6 Bullets (2012)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

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

I am not a big fan of Jean Claude and thought he had his hey day 20 years ago and found most of his later stuff a bit corny as though it was coming straight off a production line but I am now having to rethink this.The action in this film is not your usual fake, unconvincing kicks and roundhouses but more in the style of Taken with Liam Neeson and is very well choreographed and not your usual sanitised violence.I have always liked Joe Flanigan from Stargate Atlantis - he has always been a favorite actor and he was well cast in this.There were some really cool ideas like the pen with the hypodermic - never seen that one before.This was a rather good action movie; much much better than expected. It seems Jean Claude has re-invigorated his acting career and his older world worn, chiselled face makes him seem altogether more real and less plastic than his old persona if this is anything to judge by.

Ex-Legionaire Samson Gaul (Jean-Claude Van Damme) infiltrates an underground prostitution ring to save the abused children. It goes badly and the gangsters kill all the kids. He is haunted by them and reduced to working as a butcher. Former MMA champ Andrew Fayden (Joe Flanigan) travels to Moldova with his wife and young daughter Becky to make a comeback. Amalia lures Becky away into the underworld. A massive search finds nothing. Only local butcher Samson and his son Selwyn can help.It's interesting that they're filming in Romania and Hungary. It's also problematic in terms of production quality. There is a step down in the look of the film. Also, the filmmakers may not be that good. Honestly, it's no worst than the Toronto for NYC of the 90's and there is a little exoticism in eastern Europe. If you don't expect great cinema, this is fine for a late Van Damme action movie. There are plenty of energetic fights if not perfectly filmed. Joe Flanigan is a solid TV actor who is marginally believable as an MMA fighter. This is straight forward Eurotrash action and a family affair for the Van Dammes. His daughter has potential if she can kick butt like her dad.

If Liam Neeson can have a big hit with Taken then why not jump on the bandwagon.6 Bullets has Jean Claude Van Damme playing a mercenary Samson Gaul infiltrates Eastern European human trafficking rings and rescue boys and girls from the sex trade.At the beginning of the movie we see him rescue a young boy but Gaul failed to take into account the collateral damage of his actions which left two young girls dead.Haunted by this he ends up drinking and working as a butcher.The plot kicks off when a teenage American girl is kidnapped from her hotel in Romania and the parents turn to Gaul for help. Gaul reluctantly accepts as he also persuaded by his son who is a cop. Gaul discovers that the criminals are being aided by the Romanian secret service on behalf of a wealthy Arab arms dealer who wants an American virgin.The film wants to make serious points about the child vice trade, a serious issue in parts of Eastern Europe since the 1990s wrapped around an action thriller. Van Damme is assisted by Joe Flanigan who plays the dad and who in the movie plays a major MMA star, therefore he can share the action scenes with Van Damme.Of course its basically a low budget Taken rip off without much verve or characterisation that the original Taken had. Its still an involving story, decent action scenes although the parents of the kidnapped daughter are flatly drawn.

The last Van Damage film I saw before viewing '6 Bullets' was 'Universal Soldier: the Return' circa 1999. While that JCVD effort was not so hot I viewed it out of nostalgia for the original Universal Soldier. Going into '6 Bullets' I was somewhat leery of the aging action star's ability to entertain on a level comparable to his most popular films of the eighties and early nineties; all of which I saw in the theater and thoroughly enjoyed for the over-the-top bullet and brawn ballets they were.I read a few reviews and based on the largely positive reception of '6 Bullets' decided to take the risk. I am glad that I did. What struck me first upon hitting the play button was the older, time weathered and more serious appearance of JCVD. His haggard, world weary visage reminded me of Tim Thomerson at his prime. From the opening scene, tension begins to build as the above mentioned aged Van Damme sporting prescription glasses and very plain dress navigates the lavish halls of a modern brothel in some eastern European hellhole. There is no nervous bounce to Van Damme's stride, nor sign of humor in his expression as was often the case in many of his earlier films. Here the muscles from Brussels is all world weary, haggard intent as he follows a thug to a meeting with some scumbag who sells children by the hour.I was not expecting great or spectacularly new hand to hand choreography in the fight scenes and boy was I wrong. The very first action sequence is intensely fast and vicious and, I found it quite refreshing. Whoever advised the director for knife combat techniques knew their stuff and it shows. There were no ballet like leaping spinning kicks, nor molasses slow sparring. It was literally quick and to the point.Impressed, I sat back and got comfortable in anticipation of the rest of the film. Overall, '6 Bullets' did not fail to entertain throughout. Van Damme is a former soldier for hire who in his retirement runs a second generation butcher shop, drinks like a sponge and sometimes accepts cash to locate and retrieve missing children. All is not perfect with our aging action star, however. While his character is an honest man of good intent, he is also heavy handed and his mission planning skills flawed. He is an ex soldier who has done unspeakable things for a payday and the guilt he experiences for his past mistakes effects his current endeavors through haunting memories of the victims he has unwittingly gotten killed. He is not quite completely on his game, but still he tries to do the best he can in situations far less than perfect.When the daughter of an American celebrity is kidnapped, Van Damme refuses the parents' impassioned plea to find their child and deal with the scum who abducted her. He retreats into the bottle and the film would have ended their had something not arisen to make finding the young girl and ensuring her safety, personal. The rest of the film entails much kicking, punching and shooting in the vein of most other JCVD action flicks, but something about the violence in '6 Bullets' came off to me as more seasoned, less shallow than any other Van Damme effort of the past. Van Damme's Samson Gaul is perhaps the most complex character he's yet played, and that alone adds much substance to the overall effect of the movie. To sum up, at times the unfolding events defy the rational - this is an action film - but overall the plot worked for me, and the acting of that aged, world weary Van Damme fit the film just right. If you're a long time JCVD fan, '6 Bullets' is a must see as he has definitely returned to the screen in good form, even if that screen is just on your television or computer monitor. For those who haven't a history with the actor's past films I would recommend giving it a shot. You just might become his next fan.6/10 for effective action sequences and a competent enough plot, plus two for a Van Damme who looks to have come full circle as an actor.