The Order

Directed by Sheldon Lettich, The Order follows Jean-Claude Van Damme’s slick thief as he runs afoul of a centuries-old religious sect while attempting to rescue his kidnapped father (Vernon Dobtcheff’s Oscar). Filmmaker Lettich, armed with Les Weldon and Van Damme’s screenplay, has infused The Order with an almost pervasively low-rent sensibility that remains a distraction from beginning to end, and it’s clear, certainly, that the movie’s proliferation of far-from-enthralling elements ultimately ensures that it feels much, much longer than its 89 minutes – with, for example, the chintzy score and poorly-conceived action sequences preventing the viewer from working up much interest in or enthusiasm for the protagonist’s exploits. And although Van Damme is relatively charming here and the movie does boast a very small handful of decent sequences, including (and especially) an exciting airport-escape interlude, The Order eventually progresses into a seriously underwhelming second half that dwells far too heavily on a tiresome and hopelessly uninvolving religious conspiracy – which, when coupled with an unsatisfying final few minutes, confirms The Order‘s place as a thoroughly unmemorable entry within Van Damme’s decidedly hit-and-miss body of work.

*1/2 out of ****