What makes it different from others?

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Not to be confused with the Jeremy Irons movie of the same name, this "Damage" is full of hard-hitting fights. (It would be cool to see Irons in a punchfighting movie though. A man can dream...) John Brickner (Austin) was in jail for manslaughter for 5 years and is now just been paroled and looking for work. He finds work becoming a bouncer for a dive bar. Reno (Goggins) is a hustler who watches Brickner and invites him to fight in a underground tournament. At first Brickner says no way, but a phone call from the victim's wife asking for $250,000, forces him to fight.Can he fight his way to the top? Steve Austin does a pretty decent job as Brickner. You care about his character...but this is a punch-fighting flick and we don't want to see maudlin acting. One of the plot points is that Brickner has 13-inch fists. When he punches once, it breaks a opponents ribcage. The movie forgets what it is. I like the effort it was making, but the most exciting moments are the fight sequences.They deliver in spades. They are brutal and bloody.I'm happy they are still making movies like this. Undisputed III (an upcoming review) should be very entertaining."Damage" is cool fight flick worth renting! For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

Well, one thing's for certain, this bare-knuckle slugfest lives up to the title..men do indeed damage each other. World Wrestling Entertainment's pro wrestling icon Stone Cold Steve Austin both deals out and is on the receiving end of damage. Stone Cold stars as a recently released convict, John Brickner, out on parole after serving time for manslaughter(we later learn it was self-defense), given a new found freedom thanks to the victim's widow, Veronica(solid, heartfelt performance by Lynda Boyd). Veronica demands that John come up with 250,000 dollars, the necessary monetary sum for the heart transplant for her daughter. After working both as a construction worker and bouncer, John meets Reno Paulsaint(Walton Goggins)through the waitress, Frankie(the lovely Laura Vandervoot), at the bar which he is employed. Reno is on the inside of an underground fighting circuit and can arrange for John to be introduced as a new participant. Reno, however, needs to build John's credibility, and through a series of hard fought, and brutal, fights might just be able to get him in on the big-money brawls. It won't be easy, that's for sure, as John continues to collect numerous cuts and bruises, while always on the verge of making the appropriate funds needed for the child's heart transplant operation. Reno has his share of financial troubles(he has debts owed to a number of associates), including a huge cash amount he must have soon(150,000)or else his life may be in danger. A secret in regards to Frankie is revealed eventually(it is established that the major money debt Reno must pay concerns Frankie)and a certain act on John's part in how he saved a no-good boss' life after firing him for no reason both play a hand in the tumultuous cyclical process of coming close to achieving the ultimate goal set at the beginning of the film: the struggle to get the money John needs and the hurdles he must overcome in order to do so. Donnelly Rhodes is old man Deacon, the one who orchestrates fights and often negotiates bets. With all the plot, and this movie has a dead-serious tone, it's still all about two men beating each other to a bloody pulp. An amusing recurrence is John's visits to his parole officer, each time his face more worse for wear(quite annoyed at the parole officer, John doesn't like how he barely even acknowledges his presence). Veronica's difficult situation is never forgotten in the plot, though, no matter how often we spend with the trio of John, Reno, and Frankie. The filmmakers want us to keep her plight on our minds and hearts. I saw several similarities to the Jean Claude Van Damme action flick, Lionheart, also about a stoic hero with a kind heart who finds himself in violent full-contact underground fights with muscular behemoths.

