I never did quite understand what happened to Jean Claude Van Damme after he did Timecop... but he went from big theatrical features to crummy theatrical features to a whole slew of really crummy direct-to-video action movies. I always thought that, unlike Seagal (who I love to watch, but jeez, dude, a pony-tail?), Van Damme had genuine charisma. Still, he seemed hopelessly mired in the "he's a cop/secret agent/disgraced military man, they're the terrorists/racists/nut jobs/dope smugglers who killed his wife/brother/partner/dog/, now they've unleashed HELL!" rut. Until now, that is...
JCVD is a French movie that debuted at Cannes, and if the trailer is any indication, it looks great. Van Damme plays "himself," a broken down action star lamenting his career choices, broke, on the outs with his daughter, who finds himself embroiled in a real life bank robbery (!). It's in the My Name Is Bruce ballpark, but there room for two self-referential movies that make fun of the movie business. I hope!
See if you agree about the Van Dammage...
http://www.joblo.com/video/arrow/player.php?video=jcvdfull
