ivo-cobra8 Disclaimer: If you are a viewer that mainly prefers art-house-type movies, then you might as well ignore this review. In addition, if you're not able to take a Van Damme a solid performance of a good action drama movie, ignore this review, as well. We'll both be better off.Until Death (2007) is Solid performance by Jean-Claude Van Damme in my opinion it is a good action drama movie, that I really think Jean-Claude Van Damme acted perfectly. I really love the actor I am his biggest fan, beside Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, I grew up watching Jean-Claude Van Damme movies. Watching Direct to Video movies I must say this is really his good job and I think this movie deserves much better score than just 6. I have enjoyed this movie and I have always liked it. I seen this film for the very first time.I didn't mind the film for Van Damme's performance tough to me, I'll put this film in the same pile with ''In Hell'',''Replicant''&''Wake of Death''(I can say I felt that film's pacing & action was more well done then this film IMO) but overall still a decent film I would recommend to people who say Van Damme can't act I can safely say this film along with the others I brought up are real prove that he's a miles better actor then Steven Seagal will ever be! This movie is really great. Has great action, great acting, and a great story. In my opinion this is Van Damme at his BEST! Great direction and acting, Van Damme's performance is incredible (in my humble opinion), intense in first part and very sympathetic in second, and just like this movie, it's criminally underrated. Action scenes are decent, specially the final shootout. It's really quite a shame that Van Damme made so many good movies which deserved theatrical release and more recognition. But at least fans really like them and spread the word for others to check 'em out.Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in this bone-chilling, action-packed thriller as Anthony Stowe, a down-and-out detective addicted to heroine whose days always seem to go from bad to worse. Stowe is coming off of a drug deal, in which two officers were killed, and the primary villain, the drugs, the money and the surveillance tapes are still at large. He is also dealing with his wife, who has just informed him that she is pregnant - but the child is not his. After a gunfight in which Stowe comes very close to death, he falls into a coma. While on the road to recovery, Stowe finds himself in a very personal battle to make amends with his kidnapped wife and to take revenge on his assailant once and for all! That is the basic plot about the film, it does involve one man's rehabilitation from been an evil person to a good heart decent person. Anthony Stowe (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is a guy who is addicted to a heroin and he is a dirty cop in New Orleans. A terrible, lousy husband who only cares is about him self. Stephen Rea as Gabriel Callaghan was his partner, but he become a drug dealer, Stowe become a greedy and wanted everything for him self. So he turn against Callaghan and he decided he will take him down. Stowe was in the café diner set up by beautiful woman and he walked right in to the trap by Callaghan's goons and was shot in the head, but not without a fight. Anthony Stowe woke up from the coma and he tried rebuild his life, by been a good person. Anthony had a lot of damages he made to fix. Everyone hated him on the precinct and they suspect he was a dirty cop. The final showdown on the end of the movie was pretty good.I like this movie it is not my favorite and it is still good performance by Jean-Claude Van Damme, this movie get's 9 by me. I am glad there are more JCVD fans like me out there. I think Simon Fellows did a good job directing this movie, I liked his previous movie 7 Seconds (2005) with Wesley Snipes in the leading role. I still have to re watch Second in Command and gave a honestly opinion about it. A lot of people including my friend likes that movie.Until Death is a 2007 American action film directed by Simon Fellows, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Gary Beadle. The film was released on direct-to-DVD in the United States on April 24, 2007.9/10 Grade: A- Studio: Millennium Films Nu Image films Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Gary Beadle, Mark Dymond, Selina Giles, Rachel O'Meara, Trevor Cooper, Rachel Grant, Stephen Rea Director: Simon Fellows Producers: René Besson, Moshe Diamant, Yaron Lemelbaum, James Portolese Screenplay: Dan Harris, James Portolese Rated: R Running Time: 1 Hr. 41 Mins. Budget: $15.000.000 Box Office: $214,059

