Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18707 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-05-10
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 96 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
When a kickboxing police inspector is murdered, his kickboxing twin brother infiltrates the Russian mob in order to see justice meted out--as painfully as possible. A slimmed-down Jean-Claude Van Damme is surprisingly effective as the lead(s), but the real star here is gritty Hong Kong director Ringo Lam (probably best known for City on Fire, the film that inspired Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs), who makes a lethal American debut with this hard-edged, convoluted film, which uses the identical-sibling gimmick to considerably darker effect than the goofball Double Impact. Some incredible stunt work and a terrifically ruthless final reel make this underrated action film a winner, although fans of Species may be somewhat disappointed that costar Natasha Henstridge never fully displays the assets that made her famous. --Andrew Wright

Special Features
2.35 Wide Screen
16:9 Wide Screen
DVD 5
English
Region 2
Dolby Digital English
Dolby Digital
Theatrical Trailer
None

Synopsis
After making several violent Hong Kong action films in the style that's come to be known as heroic bloodshed, Ringo Lam came to Hollywood to make his first American film with Belgian martial arts star Jean-Claude Van Damme. MAXIMUM RISK, like Van Damme's previous DOUBLE IMPACT, is the story of twin brothers. Unlike the earlier film--in which he played brothers with contrasting characters--here he's a French policeman, Alain Moreau, who takes on the identity of his dead brother, Mikhail. They were separated at birth when their mother, Chantal, played by veteran French film actress Stephane Audran, gave one up for adoption to a Russian diplomat. He grew up to become a member of the new Russian Mafia operating out of the Little Odessa section of New York City. When Mikhail is murdered in France after a wild chase through the streets, Alain goes to New York, where he's assumed to be Mikhail by everyone from the local Russian crime boss to his brother's beautiful girlfriend, Alex (Natasha Henstridge) Working with a seemingly unlimited budget for car crashes, Lam stages the action scenes with a kinetic flair and smartly knits them together with the help of sharp editing by Bill Pankow.

Customer Reviews

VAN DAMME ACTION ALL THE WAY
I watched this in bed and I think it's a really good action film, one of VAN DAMME's best.
It's action all the way - explosions, gun battles and a good climax fight.

The story is: Alan Moreau's investigation into the death of his identical twin brother leads leads him from the South of France to the mean streets of New York City and into the arms of his brother's beautiful girlfriend.
Persued by ruthless Russian mobsters and renegade FBI agents, the duo must race against time to solve his brother's murder and expose an international conspiracy.
There's only one problem: all traces of his brother's life are rapidly disappearing, and the one person who knew him best may not be yelling all she knows.

I had high expectations about this film and I was not disappointed, it had all the hallmarks of a classic VAN DAMME films.
Buy this if u are looking for an all out action film or you are a VAN DAMME fan you will not be disappointed.

A cut above the rest
I agree wholeheartedly with Ian, an earlier reviewer. This is far better than an average JCVD movie. I don't think he is as bad an actor as the critics make out, and in this film he gives a very creditable performance with sublety and depth. The storyline is intriguing and offers a plausible reason for a Frenchman to be in New York - unlike other JCVD films where he's called Eddie or Darren and we have to pretend he hasn't got an accent! If only his management could find more scripts like this - then he could flex his acting muscles for a change.

Ace van Damme beat 'em up
Another finely crafted Jean-Claude van Damme movie sees him teamed up with mad Hong Kong action director Ringo Lam in what's probably his most twisty-turny action thriller yet.
Out to find the killer of the twin brother he never knew he had, French cop Alain Moreau travels across the Atlantic to the US. Cue some excellent full-on violent fisticuffs, explosive gunfights, manic car chases with battered old rust bucket Renaults getting (literally) smashed to pieces, bad guys wielding chainsaws... this is van Damme and Ringo Lam going full tilt, no holds barred and you'd be hard pushed to find a better JCVD action flick than this. The plot has you wondering what's going to happen next and keeps the story rolling along at a fair old pace.

The disc's another winner from Columbia. Although the only extra is the trailer (an adrenaline pumped actionfest set to The Prodigy's Firestarter), this is one of van Dammes finest, if not his most enjoyable action outing and worth a place on your shelf.