Jean-Claude Van Damme

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Steven Berkoff

Nicholas Farrell

Jim Carter

Ana Sofrenović

Daniel Caltagirone

Joseph Long

Mario Kalli

Joe Montana

Kim Rømer

Kamel Krifa

Emma Boardman

Tom Delmar

David Hayman

Rob Kaman

Derek Lea

Andy Smart

Colin Goodwin

Annette McLaughlin

Nosher Powell

Chloe Treend

Takis Triggelis

Vincent Pickering

Paul Kynman

Anders Peter Bro

Rebecca Morrison

Christian Halsey Solomon

Peter MacDonald

Sheldon Lettich

Richard G. Murphy

Nathan Schroeder

Marco Trentini

Hayat Ouled Dahhou

Alberto Moccia

Alessandra Querzola

Samuel Hadida

Edward R. Pressman

Maria Teresa Corridoni

Roberto Malerba

Mike Murphy

Desideria Corridoni

Wendi Friedman

Charles Wood

Katalin Elek

John Altman

Christopher Tellefsen

Irene Lamb

Franco Fumagalli

Zoltan Elek

Werner Koenig

Gregory G. Woertz

Douglas Milsome

Jamie Christopher

Greg Powell

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Adventure

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Legionnaire

Quadra Entertainment

United States of America

English

shepherd

martial arts

rebel

morocco

foreign legionaire

sword fight

revenge

battlefield

gunfight

soldier

battle

desert

combat

behind enemy lines

1920s

action hero

inspirational

Filipe Manuel Neto

**The best Van Damme movie, for me.**

I picked up this movie by chance, right at the beginning, and I watched it. I liked the style, the atmosphere, and the fact is that the film turned out to be very good. The film begins when a boxer, who should have lost a fight, decides not to comply with the agreement, harming some mobsters, who go after him to kill him. In order to escape and hide, he enlists in the Foreign Legion and goes to Morocco, where he will have to survive a commission in times of war.

Jean Claude Van Damme really surprised me with his work, completely outside of what he has accustomed us to. I don't even like this actor very much, and I really enjoyed watching him work in this film! It is, for me, the best film of Van Damme's career to date, and excellent proof that he can do better, and differently, when he wants to. I also enjoyed seeing Nicholas Farrell, Steven Berkoff, Jim Carter and Daniel Caltagirone.

The script is not complicated and also not original, but it works very well and gives us a good story, which never feels like a mere excuse to send the character to fight in Morocco. It's a good action movie, a movie that takes itself seriously and does its best to be taken seriously by the public. There is a good set of sets, excellent costumes, a legitimate and serious effort to recreate the historical period with some accuracy. The filming locations were also meticulously selected and are magnificent, something cinematography is no stranger to. Indeed, the film has magnificent colors and was well shot. In addition to all this, it is worth listening to the soundtrack, where the melody “Mon Legionaire” stands out clearly.

**_Jean-Claude Van Damme adventure in the Moroccan desert_**

In 1925, a boxer in Marseille (Van Damme) makes some big enemies and so joins the French Foreign Legion in which he’s assigned to Morocco during the Rif war to defend a desert outpost against Abd el Krim’s Berber guerillas.

“Legionnaire” (1998) begins like “The Cotton Club” (1984) before settling into a plot reminiscent of “The Dirty Dozen” (1967) with the North African milieu of “March or Die” (1977) or “Khartoum” (1966), not to mention an ending similar to “The Alamo” (1960).

Like “The Flight of the Phoenix” (1965) and “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962), this is a movie involving the challenges of sweaty men in the vast, beautiful desert. As such, don’t look for many, if any, women in the proper cast, although Ana Sofrenovic has a small role. 

While this lacks the martial arts action of most Van Damme flicks, there are plenty of fights and military combat. The opening sequence in Marseilles is well done and the desert cinematography is both colorful and breathtaking. I was expecting a low-budget affair, but was impressed by the production values. Although not a blockbuster, it cost $20 million in 1997 when it was shot, which is nothing to sneeze at.

Unfortunately, the story isn’t as dramatically compelling as “The Dirty Dozen,” “The Flight of the Phoenix,” “Lawrence of Arabia” or “The Alamo.” The script needed another rewrite or two to flesh out some depth. As it is, a couple of the villains are too comic booky and the black character (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who’s stalwart in the role) is the cliched American that’s (supposedly) ever so hurt by white American society. It smacks of Lib Hollywood propaganda and is just hackneyed & eye-rolling.

The film runs 1 hours, 39 minutes, and was shot in Morocco.

GRADE: B-

J.C.V.D - Legionnaire [1998] - Trailer (HD)

Legionnaire( 1998)

A fugitive from a killer. A remote outpost. A fight to the death.

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A review by Filipe Manuel Neto

Written by Filipe Manuel Neto on Tue Apr 25 2023

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