My Review of Legionnaire

Legionnaire opened up in 1920s Paris in a nightclub (complete with CanCan girls). Van Damme played Alain, a professional boxer (not kickboxer) who was told to hit the canvas in the 2nd round by the mob boss for twice the pay that he normally receives. At first, he refused but appeared to reconsider when he realized the gravity of his situation. Of course, he did not go down in the 2nd round and he had to run for his life. He joined the Foreign Legion to escape the French mafia , while one mafia member rounded up his girlfriend (also the boss' mistress) at the train station where she was waiting for Alain so they could escape to America. The rest of the movie was about his camaraderie with the Legionnaires as they fought. Some of the mafia members caught up with him and at one point it looked like it was going to be over for Alain, but when it came to fighting for a common cause, they fought side-by-side. There were flashbacks of Alain and his girlfriend, but unlike Cyborg, each flashback was different which made them interesting.

There was no kickboxing, splits, or Karate moves, just straight boxing. There was, also, no sex and only brief nudity (his gorgeous derrir'ere). As far as I'm concerned, the only improvement that could have been made would be a happier ending. Maybe we'll see that on the USA series or if it does get a theatrical release like they are talking about.

This movie is not like any other Van Damme movie I've ever seen. However, I believe it is the best that Jean-Claude has ever done. This movie proves what I've believed all along, that Jean-Claude is capable of playing a low-action dramatic role. It is a crying shame that this movie had to go to video without a theatrical release in the U.S., but I can under stand why. Jean-Claude was the only U.S. well known actor (or actress for that matter) in this movie, and his popularity has unfortunately been waning because of his drug and marital problems. In fact, I believe this is the first movie he made since he got off the drugs.

Good Job, Jean-Claude!