Post by ronnierocketago on Mar 6, 2010 4:22:05 GMT
SECOND IN COMMAND (2006) - **
If you've seen a handful of these Direct to Video actioneer releases, you notice a common meme:
(1) All these take place inexplicably in Eastern Europe, which also happen to be very budget friendly for Hollywood.
(2) Coincidentally the villains and supporting cast usually are Eastern European too
(3) Lackluster production values
(4) Lazy insulting scriptwriting
(4) Way too many uncomfortable close-up shots
(5) Saturated cinematography
(6) Chaotic ADD-friendly editing narratives
(7) Uninspired boring action choreography
(8) The last refuge for has-been major action stars from Steven Seagal to Wesley Snipes to our guy today, Jean Claude Van Damme.
(9) I have less patience for DTV rubbish like this after UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: REGENERATION.
Both RENEGERATION and SECOND IN COMMAND star Van Damme, but they're leagues apart. REGENERATION wasn't just the best DTV actioneer I've ever seen but also quite frankly more creative, more exciting, more energetic, and more interesting than the last few Hollywood blockbuster action releases.
But SECOND IN COMMAND....it's your typical DTV picture full of cliches not because it choose to play safe, but because the filmmakers don't know any better. Alot of these productions make the mistake of trying to emulate your big budget Hollywood pictures with only limited resources, instead of being inspired by and make use of this problem like REGENERATION. Strange enough if this was a blind test taste having not seen either (or read REGENERATION's early pre-release buzz), I would guess that maybe SECOND would have the better chance of being more watchable because of the reliable plot. Plus before REGENERATION, despite my reputation, I couldn't give two shits about UNIVERSAL SOLDIER in any way. John Hyams changed my mind.
SECOND IN COMMAND is a topical redressing of John Carpenter's ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, itself a clone of RIO BRAVO and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: Your besieged heroes outnumbered and outarmed by a hostile enemy. In this case, a low priority U.S. Embassy in an unnamed East European country where the democratically-elected, American-allied President has been deposed by militant insurgents and has been granted asylum by the Embassy. The hostile rebels set their sights on the compound, with the indigenous Army and Marine relief expedition 6 hours away. Military attache Van Damme takes command with only 15 Marines and staff to fend off against hundreds.
My first impression while watching this is how this gimmick demanded to be set in Baghdad. It would have been perhaps an appropriate meaningful political metaphor, the imperialistic United States overstretched in lands its absolutely unprepared to tackle. But alas as I alluded to above, we get instead goddamn communists. Besides the fact that this political template is out of date (I hear NeoCons bring up communism more than liberals) Americans don't give a fuck about Eastern Europe. Why you think the public didn't make a fuss when Obama dismantled our ABM weapons system components in those friendly governments? Sorry Latvia, no offense mate but we couldn't pick you on the map at gunpoint.
Maybe this is for the best for I find the politics questionable, and even possibly insulting if this was located in Baghdad. You have Van Damme the gung ho total soldier in a bitchy feud with the stationed CIA agent (what the story didn't have enough conflict?), who portrayed here as the pussy wetpants wants the Embassy evacuated and Van Damme refuses to budge from his John Wanye strutting. Why exactly is the spy's plan so bad? Van Damme is only in that stupid country for only a day, that operative for years. Yet this movie paints the agent as the naive jerk who could get everyone killed? Wouldn't that also apply to Van Damme's character? Sometimes retreat is a viable rational option. Besides the Embassy is only a building, why give these insurgent assholes valuable hostages? Clearly Van Damme's character never used or heard a sentence which used together the words "1979" and "Tehran."
There is one really good touch though, when the terrorists hold hostages and Van Damme angrily lectures about them violating the Geneva Convention, the villain throws it back in his face: "But as you can see, we aren't in a declared war."[/i] We have a nice throwaway finale where the last survivors devise a plan to ambush the invaders by loading up bombs loaded with shrapnel, made up of miscellanous junk like office supplies, spent bullet shells, keys, coins, flag pins, tooth picks, etc. Too bad such non-cliche moments are too sparse in SECOND.
