arnuld-mizong
Like I always say, I do not write many reviews. First, I only write if the movie is extremely good and 2nd, if people are unnecessarily bashing a good movie or 3rd, it has a low rating. I decided to write this review because of 3rd reason. A different kind of movie from Van Damme, far away from his usual kind of action movies. You see him as an actor than the one kicking-ass. I saw it many years ago and have not forgotten the experience. It kinda reminds me of another movie called The Beast of War (with Kabir Bedi in ensemble cast). Both set in some desert and both unforgettable in a good way. This movie shows you the toll of war on one man and his comrades, a war with guns and knives, not of hi-tech weapons. You should see this damn well made B-movie. One of the most memorable movies I know. There are other very well made movies in usual action settings from Van Damme like "Wake of Death" and "Knock Off" and from Steven Seagal like "Urban Justice", "Pistol Whipped" and " Ruslan: Driven to Kill".
Sam smith (sam_smithreview)
Let me be honest and say it from the beginning. I am a huge Van Damme fan. Now that the biased is declared lets get into the review. Legionnaire was the highest straight to DVD movie ever made. Yes, Van Damme was so huge back in the day's of 90's action films that this film's cost was over $20 million dollars and it didn't even get Cinema release. Which was a shame. The film is definitely not as bad as some of the action movies we see today. Van Damme plays Alain Lefevre, a boxer who is paid to take a dive. Alain is to proud to do that and win's the fight that costs gangsters a lot of money, he tries to flee France and go to America, But after being the fight Alain ends up being chased by police, and finds himself in the French Foreign Legion and deployed to Africa to crush an insurgency in a French colony.You can tell Van Damme co-wrote it: He gives himself a lot of acting time on screen as to try and break away from the typical films he usually does, and not much ass-kicking time, but then again you still have various action clichés popping up and the odd one-liner here and there.Van Damme's martial-arts skills are not showcased here as much as in his other movies. There are a few boxing scenes, and some fighting scene in the end, but really different from all of his other films fight choreography. This really does film like a whole different genre for Van Damme to tackle. 'Legionnaire' is surprisingly good in the end. Van Damme gets to do something different for a change, and I'll give him credit for it. It is more dramatic than most of his other movies, and I can say that the film was still enjoyable to watch and much more enjoyable to watch because of Van Damme's performance.
lastliberal
I know, another Van Damme picture, but don't write it off too quickly. Despite the fact that it went direct to video, it really is a good movie, and probably the best job of acting that Van Damme has done.It has a great supporting cast, too. Remember Steven Berkoff as Lt. Col. Podovsky in Rambo II? "I don't know who you are yet, but I will!" He has the same accent here. He may just be a sergeant now, but he still has that presence.Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Mr Eko from "Lost", The Mummy Returns, The Bourne Identity) also adds greatly to the story of those seeking a new life in the Foreign legion.Also great jobs from Nicholas Farrell, and long-time Van Damme film actor, Kamel Krifa.Sure, it's the same story you have heard many times about the Legion, this time being carpet-bombed by the Berbers, but it still is worth your time.And, the music was great, too.
rowanpearce
I do not recommend this movie as it does not follow JCVD's typical formula. As a B-grade actor, one must quickly learn to stick to what they can do (or capable of). There is far too much dialogue in this film to warrant as a martial arts film, and not enough good acting to warrant as an Oscar, yet strangely I managed to finish the movie. I do not think it was out of respect for Van Damme, but his subtlety as an actor. Perhaps he has developed, fine tuning his skills not only with his brawn but, his mind. I would only recommend this if you had absolutely nothing else to do on a lazy Sunday. If you watched this movie on any other day of the week that would be very sad.
AD
