Bullet Points: Darkness of Man
The latest from Jean-Claude Van Damme, 2024’s Darkness of Man, dropped earlier this month and some how I let it slip right by me. I knew before the month was over (and my JCVD Fan Club Membership was revoked) that I needed to check it out on VOD and check it out I did…
- Cold Open: We are introduced to Interpol Operative Russell Hatch (Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lionheart) as he is waiting for Esther at a diner somewhere in Miami. When she finally arrives, she is certain some bad stuff is about to go down… Hatch wants to help her, so Esther gives him an address to check out. Esther plans on getting the hell out of town and is going to head to her motel room to pack her things and go. Before the two part, Esther makes Hatch promise her that whatever happens that night, that Hatch will make sure her son Jayden is taken care of. Things don’t end well for Esther or Hatch that night… Esther’s motel room is invaded by masked assailants who kill her and make it look like an overdose, while Hatch finds himself shot after walking right into an ambush… cue the opening credits.
- Koreatown: The movie picks up two years later in Los Angeles. It’s there that Hatch has started a new life, living in a cheap motel, spending time with his veterinarian girlfriend Claire (Kristanna Loken, Bounty Killer) and his pet cat and most importantly fulfilling his promise to Esther as he watches over Jayden (Emerson Min), driving him to school and making sure he gets home to his grandfather Mr. Kim (who is busy running a convenience store in Koreatown). Jayden like many teenagers, finds himself being tempted by negative influences, most notably his own uncle, Dae Hyun, who is part of the Korean mob and about to go to war with the Russian mob in a classic organized crime turf war.
- The Promise: Realizing being dragged into a gang war is a surefire way for Jayden to end up dead, Hatch steps up and agrees to eliminate Dae Hyun’s Russian problem for him, but it is really to prevent the war and keep Jayden safe. But when Jayden ends up missing, it becomes a problem for everyone. Hatch finds himself in the thick of it, stuck between the Koreans and the Russians and doling out some vigilante style justice and upping the action content in a major way!
One big thing that my fellow JCVD fanatics should keep in mind before watching Darkness of Man… the current year is 2024. As much as we would probably all love it to be 1994 again, it is not. The days of Jean-Claude Van Damme being in a pure action movie filled with fantastic martial arts fights, JCVD doing the splits are over. Instead, Darkness of Man continues the action thriller trend that Van Damme has been on in recent years forcing him to flex his acting muscles and in this case, narration skills too.
For an action thriller, I thought Darkness of Man was well put together (props to director, James Cullen Bressack). The backstory is built up throughout the run of the movie, while the main focus is exactly where it should be… Hatch keeping his promise to Esther. The fight scenes aren’t the best, but there are other action elements that help counteract that fact. There are some gory ends to the mobsters and Van Damme himself takes some serious damage along the way too, which is another departure from “the good old days”. But what didn’t change, comparing back then to right now, was me rooting for Van Damme’s character the entire way. What can I say, I’m a JCVD mark.
I am also a mark for some Bonus Bullet Points…
- Bastard Count: There were 4 “bastards” all dropped by Dae Hyun, three of which were subtitled.
- Familiar Faces: Sticky Fingaz (Caught on Tape) played Yates, a friend of Hatch’s from his law enforcement days… Eric Roberts (Best of the Best) briefly shows up as a patron at a taco truck… Kris Van Damme (6 Bullets), Kristos Andrews (Breakout) and Zack Ward (Freddy vs. Jason) all play members of the Russian mob… Cynthia Rothrock (China O’Brien II) plays a nurse and was that Shannen Doherty who scolded Hatch for smoking in the school parking lot?!?! You better believe it!
- Bulletproof Book Club: Hatch’s drug enthusiast neighbor has a copy of Sean Kanan’s Way of the Cobra.