Regardless the material's natural appeal is undermined for the suspense and tension necessary for such a thriller just never brews. Maybe I was hoping for too much from a director who's other output includes other DTV features like the Snipes vehicle 7 SECONDS and BLESSED, where Heather Graham gets impregnated by the Devil. Clearly that last one is pure fantasy, for surely Ole Scratch would have better taste and stuck his little constitution in a better-looking woman. Unless Lucy really loved BOOGIE NIGHTS, which I can't blame because most guys at one point or another would have a slight crush on Roller Girl.
The action is disapointingly lacking. Look I try to give such small action movies a break or two considering their situation ($15 million for SECOND) but SECOND is inexcusably flat. There is a critical moment when Van Damme and a carload of soldiers make a dramatic rescue of the President from angry rioters, and they make a mad dash by foot to the Embassy with the bad guys behind them firing away. Yet you get the impression that this "chase" from a wideshoot that this looks more like people loitering at a food court. I guess since this is a Van Damme film, we get his obligatory display of martial arts (for no real logical reason) and dullard routine finale fist fight with the villain. Been there, done that. Nevermind that plot twist which makes absolutely no sense at all, less said the better.
Junk like SECOND IN COMMAND you almost completely forget once the credits roll. Then I recognize and appreciate more and more how well-crafted such contemporary siege tales like ASSAULT and its spiritual French remake, THE NEST (aka THE WASP'S NEST). They have incredible patience in setting up the situation, make sure the audience understands the complete locational geography, and tightly set up why these people without recourse or escape have to fight and wait out this claustrophobic nightmare. My favorite aspect is watching the villains orchestrate new tactics upon strategy to penetrate the fortress, and the heroes must use their wits and willpower to counteract them.
We don't get that here. One thing about SECOND IN COMMAND sticks out more than anything else. There is a shot where the rebels are on the rooftops of the government buildings and apartment dwellings overlooking the Embassy. Yet the enemy never once utilize this natural advantage that would have probably served them well in this urban war, and nobody ever mentions this. How did these dipshits overthrow the government?
If you've seen a handful of these Direct to Video actioneer releases, you notice a common meme:
(1) All these take place inexplicably in Eastern Europe, which also happen to be very budget friendly for Hollywood.
(2) Coincidentally the villains and supporting cast usually are Eastern European too
(3) Lackluster production values
(4) Lazy insulting scriptwriting
(4) Way too many uncomfortable close-up shots
(5) Saturated cinematography
(6) Chaotic ADD-friendly editing narratives
(7) Uninspired boring action choreography
(8) The last refuge for has-been major action stars from Steven Seagal to Wesley Snipes to our guy today, Jean Claude Van Damme.
(9) I have less patience for DTV rubbish like this after UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: REGENERATION.
Both RENEGERATION and SECOND IN COMMAND star Van Damme, but they're leagues apart. REGENERATION wasn't just the best DTV actioneer I've ever seen but also quite frankly more creative, more exciting, more energetic, and more interesting than the last few Hollywood blockbuster action releases.
But SECOND IN COMMAND....it's your typical DTV picture full of cliches not because it choose to play safe, but because the filmmakers don't know any better. Alot of these productions make the mistake of trying to emulate your big budget Hollywood pictures with only limited resources, instead of being inspired by and make use of this problem like REGENERATION. Strange enough if this was a blind test taste having not seen either (or read REGENERATION's early pre-release buzz), I would guess that maybe SECOND would have the better chance of being more watchable because of the reliable plot. Plus before REGENERATION, despite my reputation, I couldn't give two shits about UNIVERSAL SOLDIER in any way. John Hyams changed my mind.
SECOND IN COMMAND is a topical redressing of John Carpenter's ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, itself a clone of RIO BRAVO and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD: Your besieged heroes outnumbered and outarmed by a hostile enemy. In this case, a low priority U.S. Embassy in an unnamed East European country where the democratically-elected, American-allied President has been deposed by militant insurgents and has been granted asylum by the Embassy. The hostile rebels set their sights on the compound, with the indigenous Army and Marine relief expedition 6 hours away. Military attache Van Damme takes command with only 15 Marines and staff to fend off against hundreds.
