dhubka
Seriously! I have been a huge Van Damme fan for decades, and I had no IDEA he was a secret super agent in REAL LIFE! This documentary shows how dedicated he is to serving justice at the same time as producing high quality film. If Steven Segal really DID work for the CIA, how come he doesn't get a show like this? Because Segal is a POSER! Van Damme is the real thing! Trust this eBayer!
davideo-2
STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday MorningSERIES ONEIn his heyday, Jean Claude Van Damme was one of the most renowned action stars, a cultural icon nearly on a par with Schwarzenegger or Stallone. But these days, his passion has gone as his star has waned, appearing in straight to DVD non-entities, helmed by directors with delusions of grandeur. However, unbeknownst (to us all!), he's also a real life undercover agent (well, Steven Seagal was a cop!) operating under the codename Jean Claude Van Johnson. His old employer calls him in to thwart a massive heroin dealing operation, all to be controlled by a giant weather controlling device (don't ask!) Along the way, he must reconnect with himself, and come to terms with unresolved issues from his past.Self referentially sending himself and his true to life current career predicament up, Jean Claude Van Damme has taken a subversive step with this surrealist, post-modern series, in the vein of work such as Being John Malkovich and Pauly Shore is Dead. It's great that he's in on the joke and willingly takes pot shots at himself, in something that will surely generate more interest than another one of his generic, straight to DVD non-entities. And while it fires a few too many blanks to be considered great, it's generally on the ball and successful.At times, it's quite funny, but it's never really as hilarious or impressive as it wants to be. It suffers as well from a slightly wobbly, inconsistent story that doesn't always flow as smoothly from one episode to the next. It's an ambitious project from VD, the sort of premise he first capitalized on with his regular appearances in those Cors Light adverts, but which, like this, were, pretty much hit and miss. The absurdity and outlandishness of the whole thing keeps it ticking along, though, more than enough to hold you for just about all six episodes.While there's scope for improvement in the next series, this first one has been surprising and funny enough. And, yeah, I agree, Timecop is way better than Looper. ***
Ornlu Wolfjarl
I've just finished watching this and I must say I'm blown away. I did not expect it to be this amazing. I was anticipating something mediocre, but instead I was served a great action/comedy and I couldn't help but watch all 6 parts in one sitting.The series is both a homage and a satyrism of 80s action films , the film industry and modern audiences. It manages to pull off a great combination of the three, managing to keep it at just the right level, while deliberately sprinkling the viewer with well-done action scenes. It brims with over-the-top ideas, bold humor and unexpected turns in the story. There were many scenes that caught me completely unaware with the direction they went. I couldn't keep myself from bursting laughing out loud, which is a rarity these days.JCVD gives a fine performance as well. It mustn't have been easy playing 3 different roles at once: The famous but depressed movie star, the secret agent and the action hero/bad actor. Not to mention the many other faces he puts throughout. The rest of the cast is doing OK. I can't say anyone shined in particular, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. The thing is that elements that would otherwise would be downsides work in favor for the series, because they blend in nicely with the effort to make a light satyre.There is an interesting plot going in the background as well. It's simple, it's well-paced and well-executed and doesn't detract from the main focus, which is the characters. Rather it builds alongside.My only gripe is that fight scenes that didn't involve JCVD weren't done very well. They were executed too slowly and were shouting "fake" from a mile away. Still they were extremely rare, so I can't say I can complain about it much.If you are a fan of old action flicks, I highly recommend you get the gang together for the weekend, order some food, sit down and enjoy Jean Claude Van Johnson.
