Say what you will about the high-kicking antics of the muscles from Brussels, but despite his rep for being a second tier action star (under Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Willis, naturally), he’s certainly worked with some eclectic directors. In fact, for a certain generation of Hong Kong filmmakers hoping to crack Hollywood, banging out a Jean Claude Van Damme movie proved to be quite the ticket to ride, starting with John Woo’s absurdly bombastic Hard Target back in 1993. From there, JCVD also made two equally deranged movies with Tsui Hark in the form of the cartoonish Double Team and Knock Off, but nestled in the middle was a more sedate, almost subtle example of a Hong Kong director putting Jean Claude through his paces with Ringo Lam’s Maximum Risk. Riffing weirdly off another movie that saw Van Damme get into a bit of a muddle thanks to a secret, criminal twin, Double Impact, the director of the Reservoir Dogs inspiring City On Fire seemed to be adding a gritter, more noir-ish tone to a filmography based on Van Damme doing the splits. Risky perhaps? Let’s see.
The streets of Nice, France find that traffic has picked up when a chase between an unidentified man and two, relentless pursuers ends with the chased fatally spattered across the windscreen of oncoming traffic, but while it seems that the story has finished before it’s begun, matters soon snowball after a bizarre realisation is made. Called to the scene is Officer Alain Moreau who is understandably shaken at the fact that the dead man appears to be his exact double, but after a bit of digging, it turns out that the truth is far stranger than you’d think. The deceased doppelganger is Mikhail Suverov, Alain’s secret twin who his tearful mother confesses was given up for money due to her impoverished life at the times and as he grew up, he ended falling in with the Russian mob on the streets of New York.
It’s around this time that Alain realises he’s wandered into the middle of a deadly conspiracy that’s been set in motion due to his brother’s actions. After visiting the lawyer who handled the adoption, Alain finds that he’s been assassinated by a Russian built like a brick shit house, but after a brawl in the blazing offices, Alain realises that the answers he seeks will be found in New York. Meeting up with Mikhail’s barmaid girlfriend, Alex Bartlett, our confused hero tries to unravel this mystery that not only takes in the Russian mob, but also draws in corrupt FBI agents who found out that Mikhail had evidence linking them to his superiors.
Bouncing between New York and Nice, Alain and Alex not only have to figure things out with the mob and rogue feds on their tale, but they have to continue to avoid the best efforts of that hulking Russian, who keeps popping up in the strangest of places in order to wipe them from the face of the earth.
So while I’m not making the claim that any of these Hong Kong auteurs did their best work after making the switch to America (although John Woo came close with Face/Off), I’ve always been kind of soft on Maximum Risk simply because it’s mostly trying to stick Van Damme in something approaching a standard thriller that doesn’t require the type of slow motion, flying roundhouse kicks that the actor usually specialises in. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the film originally had a more overt noir feel to it as it truly seems that the, plot involving secret twins, gangsters and a leggy blonde was screaming for more intrigue and less muscular brawling and car chases. Watch the film and tell me that the lack of Natasha Henstridge’s Alex in the finale is caused by a reveal that’s she’s a femme fatale that never survived a rewrite. Another clue that Lam’s original vision leaned more into serious crime shenanigans is that despite all the good work the film does showing restraint, the final third feels like someone insisted that some more, obvious Van Dammage be added to sate fans wondering why their hero isn’t doing the splits across more things.
However, even with these (possibly imaginary) additions and subtractions, Maximum Risk still stands as a solid, if fairly forgettable, action thriller. JCVD isn’t enough of a good actor to pull a lot of this off, granted, but you can tell that the guy’s trying just as hard with his performance as he is trying to look cool in an impressively homoerotic steam room rumble that sees him fight for his life while his towel remains magically fastened around his waist like a clamp. But while 90s adrenaline junkies may shuffle uncomfortably in their seat while the actual plot unfolds, I remained slightly impressed that Ringo Lam seems to trying to crack (if not break) the mold. Rather than endless goons to pick apart throughout the film, the fact that there’s only really one, Red Grant from From Russia With Love style henchman to defeat kind of adds a bit of realism and variety is provided by a rotating set of arenas for them to slug it out in, be it a flaming office, a steam room, or a cramped elevator.
However, for all of its admirable points, Lam isn’t ultimately able to make that balance stick. Those wanting a typical slice of Van Damme bombast might be put off by a more deliberate pace while those looking for a riveting thriller could be put off by a final reel switch into more typical action fare and as a result, Maximum Risk finds itself stuck in the middle, uncertain with way to go. As a result we start with a whole bunch of mystery that has the potential to contain a myriad of twists and turns, but instead ends with possibly the most basic action climax you could imagine. However, while it seems a bit mean to crap on a Jean Claude Van Damme film for having action in it, when the man himself is throwing feet and crashing cars, it’s handled with the same, tangible amount of brutality the actor enjoyed in his that we’re directed by Peter Hyams. The repeated fights with that unmovable Russian have more of a up close and personal, down and dirty feel rather than the more athletic stuff JCVD is known for and the copious car chases also provide all the buckled metal and shattered glass you’d expect. Additionally, there’s a nice grouping of character actors for our hero to mingle with with Species’ Henstridge ably doing everything required of her even if her character feels like there’s a villain turn suspiciously missing somewhere. Elsewhere the likes of Fight Club’s Zach Grenier and Daredevil’s Paul Ben-Victor bring the villain sauce, but while Van Damme actually does pretty well when he’s required to emote without speaking, the more dialogue heavy scenes seem a little beyond him.
Hardly the zenith of either Van Damme’s or Lam’s careers, Maximum Risk doesn’t exactly take many risks or push things to the max. However, as an attempt to deliver a more subtle string to the JCVD bow, it proves to be as solid as a boot to the mush.
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