Damage is surprisingly an entertaining no holds barred, old school Action film. What I admired a lot about Damage is it's tenacity. It's always straight up in your face with great fight scenes, that are unrelentingly brutal. I am a die hard "Stone Cold Steve Austin" fan. He is without a doubt the greatest WWE superstar of all time and now he's taken on the acting world. Like The Condemned|which I love| he has a certain presence that you can't take your eye off of. He's certainly not a great actor,but his potential to be one of Hollywood's biggest action stars is certainly there,he's loaded with charisma and could land similar success like other action stars who were soft spoken|Seagal,Van Damme,etc|. One of the main key's that made this one of the better direct to video Actioner's i've seen,is the relationships with the characters. Especially the trio of John,Reno,and Frankie. We are able to care about them all,even if Reno's a bit of a weasel,and I just think that helped a lot.I also approved of Steve's enthusiasm to this project. Any less of an effort would've resulted in your standard straight to DVD flick,but Steve put his all into the film,making sure to give us riveting fight sequences and a decent overall storyline,but mainly I give that credit to Frank Hannah. I have seen many straight to video Actioner's and i'll be pretty blunt,most of them flat out suck,so I was really pleased by the effort of this film. Damage is certainly not original by any means,it rips off Big Brawl,Lionheart,among others..but it managed to entertain me for a 100 minutes or so and that's really all I can ask for.The Performances. Steve Austin is a physically gifted performer. He is a marvel in the action sequences,with major charisma to boot. He certainly won't win any Oscars with his acting,but he won't stink up the screen either and for limited experience,I thought he did some pretty decent work. I must say though what was the point of having Steve try to be emotional?. Everyone knows Steve is a redneck with a good heart,but he's hard as nails,and well he came across as looking silly more then anything else. Nevertheless I thought Steve was fabulous and I look forward, to his future projects,he's got big time potential. Lynda Boyd got on my nerves more then once with her cold character. That was one of the script's biggest mistakes,she's supposed to make us care about with the situation with her daughter,but she came across as a selfish lady who is putting too much pressure on John. Her chemistry with Steve also felt forced. Walton Goggins is a weasel but a likable one at that. He's able to make us care for him,we feel sorry for the situations he gets into,even if he partially deserves it. Laura Vandervoort is cute as a button,and manages to be quite likable,I enjoyed her performance.Bottom Line. Damage is one of the better DTV Actioner's that seem to come out like crazy now a days. It certainly won't make you go wow,it's not anything original,but it's certainly pretty entertaining. I wholeheartedly recommend Damage for a good night of entertainment.7/10

There's a workable story hiding in there somewhere, but it's mostly obscured by mind-numbingly cheap fights, a clichéd soundtrack and general DTV feel.Stone Cold Steve Austin is John Brickner, a recently paroled ex-con. He is aided by Veronica (Lynda Boyd), the widow of the man John was imprisoned for killing. However, Veronica's help is not motivated by forgiveness or understanding, but rather by a need to have John help her with her own desperate agenda.Needing money and fast, John befriends underground fight agent Reno (Walton Goggins) and his girlfriend Frankie (Laura Vandervoort). Together they enter a fight circuit hoping that the rewards of victory will solve their respective dilemmas.The acting in "Damage" is sub-par. Here I don't evaluate Steve Austin because you aren't expecting much. Laura Vandervoort is a little bit of eye candy, but her character seems more interested in appearing scene than actually helping her man out. Walton Goggins is too old for his role and is very inconsistent. Sometimes he's convincing, sometimes very dry --- but you can never put a finger on what his character really values. Instead of helping his woman, his character seems to gamble all his spare dollars away.Thematically the film is a Christian tract with an "original sin" subtext. Necessarily, this leads to a class warfare view of social relationships whereby everyone is either portrayed as a "master" or a "slave" due to their debts --- moral, economic or otherwise. By consequence this perpetuates the bromides that money = root of all evil, and happiness consists of a duty ethic.And oh yeah, rich whitey is behind it all.Many action film fans are willing to overlook genre clichés if the film has exciting fights, like in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". But the fights in "Damage" consist of unrealistic blood splatter and mindless repetition, so it's doubtful that even the action buffs will be satisfied. Steve Austin only throws hay-makers (which rarely appear to connect),and his primary fighting attribute seems to be that he is "Stone Cold", i.e., takes a beating without getting knocked out.The "final fight" of the film hearkens back to the cheese of mid-80's action flicks, but without the enjoyable payoff. Captive audiences should not be made to endure such a ruthless conglomeration of "YOU CAN DO IT!" aerobic workout music and extreme body greasing. It's not 1986 anymore, and there's just no excuse for direction of this kind.The whole film is summed up by the homophobic hug given at the end:Weak.