jonathanruano "Maximum Risk" would have been a good picture, except that there were so many fight scenes and shoot outs, so much vandalism, and so many explosions that they almost crowded out the film's human characters. And this is the main flaw of "Maximum Risk": it should have been about its human characters. The story of Alain Moreau's (Jean Claude Van Damme) search for the people who killed his brother Mikhail Suvurov had the makings of a good film and maybe even a great film, as British director Mike Hodges proved when he directed Michael Caine in Get Carter (1974). Moreover, this film also makes it clear that Alain did not know he had a brother, until he learnt of Mikhail's premature and violent death -- and this was another opening that the filmmakers of "Maximum Risk" should have exploited more fully by writing better dialogue and better scenes for the actors and cutting back on the explosions and vandalism. Yet all of these opportunities were squandered because the filmmakers decided to dumb down this picture. Jean Claude Van Damme, for example, gets even fewer lines than the ones delivered by Natasha Henstridge (who plays Alain's love interest, Alex Minetti), even though he is supposed to be the protagonist in this picture.Now this film is not all bad. The set-up for this picture was good and I also liked the small twist two-thirds into the film, where we see a rare thing in a JCVD movie: Jean Claude Van Damme successfully making a cogent argument involving some sophisticated analysis. But the main strength of this picture has to be Natasha Henstridge's performance as the JCVD love interest, Alex Minetti. Henstridge may not have the best dialogue to work with, but she is able to imbue her lines with enough emotion and intensity to make her character seem plausible. She is probably the most interesting thing in this picture. Jean Claude Van Damme, by contrast, can do little more than reprise his bad boy (who always gets into fights and gets his face bruised) role from films like "Death Warrant," "Double Impact," and "Nowhere to Run." He is not doing anything new in this picture that he did not do far better in previous films and, what is more, we do not even see him do much of his choreographed karate either. Overall a disappointing film.5.4/10

Comeuppance Reviews Alain Moreau (Van Damme) is a French cop who just discovered he has a twin brother. His name was Mikhail Suverov and he worked for the Russian mob. To get to the truth about his life, he travels to New York City, specifically the Little Odessa area. While there he must fight gangsters, as well as double-dealing FBI agents. But just about everyone thinks he's Mikhail. Luckily his brother's girlfriend Alex (Henstridge) is along for the ride. Now Alain has to make it back to France in one piece, but not before causing some major Van Damage in the big apple! Maximum Risk is from the good old days when Van Damme movies went to the theater. Thus, it has a high-quality look and feel, and seems to have a decent budget behind it. It's nice to see the high production values used well by the great Ringo Lam, who would later team up with Van Damme again for Replicant and In Hell (2003).It must be in Van Damme's contract to be in movies where he plays two roles. Most actors never get this chance, but Van Damme has. FIVE times. The movies being Double Impact (1991), Maximum Risk, Replicant (2001), Timecop (1994) and The Order (2001). Just why he feels there aren't enough Van Dammes currently on earth, outside of ego, has yet to be explained. To further emphasize his "double" life, here, in Maximum Risk, Van Damme seeing his reflection is a theme throughout the movie. Glasses, windows, picture frames, and of course mirrors are all employed for psychological purposes. But really this movie is an entertaining thriller that is palatable for general audiences. You don't have to be a Van Damme or martial arts freak to enjoy Maximum Risk.Say what you will about him, but Van Damme has more emotion than Chuck Norris. Or Don "The Dragon" Wilson. Speaking of Wilson, just as his Bloodfist movies are all 80 minutes, it seems another contract demand of Van Damme is that his movies be at least 100 minutes. Maximum Risk is no exception, so naturally there's some filler, but not much. And a classic cliché is on display: the "wacky taxi driver" is on show once again, but at least this time he has a more substantial part to play than usual.Following another JCVD rule, there has to be a scene where he gets nude or semi-nude. Why, we don't know. Here it's the time-honored bathhouse fight, also seen in such movies as Red Heat (1988) and Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991). But at least there's some Natasha Henstridge nudity as well to right the ship. Henstridge, in only her second-ever movie role (after Species, 1995), looks great, and it's sad to see her end up in Scott Wiper crud like A Better Way to Die (2000), but hey, you gotta make a living.Maximum Risk is solid, undemanding entertainment seemingly made to make the careers of Van Damme and Ringo Lam go over well with larger audiences. Watching it today, it's classic 90's fun that's easy to like.For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

sol **SPOILERS** It's when Niece France policeman Alain Moreau, Jean Claude Van-Damme, was summoned to the city morgue to check out a stiff who was killed by going head-first through a moving car's windshield that he realized that he wasn't born alone in the world! His twin brother Mikhail Suverov, came into the world together, within the space of five minutes, with him!Going to see his mom, Stephane Avdran, a shocked Alain learned from her that his brother we given up at birth for adoption since she, being single and with no means of support, couldn't take care of him much less Alain. Determined to find out just what the mysterious Mikhail was doing all these years Alain, finding out that he lived in New York City, took over his identity in order to clear up that mystery! And what a mystery it was! Mikhail was a top member of the Russian Mob in Brighton Beach, or littler Oddesa as it's know, Brooklyn! It was Mikhail who was playing double-agent for the Russian Mob in getting the goods on members of the NYPD and FBI Agents who were secretly working for it!It doesn't take long for Alain, impersonating his brother Mikhail, to go into action having it out with top Russian Mob hit-man Red-Face, Stefanos Mitsakakis, sent by the Russian Mob, in mistaking him for his dead brother Mikhail, first in Niece then in Brooklyn and then back in Niece before he, with the help of a bowie knife, finally put him away for good. Alain also got to know his late brother's girlfriend Alex Minetti, Natasha Henstridge, who worked as a bar maid in a Brighton Beach Russian Mob run nightclub, the Bohemian, who then ended up falling in love with him. Even though Alain put her life in mortal danger by Alex just knowing him.There's also the two dirty FBI Agents Pellman & Loomis, Paul Bn-Victor & Frank Senger, who were responsible for Mikhail death back in Niece who together with the Russain Mob wanted Alain to get his hands on a secret little black book, together with audio tapes and photos, that was locked away in a Niece bank safe deposit box. The contents of that book can can implicated them in dealing with the mob and send the two , as well as dozens of other FBI Agents and NYPD policemen, up the river for the rest of their lives!**SPOILER** The big final in the movie after Alain had almost single handed wrecked half of Brighton Beach, together with the Russian mobsters who live there, takes place back in Niece France where the film first began. It's there where Alain finishes the job that he at first started there by putting an end to what was still left of the Russian Mob together with its partners in crime FBI Agents Pellman & Loomis. Alain achieved all that in a wild bank shoot out together with a number of multi car explosions as well as a climatic bone chilling battle, in a massive walk-in freezer, with a crazed and out of control Loomis, using a chainsaw, and profusely sweating, in spite of the freezing cold, Pellman at a Niece meat packing factory!

DigitalRevenantX7 The Story: Alain, a French policeman, is shocked to discover that he had a twin brother when his body is found in Nice. Investigating the murder, he finds out that he was in possession of a list that details the deeds of the Russian Mafia. Helped by his brother's girlfriend, Alain dodges Russian gangsters & corrupt FBI agents while trying to find the list."Maximum Risk" is another one of the long list of action films that feature Jean-Claude Van Damme. As far as things go, it is strictly formulaic. The script sticks to the clichés & the acting is mediocre. There are some nicely done action sequences, with an inventive car chase, a fight in a burning building, an escape through rooftops, a brutal fight in an elevator & JCVD fleeing his enemies over an elevated train line. Director Ringo Lam keeps everything going at a reasonable pace.