Sorry, this movie sucks

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Legionnaire is an entertaining film about a French boxer Alain Lefevre (Jean-Claude Van Damme) who tries to escape from his troubles with some Mafiosos by joining the French Legion and fighting for French colonialists in Morocco. Van Damme has never been good with challenging roles, which is why it was a good idea to saddle him with the relatively safe and likable character of Alain with little margin for error. The filmmakers also did something else that was smart: they surrounded Van Damme with interesting characters (played by rather good actors), which automatically raises the interest-level for this film. Steven Berkoff is clearly having a lot of fun with the villainous character Sergeant Steinkampf and we have just as much fun watching him. An under-appreciated talent, Adewale Akinnuoye-Aghbaie, does a really decent job playing Luther who decides to join the French Legion to escape the racism of the South along with a bogus murder charge. Then there is Nicholas Farrell who delivers a wonderfully well conceived performance as the British recruit Mackintosh, a man with a compulsive gambling habit, who is renowned for his witticisms, and even capable of speaking a few Arabic phrases (which are most useful in a brothel). The Arabic phrases are completely unnecessary, but much appreciated all the same. Finally Ana Sofrenovic makes for a beautiful love interest, Katrina, who we would like to see reunited with Alain and broken free of the clutches of the evil mob boss. As a result of all these factors in addition to some great cinematography and some pretty good action and survival in the desert scenes, Legionnaire hums along quite entertainingly right until the end.7/10

First of all, we got to know this is a Van Damme movie. Taking that into consideration, it is a very good movie. I've watched it several times now, and it really has something special, at least for me. I watch those ratings, like everybody do, when I'm searching for films to watch. But, the ratings are often very misleading, in both ways. So, I'm watching really bad and boring films with ratings 8, and I get turned off of perfectly good films with ratings from 4.5 to 6. Unfortunately, we can't watch all the films, and there will be missed good films, and a lot of bad films watched, but if you want an interesting story, not expecting too much, and have a lot of nice scenes, then don't miss this one. Give it a chance, it's a good film.

Saw this on USA Network one afternoon while home sick with the flu. I was actually surprised. It wasn't half bad and it had an unusually brave ending. It's not an action flick, per-se. You'll see no flying kicks to the face from across the room. No, instead, this is a war film produced and co-written by Van Dam himself. The film takes place in the 1920's, with decent production, set design, wardrobe, etc. While the movie avoids many action cliché's it manages to stumble into some war cliché's. With a little more money, time, and some more script revisions to amp up the movie's already gritty undertones, this could have been a classic. Unfortunately, it *Just* misses the mark. 7 out of 10. Still, I enjoyed it for what it was. I would recommend it for a rental.

for a Van Damme movie,this isn't half bad.there's some pretty good action sequences,and the dramatic scenes aren't too shabby either.it's not a great film,by any stretch,but it is almost good.too bad the general premise is fairly weak and unoriginal,though i admit there were some details that were a bit different.i will admit that i actually cared about the characters,or some of them,anyway.maybe i'm becoming soft.there is a more human element to this film than many of Van Damme's efforts.i was really impressed by Van Damme's flawless French accent.oh.wait,that's his real accent.oh,well,at least his character and his accent fit together for once.also,the movie ended differently than i expected,in a good way.overall,not too bad an effort.better than "The Quest",which is my least favourite Van Damme film so far .for me,"Legionnaire" is a 5.5/10