The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Disclaimer: If you are a viewer that mainly prefers art-house-type movies, then you might as well ignore this review. In addition, if you're not able to take a Van Damme good underrated action movie with plot holes and flaws in the story, ignore this review, as well. We'll both be better off.The Shepherd: Border Patrol (2008) in my opinion it is a good action film with flaws and plot holes in the movie. I think Van Damme did a solid acting performance in this action thriller about a cop fighting against drug cartels. But this movie is flawless and it has plot holes, I will write later what I mean by that and what issues I have with the film. I wanna say that I really have enjoy the fights, I did enjoy the action and I have enjoyed Van Damme's character Jack Robideaux A former New Orleans cop. I think Van Damme in this movie acted believable and I did not saw anything bad in him. I like this movie a lot, it is also not my favorite Van Damme movie, but I think it is a solid action movie that went direct to video. I love the final fights between Van Damme and Atkins I really enjoy the fight scenes and I thought it was very realistic. It is really sad to say that's really the best fight with Van Damme VS Atkins because the other 2 films they did after this film those fights was pretty shitty. I enjoy the film. The director did a great job. He should get a chance to make budgeted movie.Plot: A former New Orleans cop, now a border patrol agent battles an ex-navy seals who are trying to traffic drugs from Mexico into the USA.Well this is the movie that I very like and I enjoy and I think It is a good action movie from Van Damme. The Shepherd does have the added bonus of JCVD vs. Scott Adkins at the end which remains an excellent fight scene and easily the highlight of the movie. This movie gets a lot of hate (even from Scott Adkins) but I actually kinda dig it a lot. I liked the story and thought they tried something really different. Jean-Claude Van Damme gave a good performance but admittedly he does seem a little bored in places though. Scott Adkins as Karp ex navy seal does a good solid performance as the ruthless Mayers henchman and a good villain. The Shepherd: Border Patrol isn't anywhere near as bad as everyone says and fans of JCVD and Adkins will really enjoy the cracking final fight scene. We get to see Scott Adkins show his karate moves! Van Damme shows them too but nonetheless it's a good movie to watch, love the soundtrack and Van Damme's six pack abs at age 48 looked in good shape, yes there is a shirtless scene showing Van Damme half naked which I don't mind.The problems and the flawless plot holes in this movie, that are issues are: This movie is set in Columbus, New Mexico, but after watching this movie there is near close the area this film is filmed in New Mexico, this is Bulgaria not New Mexico, that really hurt the movie and did upset a lot of people. An ex-navy seals who turned now a drug pushers and a mercenaries, does not look like a navy seals at all, they look like a US marines who fought in Gulf War in Iraq. Van Damme's character is a only cop battling a Navy Seals, that is unrealistic and pure fiction. A normal or local cop can not defeat a navy seals without any training, he would need a military background to defeat an army vet. Van Damme's character in real life wouldn't survive. What happened to Billy's Pawnell's wife? She was only shown in the beginning of the movie and than she disappeared without any explanation what happened to her. Why was Billy Pawnell (Gary McDonald) a dirty agent at all. Who are drug kings who hired Benjamin Meyers (Stephen Lord) and his crew of his Ex Soldiers to import and export drugs from Mexico in to Texas border? Who freeze Myers accounts and freeze all of his money? That was never explained. Who was behind of all of this? That is why I am saying this movie has a plot holes that are not explained and I have issues with it! Other than that I like this movie, Isaac Florentine did a great job, like some of his movies he directed like are: Bridge of Dragons (1999) with Dolph Lundgren, Undisputed II: Last Man Standing, Undisputed III: Redemption, Ninja (2009) and Ninja II: Shadow of a Tear. Those are all movies I like from him. This movie get's 7 by me, I have enjoyed Second in Command much more than this movie, but still I like The Shepherd: Border Patrol much more like I like Van Damme's other direct to video movies. The Shepherd: Border Patrol is a 2008 American action film directed by Isaac Florentine, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Stephen Lord, Natalie J. Robb, Gary McDonald, Scott Adkins and Jean-Claude Van Damme's real life daughter Bianca Van Varenberg. The film was released on direct-to-DVD in the United States on March 4, 2008.7/10 Grade: B Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Stage 6 Films Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Stephen Lord, Natalie J. Robb, Gary McDonald, Scott Adkins, Bianca Van Varenberg Director: Isaac Florentine Producers: Moshe Diamont, Gilbert Dumontet Screenplay: Cade Courtley Joe Gayton Rated: R Running Time: 1 Hr. 35 Mins. Budget: $13.000.000 Box Office: $8,900,000

