Like the remainder of the directorial credit of Julien Leclercq, The Bouncer (also referred to as Lukas) is ready in a gritty, city, virtually noir-esque world. The settings and storylines concentrate on the downtrodden and the ignored, and this movie is not any totally different.
What’s totally different is to see Jean Claude Van Damme on this world. This movie is not like the colourful action extravaganzas an viewers has come to count on from Van Damme.
It’s a far cry from movies like Common Soldier, Road Fighter or the ‘wonderful’ Double Crew. Extra not too long ago, Van Damme has change into identified for a extra meta-type of movie/TV, by taking part in himself in JCVD, or a barely extra humorous model of himself within the TV sequence Jean Claude Van Johnson.
What he isn’t identified for is a gritty, right down to earth French movie, which The Bouncer tries to current itself as.
The primary time mixture of Leclercq with Jérémie Guez was influenced by the gritty, right down to earth fashion of French city cinema from the previous few many years, with hints of Le Haine (1995) and Un Prophète (2009) to call however a number of, permeating by way of The Bouncer.
Over the shoulder digicam angles permits the viewers to really feel central to the action, a part of the battle scenes and linked emotionally to central characters.
The movie virtually tries too arduous to copy this fashion, slowing down the storyline, limiting dialogue and specializing in emotional closeups of Van Damme. A lot so, that it’s now not an action movie, however turns into a drama with a number of battle scenes thrown in.
It’s an exploration of the character of Lukas and what he has to place himself and his daughter by way of to outlive everyday, after the demise of his spouse.
In some methods, this strategy works. The much less dialogue there may be for Van Damme, the extra real looking and true to life the movie feels. He’s the robust, silent sort; placing his physique on the road to offer for his household. Van Damme’s expressive face and lingering stares solely serve to help these points of his character.
The music helps the city and gritty really feel with thumping beats and emotional notes holding the eye of the viewers. The compositions supporting the scenes throughout the movie maintains the main focus of the viewers and suits virtually like Lukas’ heartbeat by way of the story.
All of those aesthetic makes an attempt to make the movie higher-brow don’t all the time repay. Van Damme entrance and heart within the commercial sells the movie a sure means. It gives sure expectations to its viewers.
Having Van Damme, entrance and heart make implications that the movie itself makes an attempt to beat. In itself, there may be an inherent battle within the thoughts of the viewer as to what this movie is, and this battle just isn’t solved with any sufficiency by the climax.
There are components of a Van Damme movie: his safety and tried rescue of the ladies who’re in hurt’s means, the journey of self-discovery, discovering himself between two issues and never understanding which to decide on.
All of those are current inside The Bouncer, and as such, it seems like a Van Damme movie at factors. He must take care of his daughter and he’s caught between the police searching for him to promote out his new gangster/ cash forging boss, whom Lukas works for as a bouncer at a nightclub.
The emotional turmoil is current on his face. They’re every blackmailing him otherwise to take care of his loyalty, to take care of the protection of his little one.
As such there are factors within the movie the place it’s really partaking, the sting of your seat stuff. The action, nevertheless, just isn’t. Barring a few gunshots right here and there and a fast wallop spherical the pinnacle that Van Damme gives an early nightclub punter who was getting mouthy, the action is little.
The longest battle scene is the place Lukas has utilized for a brand new bouncer job, having been fired from his earlier for assaulting the son of an essential authorities official (a mouthy punter who deserved it).
Lukas finds out, upon arrival on the ‘interview’, that it’s final man standing for the job and a brawl ensues. Right here we see a number of toe kicks that you just’d count on from Van Damme, however general he spent more often than not huffing and puffing and displaying his age, and barely making it previous the remainder of the job candidates.
He performs the downtrodden man anticipated within the gritty French cinema we have now come to count on. Van Damme did a superb job taking part in the position within the movie and demonstrates his versatility to play a extra weak, emotional character brilliantly. The place dialogue was wanted, he supplied. However it wasn’t a Van Damme movie and as such.
I recommend this because the dichotomy of the tow action kinds by no means fairly married to change into one coherent narrative and as such, I used to be left feeling lower than content material come to the tip. There was no emotional success fruits that I endeavored to search out, that Van Damme factor was omitted to the detriment of the viewers and selfishly, of me.
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