'The Last Mercenary' - Movie Review

Jean-Claude Van Damme has been around the action movie business for a very long time. He proved that he could act in "JCVD," but sadly this never led to him getting better roles. So he's still making cheesy action movies. This one doesn't fully acknowledge his age, but his character does have a college-age son. And, more importantly, it's pretty funny. It's not a very good movie or anything, but if all you want is some comedy and maybe a bit of martial arts fighting - you can do a lot worse.

Van Damme plays Richard Brumére, a former secret agent for France who vanished off the map as part of a deal to protect his newborn son. But now a bureaucratic screw-up has put his son's life in danger and suddenly Brumére must enter his son's life for the first time in 25 years. His son has no military training, and is horrified to be thrown into the midst of car chases and gun fights - although his two friends are surprisingly enthusiastic. It's mostly played for laughs, and I found it surprisingly successful. Van Damme's comedic timing isn't top notch, but it's more than adequate to keep things moving and he seems to be having a good time (as does everyone). And he's still seriously flexible. That doesn't mean you should watch this one for the fights: there are quite a few, and they showcase his flexibility, but they didn't do a great job of the fights overall.