My first impression while watching this is how this gimmick demanded to be set in Baghdad. It would have been perhaps an appropriate meaningful political metaphor, the imperialistic United States overstretched in lands its absolutely unprepared to tackle. But alas as I alluded to above, we get instead goddamn communists. Besides the fact that this political template is out of date (I hear NeoCons bring up communism more than liberals) Americans don't give a fuck about Eastern Europe. Why you think the public didn't make a fuss when Obama dismantled our ABM weapons system components in those friendly governments? Sorry Latvia, no offense mate but we couldn't pick you on the map at gunpoint.
Maybe this is for the best for I find the politics questionable, and even possibly insulting if this was located in Baghdad. You have Van Damme the gung ho total soldier in a bitchy feud with the stationed CIA agent (what the story didn't have enough conflict?), who portrayed here as the pussy wetpants wants the Embassy evacuated and Van Damme refuses to budge from his John Wanye strutting. Why exactly is the spy's plan so bad? Van Damme is only in that stupid country for only a day, that operative for years. Yet this movie paints the agent as the naive jerk who could get everyone killed? Wouldn't that also apply to Van Damme's character? Sometimes retreat is a viable rational option. Besides the Embassy is only a building, why give these insurgent assholes valuable hostages? Clearly Van Damme's character never used or heard a sentence which used together the words "1979" and "Tehran."
There is one really good touch though, when the terrorists hold hostages and Van Damme angrily lectures about them violating the Geneva Convention, the villain throws it back in his face: "But as you can see, we aren't in a declared war."[/i] We have a nice throwaway finale where the last survivors devise a plan to ambush the invaders by loading up bombs loaded with shrapnel, made up of miscellanous junk like office supplies, spent bullet shells, keys, coins, flag pins, tooth picks, etc. Too bad such non-cliche moments are too sparse in SECOND.
Regardless the material's natural appeal is undermined for the suspense and tension necessary for such a thriller just never brews. Maybe I was hoping for too much from a director who's other output includes other DTV features like the Snipes vehicle 7 SECONDS and BLESSED, where Heather Graham gets impregnated by the Devil. Clearly that last one is pure fantasy, for surely Ole Scratch would have better taste and stuck his little constitution in a better-looking woman. Unless Lucy really loved BOOGIE NIGHTS, which I can't blame because most guys at one point or another would have a slight crush on Roller Girl.
The action is disapointingly lacking. Look I try to give such small action movies a break or two considering their situation ($15 million for SECOND) but SECOND is inexcusably flat. There is a critical moment when Van Damme and a carload of soldiers make a dramatic rescue of the President from angry rioters, and they make a mad dash by foot to the Embassy with the bad guys behind them firing away. Yet you get the impression that this "chase" from a wideshoot that this looks more like people loitering at a food court. I guess since this is a Van Damme film, we get his obligatory display of martial arts (for no real logical reason) and dullard routine finale fist fight with the villain. Been there, done that. Nevermind that plot twist which makes absolutely no sense at all, less said the better.
Junk like SECOND IN COMMAND you almost completely forget once the credits roll. Then I recognize and appreciate more and more how well-crafted such contemporary siege tales like ASSAULT and its spiritual French remake, THE NEST (aka THE WASP'S NEST). They have incredible patience in setting up the situation, make sure the audience understands the complete locational geography, and tightly set up why these people without recourse or escape have to fight and wait out this claustrophobic nightmare. My favorite aspect is watching the villains orchestrate new tactics upon strategy to penetrate the fortress, and the heroes must use their wits and willpower to counteract them.
We don't get that here. One thing about SECOND IN COMMAND sticks out more than anything else. There is a shot where the rebels are on the rooftops of the government buildings and apartment dwellings overlooking the Embassy. Yet the enemy never once utilize this natural advantage that would have probably served them well in this urban war, and nobody ever mentions this. How did these dipshits overthrow the government?