Lionheart

Directed by Sheldon Lettich, Lionheart follows Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Lyon Gaultier as he abandons his post in the French Foreign Legion after learning of his brother’s murder in Los Angeles – with the picture detailing Lyon’s journey to the States and, eventually, his participation in an underground fighting ring. Filmmaker Lettich, armed with his and Van Damme’s screenplay, delivers a mostly entertaining (yet entirely erratic) endeavor that benefits substantially from Van Damme’s stirring, engaging performance, as the actor turns in predictably magnetic work that goes a long way towards smoothing over the narrative’s (many) bumps and lulls – with the predominantly watchable vibe enhanced by the brutal fights between Lyon and his increasingly tough-as-nails opponents. And although the movie’s midsection is sometimes just a little too earnest and sentimental for its own good, Lionheart, despite its baffling absence of revenge-themed elements, builds towards an incredibly satisfying finale that ensures it concludes on a (relatively) positive note – which cements the film’s place as a decent-enough Van Damme vehicle that probably should’ve topped out at an hour and a half.

**1/2 out of ****

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