Paul Andrews Until Death is set in New Orleans where narcotics cop detective Anthony Stowe (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is involved in a bust to capture drug lord Gabriel Cllahan (Stephen Rea) but it goes wrong & two cops are killed in the process as Callahan gets away. Addicted to drugs & generally happy to break the law whenever he feels like it Stowe continues his pursuit of Callahan but ends up getting shot in the head & going into a coma. Six months later & Stowe awakes to find another man has moved in with his wife & Callahan still at large, after an attempt is made on his life Stowe decides to continue his search for Callahan but his pregnant wife is kidnapped as Callahan wants to end the feud between the two once & for all which suits Stowe just fine...This American, English, Bulgarian & German co-production was directed by Simon Fellows who also directed JCVD in the equally awful Second in Command (2006) & is quite simply a terrible film that goes for drama rather than action. Available in two versions there is the US cut which was 'supervised' by JCVD himself & the European cut supervised by director Fellows & since I live in the UK it's safe to say I say the European cut which actually runs about five minutes longer & has a more downbeat ending. For a start Until Death makes the fatal mistake of being as boring as hell, seriously this thing is so slow moving it's untrue & it long outstays it's welcome. The action scenes are really poor & unimaginative, there are three shoot-outs & that's it with no trademark JCVD fights or punch-ups at all or at least none that I can remember. The character's are poor, JCVD is mean & horrible before the come but all sweetness & light after? Eh? How did that happen? Considering his wife is having another mans baby JCVD forgives her easily & all the secondary character's barely figure with the main villain Callahan getting about two minutes of screen time until the end when there's supposedly some big twist about who he is but ultimately it means nothing. Some JCVD DTV efforts haven't been too bad & he's still capable of turning in a decent flick but this is just rubbish that most of his fans hoping to see some action will be disappointed with.The action in Until Death is some of the most lethargic, uninspired & downright boring I have seen in a while with a couple of shoot-outs for the first hour & a half & nothing else. Seriously that's it. The final shoot-out is as dull as dishwater & feels like it goes forever, a couple of BMW's crash but nothing that exciting & it all boils down to yet more shooting at each other from a distance. Boring. There's one amusing bit though when he threatens to take a prostitute in unless she has sex with him & he does her bent over a pool table & once finished she looks at him & says 'your not human', if that happened to me I don't know whether I would be offended or pleased!With a supposed budget of about $15,000,000 a lot of Until Death was actually shot in Bulgaria. It looks competent enough but there's no real style or flair here at all. The acting is poor & the way JCVD goes from bad cop to good must have something to do with his sideburns since he has some at the start but when he recovers from his coma they are gone.Until Death is one of those dull lifeless by the numbers JCVD piece of rubbish that he really shouldn't be making, it's the type of film that even if you watch it on telly for free you feel disappointed & quite frankly cheated. One of JCVD's worst.

tedg Yes, I watch dumb movies, sometimes finding intelligent ones. This happens even in porn, though the slog through is rough going.Violent movies are porn, pure and simple. Segal, Van Damme, Conner, are simply action toys for three and four year old boys and viewers who wish they were. But this is a bit different. No, it blazes no new ground; in fact the notion of a late in life "coming of age" film with little violence has been well plowed. But its something rather important to see someone who we know is actually dumb and violent singularly shift his career path and do one.The story is simple: broken man, broken heart. Very, very bad guys out there that he is singlehandedly battling, over the obstructive but typical black chief. (Is there a more prevalent film type than the honest, caring but tough black police boss?) He nearly dies, then revives, and settles the score. But instead of the simple "good guy is stronger so beats the bad guy's butt," we have a similar dynamic but with presumed growth. That seldom happens. The folding of battling with marriage and battling (the bad parts of) society is clear.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

jim miskell There has been a lot of hype over the years with numerous Van Damme comebacks, We are constantly promised each new release is the one, the film to signal the return of some bad ass van damage! So Until Death, whats the crack then, any good? Well in my humble opinion I would have to give it a resounding thumbs up. Not very likely for a straight to DVD action flick straight into the Tesco DVD chart at number 19 starring a washed up action star.The golden generation of action stars i grew up watching are getting old, it's a sad fact, there once ripped physiques are now saggy old man boobs and there latest releases with the exception of the amazing Stallone Rambo/Rocky comeback tend to fail to live up to the standard set in there early classic pictures. Arnie began to loose it after the atrocious Batman & Robin, Seagal fair lost it after Under siege, Van Damme after the monumental flop that was Double Team & Stallone after the quite frankly pants Get Carter, Driven, D-Tox, etc... So back to the movie.Van Damme plays a junkie crooked cop as bent as Peter Crouch's flailing limbs. Know one likes him, his wife is playing hide the sausage with some fancy man & gets knocked up and quite frankly the wham bam Van Damme man has not a lot to live for. He is hot on the trail of the incredibly clichéd named Rogue Cop/criminal Calahan who used to be his partner, another cliché thrown into the story but nether the less plays an important anchor for the characters actions. Van Damme gets shot in the head and is put in a coma, but will he come out of it a better person? You will just have to head to the Teco DVD chart to find out :) Van Damme has realised with his waining popularity over the years and the inabiliity to star in bigger budget productions he cant do the action as well as in Hard target and Time Cop etc and hasn't got the resources and the Directors offering him work he used to. This means that Until Death has much more Drama and much more plot and story time to really get you interested in the characters, the action does come and is run of the mill shoot, shoot duck behind barrel, then shoot some fella wearing really crap sunglasses it even has a few quoteable lines for when your in the Pub with the lads to act out, which is fantastic if you ask me. The supporting cast do a fine job, with a few slightly dodgy American accents along the way, Van Damme plays the lead with great dignity and i really genuinely believe this is his best role since, well ever acting wise.Even the name of the film is quite poignant for the themes recurring in the film and at the credits I had a 'I get it moment'.If you are a fan of Jean Claude and would like to see him doing something rather than roundhouse people in the face I would definitely recommend Until Death it's a fantastic character driven movie that for a couple of quid on DVD is well worth adding to your collection.Roll on The Shepherd! :) Van Dammes back!