Jean-Claude Van Damme needs no introduction. He has been a force in the action film scene
since the '80s, and he's not slowing down anytime soon. This summer the "Muscles from
Brussels" returns for another round in the thrilling martial arts movie "The Last Mercenary."
The star brings all of the signature moves that made him such an international superstar,
as well as a few new ones, to the action-comedy film.
The French-language movie features Van Damme as Richard Brumère, a former secret service
agent now working as an in-demand mercenary who's known only as "the Mist" thanks to his
ability to disappear into thin air to get the job of the day done.
Due to his high-profile status, Brumère secured immunity for his then-infant son, Archibald,
over two decades ago.
But once that protection is unexpectedly lifted and Archibald's life is threatened by the
mafia, Brumère must step in to save his son, even if the kid has no idea who his father
is or why he's been absent from his life up to that point. As Brumère assembles an eclectic
new team, he finds that he's in for a fight like none other when his foes close in.
That's where Van Damme's extreme martial arts skills come into play in a big way.
There are many awesome fight scenes that show off Van Damme's impressive talents in "The
Last Mercenary," but there's one scene in particular that shows why his character's
enemies should never try to take him on.
Throughout his blockbuster career, Van Damme has become one of the most recognizable and
respected action heroes of all time, thanks in no small part to the fact that he brings
his formidable real-life fighting skills to the big screen. The man has a black belt in
karate, and he's competed in full-contact kickboxing competitions. Fans of the actor
would be hard-pressed to pick a favorite among his films because he's got so many cinematic
wins under his belt, including "Kickboxer," "Bloodsport," "Timecop," "Universal Soldier,"
"Street Fighter," and "Hard Target," just to name a few.
"I'm going to kick that son of a bitch Bison's ass so hard, that the next Bison wannabe is
gonna feel it."
In "The Last Mercenary," Van Damme gets a chance to remind audiences exactly why he's
still such a top-tier talent of the genre. At first, his character uses some very creative
evasion skills to keep his unusual team out of harm's way -- and to make good on his nickname,
of course. But despite some ingenious efforts to pull off an undercover operation, he eventually
finds himself face-to-face with danger once the stakes are raised even higher. Even though
Brumère is outnumbered and lacks the kind of weaponry that might easily win him a fight,
he's still an absolute force to be reckoned with, and he makes his opponents pay for even
trying to test him.
Things come to a head when Brumère and Archibald are caught trying to impersonate the "Scarface"-obsessed
criminal who's been stealing Archibald's identity as a cover for a dangerous weapons exchange.
After the father and son duo's plan to buy the so-called "Big Mac" device and catch the
sellers in their international terrorism scheme goes south, Brumère must engage in some good,
old-fashioned hand-to-hand combat with the goons.
Or make that foot-to-foot combat, because, though Brumère has little more than a terrible
costume wig to work with, he still has a mean kick, something no Van Damme character is
complete without. And while introducing his foot to their faces isn't enough to fully
stop the villains, it does buy Brumère enough time to come up with more inventive fight
maneuvers.
Since the fight takes place in a neon-soaked game room, there are plenty of toys that can
be used as deadly weapons. From a boxing bag to stray billiard balls, this rumpus room
is filled with objects that the resourceful Brumère can use to his advantage. Between
his sweeping kicks, gnarly jabs, and a few unexpected weapons, Brumère gets the better
of the squad of attackers almost all by himself, even if he takes a few bowling pins to the
noggin along the way.
Eventually, his team jumps into the action to secure the payload, but Brumère doesn't
quit serving up some pain to his attackers. By the end of the fight, nary a strand of
his fake hair is out of place. Throughout the entire scene, we're reminded of all of
the ways Jean-Claude Van Damme can manipulate his environment to hold his own against his
enemies, no matter how many there are or how few weapons he has at his disposal.
Simply put, we wouldn't bet against him in a fight, and we certainly wouldn't want to
be on his bad side.
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