Leon (1990)

Leon: Directed by Sheldon Lettich. With Jean-Claude Van Damme, Harrison Page, Deborah Rennard, Lisa Pelikan. An Ex-French Soldier begins participating in underground street fights in order to make money for his brother’s family.

“In the Jean-Claude Van Damme martial arts movie u0026quot;Lionheart,u0026quot; audiences get to see a side of the Muscles from Brussels not seen in previous action films like u0026quot;Bloodsportu0026quot; (1988) and u0026quot;Kickboxeru0026quot; (1989): Van Damme acting and fighting like thereu0026#39;s no tomorrow. I must be crazy for giving u0026quot;Lionheartu0026quot; such a high rating based on u0026quot;actingu0026quot; from Van Damme but if one can get past the phony Hollywood theatrics and the like, you can see what is very easily the best of Van Dammeu0026#39;s early work simply because he isnu0026#39;t trying too hard… yet.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFor the most part in u0026quot;Lionheart,u0026quot; the flashy, impossible athleticism of the Belgian-born martial arts sensationu0026#39;s earlier works has been shunned in favor of straight-up no-holds-barred brawling, which is essentially what this picture is about. After his drug-dealing brother is set on fire in Los Angeles, Lyon Gaultier (Van Damme) deserts his post in North Africa with the French Foreign Legion and high-tails it to the United States to reconnect with his brotheru0026#39;s wife and five-year-old daughter, with two agents in hot pursuit with orders to bring him back at any cost. Once here, he happens upon a bare-knuckle brawl underneath a bridge and immediately stuns the natives when he dispatches his first opponent with surprisingly little difficulty.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAt this same match, he also meets Joshua (Harrison Page), a street-wise hustler who becomes Lyonu0026#39;s self-appointed manager and gives Lyon the nickname u0026quot;Lionheart.u0026quot; Soon enough, Lyonu0026#39;s brawl becomes the talk of the tight little circle interested in such senseless u0026quot;human cock-fighting,u0026quot; and shamelessly amoral rich-woman fight promoter Cynthia (Deborah Rennard) signs on Lyon as her champion for several no-holds-barred street fights. The arenas themselves are as ridiculous as they could possibly get – an underground parking lot, a racquetball court, a half-filled swimming pool, and a tennis court – but they get the job done in serving shameless blood-sport for the rich who are thirsty for guys beating the living daylights out of each other. At the center of it, of course, is determined Lyon, who puts aside his own reservations about fighting for the rich and focuses squarely on putting money in his familyu0026#39;s pockets.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFor all its scenes of combat and many, many missteps, u0026quot;Lionheartu0026quot; is very easily the best of Van Dammeu0026#39;s early martial arts movies simply because itu0026#39;ll give fans of the genre what they want: maximum Van Damage and, boy, does he damage some of his sparring partners and take some damage of his own. The fight choreography (by Frank Dux, the real-life character Van Damme played in his earlier u0026quot;Bloodsportu0026quot;) is brutal and realistic, with little flash u0026amp; glitter. Itu0026#39;s intense stuff that really captures the beauty and brutality of no-hards-barred combat.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe script, which mostly consists of four-letter words, is obviously the weakest point here. But how can you possibly expect a script authored by Van Damme himself and director Sheldon Lettich to be Academy Award-winning material? What people want to see here is fighting, although there are some heartfelt scenes between family that could probably warm the hearts of those who care to see such drama.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMore gladiator combat spectacle than dramatic actioner, u0026quot;Lionheartu0026quot; takes us to the Lionu0026#39;s Den and never looks back.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e8/10”