one of my absolute favorites!

Excellent, a Must See

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

I had fun spotting actors who have appeared in Eastenders, the Casualty franchise or the Doctor Who franchise. Which means that although this film is set in New Orleans, it was filmed somewhere in central or eastern Europe.Jean Claude Van Damme is a rogue cop Anthony Stowe, a heroin addict, his personal life in the sewer, his wife is pregnant by another man and other cops do not like him.Stowe is hung up in nailing a villain called Callaghan (Stephen Rea) but Callaghan was his former partner who went dirty. When one of his goons shoots Stowe in the face, he miraculously survives but goes in a coma.When Stowe emerges from his coma, he decides to become a better person, he rights some wrongs such as when he betrayed another officer and rekindles his relationship with his wife.Until Death is a serviceable film, it never amounts to be more than a time filler. You have fun seeing Brit actors attempting to do hard boiled American accents. It lacks a lot of action because it wants to focus on the story. This is a shorthand way of saying that the action star is too old for for doing the fight scenes. Stephen Rea turns up for a glorified cameo for the pay cheque.

Well for once Van Damme's script is not "They killed my brother" and he's reprising the role of the Dirty Lieutenant- a far superior flick about similar issues. He's a cop, with some integrity issues and there's a barely-believable art-heist super villain dude that's out to kill him. Luckily we don't have a ton of screen time with that cartoon. The movie centers on Van Damme's character and him stumbling his way through a lot of pain in his life. Various addictions are involved and the acting is better than your usual Van Damme flick, but do bear in mind this is slightly sub par, this is no Harvey Keitel, this is Van Damme. Some of the plot twists were a bit dopey unrealistic and heavy handed, like they were written by a woman.

I really was pleasantly surprised by this little movie. I guess most of you know the plot already. Van Damme is a pretty good, but sadly heroin addicted cop. His wife is gonna leave him. Everything is turning south. Then he get's shot and falls in a coma for 6 month. Then he awakens and rebuilds his life. Sadly his old nemesis hasn't let go. So it all comes to the inevitable showdown. What sounds like the plot to a nice little action movie is actually more a drama/thriller than just a simple action movie. To be exact, there isn't really that much action in the movie. Is it still worth watching? Definitely. Especially because Van Damme really delivered in this movie. Some of the other cast sadly seem a bit lost during the whole thing. Aside from that the movie is really compelling and you can really get into it. It's a real departure from the regular JCVD movies. The movie has a few negative aspects too, sadly. First and foremost the production value seems really low. The movie cost about 15 Million but actually looks even cheaper. It really shows that most if it was filmed in Bulgaria. Many people have complained about the end of the movie. I saw the European version which had the dramatic ending, not the mega happy ending. So I was pleasantly surprised that the ending even made me feel something. Final words: If you are looking for a cheap action movie, you better go with a recent Steven Seagal Film. This one is actually a compelling Drama with action Elements. Definitely worth watching.

There has been a lot of hype over the years with numerous Van Damme comebacks, We are constantly promised each new release is the one, the film to signal the return of some bad ass van damage! So Until Death, whats the crack then, any good? Well in my humble opinion I would have to give it a resounding thumbs up. Not very likely for a straight to DVD action flick straight into the Tesco DVD chart at number 19 starring a washed up action star.The golden generation of action stars i grew up watching are getting old, it's a sad fact, there once ripped physiques are now saggy old man boobs and there latest releases with the exception of the amazing Stallone Rambo/Rocky comeback tend to fail to live up to the standard set in there early classic pictures. Arnie began to loose it after the atrocious Batman & Robin, Seagal fair lost it after Under siege, Van Damme after the monumental flop that was Double Team & Stallone after the quite frankly pants Get Carter, Driven, D-Tox, etc... So back to the movie.Van Damme plays a junkie crooked cop as bent as Peter Crouch's flailing limbs. Know one likes him, his wife is playing hide the sausage with some fancy man & gets knocked up and quite frankly the wham bam Van Damme man has not a lot to live for. He is hot on the trail of the incredibly clichéd named Rogue Cop/criminal Calahan who used to be his partner, another cliché thrown into the story but nether the less plays an important anchor for the characters actions. Van Damme gets shot in the head and is put in a coma, but will he come out of it a better person? You will just have to head to the Teco DVD chart to find out :) Van Damme has realised with his waining popularity over the years and the inabiliity to star in bigger budget productions he cant do the action as well as in Hard target and Time Cop etc and hasn't got the resources and the Directors offering him work he used to. This means that Until Death has much more Drama and much more plot and story time to really get you interested in the characters, the action does come and is run of the mill shoot, shoot duck behind barrel, then shoot some fella wearing really crap sunglasses it even has a few quoteable lines for when your in the Pub with the lads to act out, which is fantastic if you ask me. The supporting cast do a fine job, with a few slightly dodgy American accents along the way, Van Damme plays the lead with great dignity and i really genuinely believe this is his best role since, well ever acting wise.Even the name of the film is quite poignant for the themes recurring in the film and at the credits I had a 'I get it moment'.If you are a fan of Jean Claude and would like to see him doing something rather than roundhouse people in the face I would definitely recommend Until Death it's a fantastic character driven movie that for a couple of quid on DVD is well worth adding to your collection.Roll on The Shepherd! :) Van Dammes back!