If Pound of Flesh had been made in the early '90s when Jean-Claude Van Damme was at the height of his popularity and physical prowess, it likely would be hailed as one of his best movies.
This is purely hypothetical, of course, since this film was in no way floating around back then. But rather, this is to say that if the bones of Pound of Flesh (i.e. its script, concept and performance by Van Damme) were given a respectable budget and a lead actor more capable of doing the martial arts we know and love, it all but certainly would have resulted in an absolute banger of a movie.
Alas, wishful thinking is all this will ever be, but thankfully the version of Pound of Flesh that does, in fact, exist is still pretty good! Its budgetary restraints rear their head a bit too often and it feels like there should have been at least one more hand-to-hand fight scene, but at this point I've made my peace with the fact that those shortcomings will likely be baked into Van Damme's work in perpetuity given his age and the overall state of his career. But even with such standing caveats, Pound of Flesh sticks out among the man's DTV career while also showing at least marginal growth for director Ernie Barbarash as he reteams with Van Damme.
In the 2015 film, Van Damme plays Deacon Lyle, a ne'er do well with a shady past and strained relationship with his brother, George (John Ralston). One night out on the town during a visit to the Philippines, Deacon rescues a stranger (Charlotte Peters) under attack from a man (Darren Shahlavi). Grateful for his help (and almost certainly duly impressed by Deacon's ability to do the split kicks at his age), Ana buys Deacon some drinks and throws him a roll in the hay. But before Deacon can say "Just don't steal my kidney, okay?" wouldn't you know it, someone steals his kidney. Regaining consciousness in a tub filled with ice water and a missing internal organ is hardly anyone's ideal way to spend the few days you've got in the Philippines, so it's understandable that Deacon quickly resolves to going on an unstoppable rampage to retrieve what's his.
It was at this point that I was briefly surprised. Van Damme isn't known for filling his movies with gratuitous violence simply for the sake of giving the effects team another chance to brush up on their use of digital squib technology. If he's going to go out and bust heads, it's either because he's fueled by something more than pure anger or he's playing the villain. I was certain this wasn't another villainous turn for Van Damme, so when it turns out he's on the warpath because he's the only family member who's a match to donate a kidney to his dying niece, things clicked into place.
And while I would have squealed with delight at the sight of Van Damme turning the knob 50 percent of the way toward "Full Chev Chelios," such animalistic vengeance has never really been his style. Protecting family at all costs, however, is his style and that's a big part of what makes this feel like it should have been one of his major '90s offerings. Wake of Death in 2004 was the last time we got a Van Damme outing that felt this personal with everything in between either involving found family, villainous turns or no family at all. Making this a family affair now feels decidedly old school, even if the ensuing violence feels much more contemporary.
Van Damme's work has always been violent by simple virtue of the genre to which he is best equipped. Action stars gotta do action. Deacon is out for blood and blood is what he gets. Double Impact stands out as the bloodiest film of his Classic Era. And sure, he splashed some poor henchman's face with a refreshing glass of acid before going on a stabbing spree in 6 Bullets. But there's an anger driving Deacon that rarely surfaces in Van Damme's films the way it does here. Deacon has little to live for save for his determination to keep his niece alive and he'll stab, shoot and otherwise maim as many people as it takes to do so.
That dedication to violence keeps Deacon's brother, George, at arm's length and has for decades. While Deacon is a man of action, George is a man of faith, a devout Catholic who refuses to engage in violence of any kind. What's refreshing about this dynamic, though, is that Deacon never makes fun of his brother's devotion, nor does he mock it. He may question why it exists at all, but you never get the sense that Deacon thinks less of his brother because he prays or believes in a higher power. Far too often a character's faith is treated as a way for others to view them as weak or simple-minded. Deacon, and the film as a whole, never takes that route. The route it does take is one that feels a bit too expected in its own way as George's commitment to non-violence is put to the ultimate test. But that feels like a separate issue in some ways.
The action in practice is entertaining, at least, even if the digital muzzle flash, gun smoke and blood squibs are all a bit too obvious. Still, there are a couple good fights (the standout being Deacon's alley-side throwdown with Drake where Van Damme gives us his first real split kick since Expendables 2 while also delivering what is, for my money, an all-timer instance of him doing the splits. It may make little sense practically and logistically but it's certainly impressive.
I mentioned earlier that Pound of Flesh marked a positive evolution for Barbarash as a director and that's largely due to his third outing with Van Damme having something approaching a personality. Granted, said personality comes largely from him more or less ripping off Tony Scott's late-career "hallucination filter and editing" stylizations, but there's at least an attempt at injecting his work with more of a pulse. It's also just a more engaging and satisfying outing than 6 Bullets and especially more so than Assassination Games. Also I have to give Barbarash props for never treating the Philippines or its natives with an "othering" eye. The location is almost arbitrary here, but at the very least he never stoops to the level of making the Philippines or its people appear to be inherently evil simply by merit of it being a foreign land as lazy directors are often wont to do.
At the end of it all, this was a good time. Whatever my frustrations with its budget or other shortcomings, it's still one of the better films JCVD has put forth in the last 10 to 15 years. It's just too bad it couldn't have gotten what it needed to really soar.
Van Dammage Report Statistics for Pound of Flesh:
Number of splits: 1
Number of split kicks: 1
Reason for being European: Raised in Europe after parents divorced.
Best line: N/A
