Ameriatch One of the best films i have seen

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

ChampDavSlim The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Leoni Haney Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

paradux On the positive side, JCVD at his peak did not do very many "street fight" films so if you are a fan, this is as good as it gets.Also on the positive side, the film was immortalized in the A-list TV series SENSE8, so whenever in the far future you watch this, you are watching a piece of history.On the downside, 1. Too long.2. Terrible script. Characters do and say things that feel out of context and create a disconnect with the viewer.3. Editing and direction suspect, especially for the 1990s. The film "feels" like a 1970s action flick, erratic and disjointed.Bottom line, if you want to see the best street fight film of all time, the way it SHOULD be done, see HARD TIMES. If you want to see a film about a character who takes to the streets to settle a score, see BLOOD AND BONE.

SnoopyStyle Foreign Legionnaire Lyon Gaultier (Jean-Claude Van Damme) in Djibouti receives news of his dying brother. His heartless commander punishes him and he battles his way out of the base. He's a deserter hunted by the French government. He's a stowaway on a ship to America. He is surprised to find himself in NY. Joshua introduces him to underground fighting to pay for the trip to his brother's family in LA. By the time he reaches LA, his brother is already dead. His sister-in-law and her daughter are left with large medical bills. Cynthia runs the fights and he returns to the fights.The story is pretty clunky. The writing is at a high school level. The dialog is pretty bad. The acting is pretty bad, too. Van Damme may actually be one of the better actors in this thing. Ashley Johnson gets her debut movie role and she's probably the best actor in the whole movie. This needs to kill it in the fights but they don't stand out. There is a fun one with a Scot in a kilt but it's not really enough. The fights are mostly edited poorly and lacks excitement or fun. The final fight could be good but it's put together weakly.

Comeuppance Reviews Lyon Gaultier (Van Damme) is a member of the French Foreign Legion serving in North Africa. When he receives word his brother is in trouble, he asks for some time off, but his superiors say no. So he deserts the desert, stows away on a ship and ends up in New York City without a penny to his name. The problem is, he needs to get to L.A. While walking the streets, he sees an underground Punchfighting match and decides to get involved. That's where he meets Eldridge (Page), a small-time promoter who takes a liking to him. Through Eldridge, Lyon begins making money through higher-class fights created by Cynthia (Rennard) and Russell (Thompson AKA Yahoots Magoondi). All Lyon wants to do is give the money to his destitute sister-in-law (Pelikan) and her five-year-old daughter Nicole (Johnson). Nicole ends up viewing Lyon as a father figure and loving him. But, as always, there's "one last fight" and this one's a killer: Attila (Abdel Qissi) is a brute favored to beat Lyon. On top of all that, two of his superior officers from the Legion have been tasked to bring him back, one of which is Hartog (Goric of Code Name: Zebra, 1987 fame). Will Lyon be Lionhearted enough to figure all this out? Devised by Van Damme and frequent collaborator Sheldon Lettich, Lionheart has many of the hallmarks of classic-era Van Damme: it went to the movie theater, it's 100 minutes or more, there's at least one scene of JCVD nudity, he punches and kicks a lot of people, and he wears some silly outfits. It may contain all the elements, but it seems something is missing with Lionheart. Maybe it's that Lyon isn't that likable, and the lack of overall character development. To be fair, Harrison Page puts in a lot of much-needed energy, and his role is basically the one played by Adolph Caesar in The Hitter (1979) - a movie which clearly laid the groundwork for this.It's funny, Lyon isn't in NYC for more than a few minutes before he sees the bumfighting/Punchfighting going on with all the action and people waving their money around. Then again, you have to remember that this was before Giuliani got rid of all the Punchfighting. Once Lyon gets to L.A. and takes on all comers, we see not just poolfighting, but also racquetball court-fighting. I guess something had to fill the space after the 80's trend ended. It was nice of the Y to allow that. In the poolfighting scene, both fighters are wearing skintight black wrestling singlets, so it's hard to tell them apart. We can only assume this is the same one Van Damme wore when he was in Breakin' (1984). The way the whole thing is shot is very reminiscent of the "Schmitt's Gay" sketch on Saturday Night Live.Besides the fact that it's very dumb, another problem with Lionheart is that there is no one, clear villain. It's just a series of fighters. Sure, Yahoots Magoondi is here at his Yahootiest, but it's just not enough. The cast is impressive and they do their best - even Billy Blanks and Jeff Speakman appear in tiny "blink and you'll miss them" roles. Attila seems to be the closest thing to a main bad guy, but he only shows up in the final minutes of the film. And he's a dead ringer for Gene Simmons, so it's hard to take him overly seriously as a guy who will break every bone in your body.As for the music, there's some classic 80's-style sax, of course, and there are musical cues that sound a lot like "There's No Easy Way Out" and "Eye of the Tiger" - but just barely escape copyright infringement. As JCVD is jogging in a gray sweatsuit no less. No Rocky Parallels there. The end song, "No Mercy" by Bill Wray stands out as a winner in the classic action movie AOR style. It should have been used during a training montage in the movie though, not just during the credits. But there is a shopping montage, and those are always fun.In all, Lionheart is standard, middle-of-the-road Van Damme. Fans will surely appreciate it, but newcomers to action movies shouldn't start with it.

namashi_1 Van Damme is a celebrated action-star, who's now very rightly so regarded as a legend. 'Lionheart' explores the potential Van Damme has, and I must say, this 1990 film is a must for Van Damme fans. 'Lionheart' stars Van Damme as a paratrooper legionnaire; when his brother is seriously injured he returns to Los Angeles to enter the underground fighting circuit to raise money for his brother's family.'Lionheart' works in parts. The Fight Sequences are Outstanding and all the credit goes to Van Damme. In terms of Writing, the film has some engaging moments that work on it's advantage. Sheldon Lettich's Direction, is plain ordinary. Van Damme is truly the best thing about 'Lionheart'. The actor performs well throughout, and is Outstanding when it comes to Action. He holds the film on his shoulders and does complete justice to his part. If you're a Van Damme fanatic, then 'Lionheart' is your best bet.