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Derailed | Year: 2002 Directed: - Bob Misiorowski Actors/Actresses: - Jean-Claude Van Damme - Tomas Arana - Laura Elena Harring JCVD has DERAILED his fans Jean Claude Van Damme made his reputation in the late 80's and early 90's with martial arts movies that involved his entering a kumite, winner take all. In BLOODSPORT and KICKBOXER, his athleticism, good looks, and never-say-die persona were magnified in confrontations with a killer bad guy, usually played by Bolo or Michel Quissi. The fights in those films were seen as intriguing choreographed versions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As long as JCVD stuck to that type of film, he stood out and the movie did good box office. Eventually, he felt that he could branch out into being an action star along the lines of Steven Seagal or Jackie Chan. The brutal truth about his acting talent is that it is limited to the savage ring fighting of his early career. With DERAILED, JCVD proves once again that his acting, when combined with laughable special effects, cheesy writing, and illogically paced fight sequences, cannot compensate for these other deficiencies. In DERAILED, he plays Jacques Kristoff, a CIA type who is hired to bring in a sexy Russian female who has ripped off her Mafia boss to the tune of a deadly smallpox serum, which is released into the air of the train on which all are riding. The plot holes are big enough for that train to drive right through without hitting a bump. His wife and children surprise him by meeting him on the train, only to be taken hostage along with the other passengers. If this sounds a little like DIE HARD meets SIEGE, then you have already figured out the ending. The bad guys are tough enough, but JCVD's fights with them are claustrophobic, thus negating the allure of his high kicks. Instead, he has to resort to the grappling devices like chokes and ankle locks that I found to be the most interesting part. DERAILED is a glitzy movie with lots of pretty girls, tough guys, and short combat scenes, but the feeling that I had at the conclusion is that if JCVD wants to avoid the continual embarrassment of straight to video flicks like this one, he would do well to remember the kind of movie that made him a superstar in the first place. A dumb(er) hybrid of "Under Siege 2" & "Broken Arrow" Van Damme's most recent effort has a plot similar to UNDER SIEGE 2 and BROKEN ARROW which is scripted by B action film maker Boaz Davidson, the man responsible for such hilariously awful garbage as AMERICAN CYBORG.<BR>Van Damme plays Agent Jacques Kristoff, who is assigned to escort gorgeous thief Golina Kostantin (Laura Elena Harring from JOHN Q) from Slovakia to Eastern Europe by train. Coincidentally, on board the train is a deadly biological weapon. After the train's first stop terrorists; led by the sadistic Mason Cole (Thomas Arana from GLADIATOR) board with the goal of finding and stealing the vial containing the deadly virus. What they plan to use it for is anyone's guess. <BR>Now for coincidence #2: Among the train's passengers are Kristoff's wife and son. Things really start getting heavy when the virus is let loose throughout the train thanks to the bunglings of one of the terrorists. The leader lets him off lightly though: the culprit is promptly shot through the head, as all nasty terrorists types are wont to do. But as we all know by now, you don't mess with Jean-Claude. Especially when his family is involved. Butt-kicking time.<BR>The movie starts starts OK, but soon derails itself. The addition of unconvincing minature setpieces and an overall air of stupidity make DERAILED about as explosive as a Bay City Rollers reunion. This movie looks and feels no different to any of the other direct to video actioners with stars like Michael Dudikoff and Jeff Speakman. DERAILED is a pretty anemic effort, but not Jean-Claude's worst: NO RETREAT NO SURRENDER and CYBORG are both tied for that dubious honor, but if like myself you're a Van Damme completist you'll want to watch it anyway. Don't say you weren't forewarned. <BR>Extras include a behind the scenes featurette, trailers and subtitles in English and Hindi. Van Damme's worst and most recent,yikes! I hate ever to bad mouth this mans movies because he's brought so much to the action/adventure genre,but after watching Derailed I must say what I feel because it's on my chest.Van Damme's most recent thrillers that have skipped the box office and straight to video {The Order,Replicant}haven't been to bad and I can't believe The Order didn't make theaters.But his newest action flick Derailed is a disgrace to action movies and Van Damme himself,I can't believe Van Damme took Buy Derailed at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Derailed Search with the Priority Search Engine on Derailed This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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