Sorry, this movie sucks

Disappointment for a huge fan!

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

A policeman finds out that he had a twin brother who was killed in a violent altercation. He takes his twin brother's place, inheriting his problems and his girlfriend, determined to expose corruption and collusion between the FBI and the Russian mafia. Maximum Risk is a must see Van Damme film for his fans it's silly and over the top, it's action packed and yet very enjoyable to watch plus there's an awkward and out of nowhere sex scene between Jean-Claude Van Damme and Natasha Henstridge. The action sequences are also quite good despite the budget that it has and if you love action movies in general you won't be disappointed. (8/10)

A surprisingly complex thriller from Ringo Lam, a noted director in the action genre, making his first western film. The amount of sub plots help to make this one more interesting than most, as throughout the film Van Damme is being chased around by four or five different groups of people, this makes for entertaining viewing. Loyalties change, baddies come and go, and the film flies by with many varied and exciting action sequences filling out the time. I liked it a lot.Thankfully, the film is not solely full of martial arts or just plain shooting. It's a mixture of both. The various shoot-outs are well staged and choreographed, while Van Damme gets to deliver some really hefty kicks to his enemies. And it's a memorable group of baddies this time around, including corrupt FBI agents, Russian assassins and the Russian Mob. One blond-haired hulk is virtually indestructible, and the three or four fight scenes between him and Van Damme are probably some of the slickest, neatest fights that Van Damme has ever put on film. The final battle in the lift is great.The characters in this film are slightly more fleshed out than usual, and the baddies at least have a reason to want Van Damme dead. There are also plot threads, including a romantic one between Van Damme and Henstridge, although thankfully this is kept to a minimum. Also, we get to see some surprisingly poignant moments, which are not necessarily laughable (although you may scoff). Jean-Claude Van Damme looks pretty old and tired in this film, but I guess that's because he was suffering from the cocaine addiction thing at the time. Still, he's as powerful and agile as ever (or is that the stuntman?), jumping through windows, falling from heights and generally being an all-round action man (but more believable than most, thanks to his everyday hairstyle and clothes, this Van Damme is closer to reality than in his other films). Natasha Henstridge is adequate as the love interest, but quite shallow really. The rest of the villains are all memorable and eminently hissable.However, the acting is not really the main priority with Van Damme's films. It's the action people watch for, and this film does not disappoint. So many different things happen in so many places (the film keeps shifting location), and there are some inspired set pieces (the entire bank thing is memorable), and even a fight between Van Damme and a chainsaw-wielding villain at the end. What more could you possibly want? I know Van Damme is not one of the most popular stars, far from it, and the general consensus is that his films are cheesy, but I'm just finding these early ones to be better and better as time goes on. MAXIMUM RISK is criminally overlooked and deserves far more respect than it currently has.

In the south of France, Mikhail Suverov (Jean-Claude Van Damme) dies after a car chase. His doppelganger Alain Moreau is a policeman from Nice. It turns out that his mother had given up Mikhail to be adopted. He traces Mikhail back to NYC tracking down Alex Bohemia. People mistakes him for Mikhail. Alex (Natasha Henstridge) at the nightclub Bohemia is Mikhail's girlfriend. Mikhail had been trying to leave the Rusian mob run by Dmitri with lieutenant Ivan Dzasokhov. Corrupt FBI agents are also after evidence of their involvement with the mob hidden in a Nice bank.The story is messy. It's too complicated. A little bit of simplification would allow the movie to concentrate on the action. It should have fewer bad guys and I don't know why he doesn't get help from his french police friends. A long distance call to his partner would have really helped. Van Damme and Henstridge are not necessarily great actors but they give their best effort. There is plenty of action. There are fight action, gun action, stunts and car chases. One of the problems of a complicated story is the need for exposition. It slows down the movie when it's not done well. The movie slows down in many spots.

The Story: Alain, a French policeman, is shocked to discover that he had a twin brother when his body is found in Nice. Investigating the murder, he finds out that he was in possession of a list that details the deeds of the Russian Mafia. Helped by his brother's girlfriend, Alain dodges Russian gangsters & corrupt FBI agents while trying to find the list."Maximum Risk" is another one of the long list of action films that feature Jean-Claude Van Damme. As far as things go, it is strictly formulaic. The script sticks to the clichés & the acting is mediocre. There are some nicely done action sequences, with an inventive car chase, a fight in a burning building, an escape through rooftops, a brutal fight in an elevator & JCVD fleeing his enemies over an elevated train line. Director Ringo Lam keeps everything going at a reasonable pace.