Jack Robideaux (Van Damme) is a cop from New Orleans who comes to the small town of Columbus, New Mexico to start on their border patrol. It seems a gang of drug smugglers, including Karp (Adkins), are made up of former U.S. Soldiers gone bad. Now Jack, his partner Billy (McDonald) and Captain Ramona Garcia (Robb) have to get to the truth. Additionally, some folks in this dusty ol'town don't take kindly to newcomers, so Jack, and his pet rabbit, also named Jack (there's an explanation) must defend himself there from the locals. After some twists and turns in the plot, we finally get to the fight scene between Scott Adkins and Van Damme that we all want. Will human Jack and rabbit Jack get what they came to New Mexico for? We're happy to announce that The Shepherd is a winner! Overall this is a solid, entertaining, quality movie that delivers the goods. And why wouldn't it, as it was directed by the capable and dependable Isaac Florentine, whose name is becoming synonymous with satisfying action creations. This movie really should have gone to the theater in America. Sure, there's at least one scene that's a bit too long, and there might be some other quibbles here and there, but this movie is prime JCVD all the way.Naturally, Van Damme plays yet another guy with a French name. This harks back to past JCVD efforts, while references in the movie to hurricane Katrina, the war in Afghanistan, and of course, the issues surrounding the U.S./Mexico border firmly bring The Shepherd into current, relevant territory. It is somewhat lame that the bad guys are former U.S. Soldiers - what, they couldn't think of any other type of person that could be evil? - but we get it, they are "rogue" agents and all that. But it's puzzling why that's the place the writers went to. They even find time to sneak in some Punchfighting! Sure, it's unnecessary, but who cares? It's just fun. Of course, there's the prerequisite torture scene, which is just another excuse for shirtlessness. We love Scott Adkins, and he does a good job as one of the baddies, but we think he makes a better good guy. Someone we've always lovingly compared Adkins to is Gary Daniels, and it would be weird seeing him as a baddie (even though it has happened, mainly in the earlier part of his career). That aside, Adkins is a talented martial artist and has strong screen presence. His fight with Van Damme gives you what you want. They would team up again in the disappointing and inferior Assassination Games (2011). Also Van Damme has a pet turtle in that movie. Either a rabbit or a turtle, and Scott Adkins. But that's where the similarities between the two movies end.The Shepherd just goes to show that if you use Van Damme right, he's still a viable star. This can firmly be placed in Van Damme's win columnFor more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

Former US Special Forces officers, who served in Afghanistan, are now drug-smuggling mercenaries, stationed in Mexico using illegals to push heroine across the boarder into New Mexico. Jean-Claude Van DAMME stars as a sombre New Orleans cop who moves to New Mexico to join the Boarder Patrol, motivated by the loss of his daughter(via drug overdose)to help stop the Meyers Cartel, and end their whole dirty operation, or die trying. Pretty much standard action fare with Van DAMME very solemn and stoic, haunted by his past, unable to sleep, almost never cracking a smile. He's often the butt of jokes because of a pet rabbit(his daughter's)he carries around. Natalie J Robb is Robideaux's(Van DAMME)boss, tough-talking Boarder Patrol Captain Ramona Garcia, stressed by the bureaucratic nonsense she often faces in the very dangerous job of stopping drugs and illegals from passing into New Mexico, establishing her seriousness in regards to keeping peace in her town, and not messing up while performing the duties as an officer. Gary McDonald is Robideaux's partner, Pawnell, actually on the payroll of the Meyers Cartel. Stephen Lord is Ben Meyers, the leader of the mercenary group, having sold his soul for the profits from drugs, in bed with other druglords. Daniel Perrone is Nestor, Meyers' second in command, equipped with martial arts skills, so you know he and Robideaux will eventually duel. Like a number of action flicks dealing with the hero up against terrorists or drug dealing baddies, there's the big chase, explosions, machine gun battles where opposing forces trade gunfire, and hand-to-hand combats.Along with the major chase sequence involving Meyers and his gang attempting to move into America dressed as priests inside a heavily armored bus, backtracking as police and Boarder Patrol follow in hot pursuit, the film's essential action set-piece occurs at the end as Robideaux and Garcia attempt to escape the Casa del Mar compound inside Las Palomos in Mexico, while upending Meyers' small army who plan to flee elsewhere due to their hidden lair being uncovered..as often is the case, instead of killing Robideaux and Garcia when he had the chance, Meyers spares them for later abuse, providing them with an opportunity to inflict future harm to his whole operation. I think Van DAMME had some well orchestrated fight scenes, including the obligatory prison contest where he must defeat a hand-picked criminal, and his work opposite Perrone towards the end. The plot is fatally ordinary, but director Isaac Florentine does especially well at showing bodies pummeled, flipping and flying in slow motion as they hit the ground. The movie has flair, but is desperately lacking in regards to it's uninspired story.

This one brings my collection of Van Damme films up to 25, some good, some stinkers; and although It may be fair to say I'm a fan, I'm no fanatic, haven't watched any of his films for a while and I certainly couldn't tell you what he eats for breakfast in the morning or which high school he attended. Like Forrest Gump might have said about his movies, a JCVD film is like a box of chocolates, you just don't know what you're going to get (though you most likely have have some inkling) and there are more than a few turkey flavoured ones in his box).With perhaps the lamest title of all his films and a dubious 'Steven Seagal' like premise, not to mention some cringe inducing dialogue, fair share of implausability and plot holes (nice to know they have a full time bomb squad and short notice standby in a little border town of 1800), this could be called something of a coin toss or even something to avoid for the more discerning film fan who can't stand the guy or who feels the urge for more intellectual stimulation.For those with enough of that in their other pursuits and who just want to kick back and be entertained, you may be pleasantly surprised. On a night I was expecting to fall asleep in front of anything I watched, It kept me interested and awake, something 'The Godfather' didn't do last week.As an out and out action vehicle, I found this pretty entertaining. It keeps moving along, with several spectacular and hard hitting ass whipping scenes, sufficient gunplay thrown in and a score reminiscent of 'Once Upon a Time in the West'.As far as his recent films go, I would compare this to 'Wake of Death' in terms of quality and while it didn't quite nail it (like most of his films) for the reasons mentioned previously, it wasn't without some quality moments.5/10 as a 'movie' & 7/10 for the bits you watch this sort of film for = 6/10 overall, a good pass mark. I recommend it and don't think it would disappoint any action fan who isn't expecting a Van Damme flick to send them into orbit.