming of the entire show.
Beyond that, Van Damme is also the best in the most relaxed scenes, knowing first to squeeze the most mysterious side of the character to later play with that relative fragility to which it is exposed and even providing the necessary credibility to certain script solutions that a priori should have given rise to scenes bordering on the shame of others.
More shadows than lights
The problem is that there is very little around him that deserves to be rescued. There are curious notes like that criminal obsessed with Al Pacino’s Tony Montana in ‘The Price of Power’, but it ends up being a mere eccentricity in which he repeatedly relapses. For the rest, there is a clear tendency to the monotonous that the script signed by David Charhon and Ismael Sy Savane he tries to correct through humor with little success.
The best example of this we have with the character played by Alban Ivanov, who fulfills a purely comic function. In it we find a kind of attempt to seek to connect with a more familiar audience, thus unbalancing ‘The last mercenary’ to the point that its more serious aspect it is impossible to take it seriously. Not to mention its function to advance the plot on several occasions in a somewhat capricious way.
In the end, the big problem with the film is not so much that it is not especially funny or spectacular as the feeling it conveys of not being very clear about what exactly you are looking for. That damages its possibilities as entertainment and I cannot say that Charhon contributed anything especially stimulating from the staging to give ‘The Last Mercenary’ a certain identity. There is one more, and visually it is also somewhat flat.
Thus, this french production Netflix ends up being delusional without really looking for it and by the time the resolution arrives, one is simply still there because he has been lazy to get up from the sofa or had the remote too far. Nor is it that it becomes offensive -although it is absurd, and not for the better-, but it is a pity that they waste a Van Damme who does know how to balance his more forceful side with a lighter and funnier side.
In short
‘The Last Mercenary’ might have been good entertainment halfway between the comical and the blunt, but when push comes to shove it is a disappointing proposition in which the only thing that makes you smile is a pretty inspired Jean-Claude Van Damme. Little else apart from that.