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JCVD

EMAILPRINTPeace Arch Entertainment Group

JCVD reviews
64
8.7 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 25 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 37 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Comedy  |  Crime  |  Drama

Written by: Frederic Benudis
Christophe Turpin

Directed by: Mabrouk El Mechri

Release Date:
Theatrical: November 7, 2008
DVD: April 28, 2009

Running Time: 96 minutes, Color

Origin: Belgium | Luxembourg | France

Language(s): French | English

Summary

RATING: R for language and some violence

Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, François Damiens, Zinedine Soualem, Karim Belkhadra, Jean-François Wolff, and Anne Paulicevich

JCVD is an action-packed, comedic satire of the life of movie hero Jean-Claude Van Damme. Playing himself, Jean-Claude finds himself out of money, fighting for custody of his daughter and losing every good action role to Steven Seagal. In an attempt to escape, the aging star walks away from his shrinking spotlight and returns home to his native Brussels. But when he is thrown into a real-life hostage situation, everyone sees a side of Van Damme they've never seen before as he takes on the police, battles the perpetrators and creates a media firestorm that captures the attention of the world. (Peach Arch Entertainment)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

91

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

A reality-twisting cousin to "Being John Malkovich" -- showcases a Van Damme who's sly like a fox about his own image.

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83

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

One of the best movies playing in Portland is, I kid you not, a loopy dramatic thriller starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.

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78

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Post-JCVD, we'll never again be able to think of Van Damme as just another kickboxer turned actor. Van Damme is an actor, pure and simple, and proves that he is just as deft and accomplished as the movies in which he appears.

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75

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

You'll respect him more as an actor if you see this film – and you should, even if you haven't enjoyed the action movies he's made over two decades.

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75

USA Today Claudia Puig

JCVD is a whimsical twist on the biopic, sending up heist movies and breaking cinematic rules to interesting effect. At a critical moment, Van Damme rises out of a tense hostage situation to look into the camera and speak movingly to the audience. He has never seemed more convincing.

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75

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Van Damme says worse things about himself than critics would dream of saying, and the effect is shockingly truthful.

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75

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

The film sags in the middle section, and it's more a novelty item than a fully formed work . But it's very entertaining. And Van Damme proves himself a brave, possibly foolhardy actor, which is more than Steven Seagal ever did.

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75

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

Unlike "Being John Malkovich," which JCVD sometimes resembles, there is no secret portal to the star's head; instead, the audience gets a fleeting glimpse through the smeared window of his soul.

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75

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

A shrewd satire about stardom and the cult of celebrity.

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75

Boston Globe Ty Burr

JCVD may not be the first meta-musclehead movie, but it's certainly the most surprising.

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75

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

JCVD juggles humor with whomping martial-arts moves and a kind of melancholy star turn from the melancholy, muscular star.

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75

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

An inspired melding of action thriller, satire and biographical drama through the looking glass of a funhouse mirror.

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70

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

This functions perfectly well as a Van Damme vehicle, but it's also a funny and poignant look at a man trapped by his own ridiculous reputation.

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70

Time Richard Corliss

Van Damme has been known as a martial-arts legend, movie star and pain in the ass. But never an actor -- until now.

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70

The Hollywood Reporter Bernard Besserglik

JCVD should entertain both movie and action buffs. Van Damme proves once and for all that he's not just a set of glistening pectorals. However, he's still in no danger of being asked to play Hamlet.

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70

Variety Rob Nelson

A French-language meta-movie parody par excellence, constitutes the headiest stretch of the beefy star's career since, well, ever.

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70

Washington Post John Anderson

Inventive, insightful and utterly surprising movie. It takes you places you're not prepared to go: namely, into the soul of a performer best known for flying back kicks. Who, by the way, can act.

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67

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

A canny piece of autobiography that looks at the man behind the legend and the legend behind the man.

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60

Los Angeles Times Sam Adams

The giddy near-brilliance of its central conceit is squandered by flat execution.

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60

Village Voice J. Hoberman

What exactly is JCVD? Comedy? Confession? Confusion? No one will ever mistake these backstage shenanigans for "Irma Vep." But as a self-regarding expression of masculine angst, it's a Damme sight more fun than "Synecdoche."

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60

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Who knew? Turns out, Jean-Claude Van Damme is a funny guy, and a pretty good actor, too. Fans may already be aware of this, but JCVD is likely to introduce a whole new Van Damme to everybody else.

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50

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Some of this is affecting, some of it tedious, and the film's inconsistencies of tone are made more glaring by its peculiar look.

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50

New York Magazine David Edelstein

At one point, Van Damme delivers a long, tortured soliloquy about his alienating stardom to the camera in a single take. It's the most amazing piece of acting I've ever seen by a martial artist. But the film itself doesn't rise above the level of a good try.

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50

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

Van Damme's remarkable performance -- I say this in all seriousness -- comes pretty close to redeeming the picture's murky and overly complicated artistic intentions.

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38

New York Post Kyle Smith

Combines a sketch-comedy premise with pacing like a philosophy seminar.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 8.7 (out of 10) based on 37 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Frisse P. gave it a9:
A surprise and a very good one. Stallone did Copland Roarke did The Wrestler and Van Damme dis JCVD.

Dave R gave it a9:
Surprisingly honest, JCVD proves he can act too! - very enjoyable.

Colin C gave it a2:
Probably is his best movie and hence I gave a full 2.. DULL DULL DULL! Cannot believe folks think it is a 9 or 10.. Maybe I watched a different movie ?

Steve C gave it an8:
This movie is deeply flawed, mostly by way of poor editing. But overall, I enjoyed it. It's different, unpredictable, and takes risks.

Chris B gave it a9:
Probably his best movie ever, hopefully the start of a new phase in his career.

K P gave it an8:
Hands down the best movie Van Damme will ever be a part of. The sincerity and honesty behind it was very refreshing.

jethro a gave it a9:
Funny as hell! Classic!

Read more user comments >

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