SnoopyStyle Anthony Stowe (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is a bitter heroine addict. He's also a New Orleans police detective. His undercover sting to get his former partner turned drug lord Gabriel Callahan (Stephen Rea) goes terribly wrong. Two cops are killed. Back at the station, he turns in a fellow cop for trying to help his drug dealing nephew. His estranged wife tells him that she's pregnant by another man. His life is a mess. Callahan ambushes him leaving him in a coma.Van Damme is trying to do some deeper material. I like some of the first half even though it is still solidly a B-movie. The action directing is trying to be edgy but it's somewhat flailing around. The actors are mostly subpar. Van Damme does an admirable job but then the movie does an 180 in the middle. He goes into a coma and his character is swapped. The first half is a B-movie with potential. The second half turns it into a muddle.

quantumcat I must admit, I only saw the last 30-45 minutes on Dubai TV or some other movie channel you can receive in the GULF. But I was taken a back on how good it was- For a Van Damme straight to video.I liked the story line, the atmosphere - and hey - Van Damme seems to have picked up a few acting lessons along the way. All the other actors do their best (or at least: not their worst!) I could not stay myself from watching the through!!! Maybe it's not a McTiernan film, and maybe not original, but somehow it seems to work! And we don't see van damme as a martial arts fighting machine, but as a normal cop with a (bad) history, walking around with melancholic guilt-ridden face. Hey - what a welcome change !! Honestly: definitely worth watching!!!

lastliberal I am reminded of Steven Seagal in Hard to kill. He played a cop that came back from a coma to go after the bad guy. Same stuff here, but I really think that Van Damme did a much better job.Van Damme has been relegated to the direct-to-video market, but he must be choosing some better films as this is a police drama and not the martial arts action he is famous for. It really is a good story and Van Damme did a great job with it.Too bad that he did not have Kelly LeBrock to play his wife, as Seagal did. Selina Giles just did nothing for me. She showed no real emotion the whole picture.Stephen Rea (The Crying Game) showed a little more, but not much as the ex-partner turned crime lord.If you want to see how far van Damme has come, check this one out.

jim miskell 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!