Park Ranger and ex-special forces soldier Henry Taylor (Tom Everett Scott) has two problems:
a) Clay Decker (Orlando Jones), the brother of a deceased comrade wants him dead
b) A group of drug dealers led by Xander (Jean Claude Van Damme) want both of them dead
Can Henry and Clay put aside their differences to defeat their common foe?
This 2013 picture represents Peter Hyams’ latest directorial effort - and it is pretty solid.
The script is fairly straightforward, the filmmaking is functional, and it features one element which elevates above being an average action thriller.
If this is Hyams’ sign-off, it is not a bad way to go - and with a star he had worked with profitably before.
Cast as the film’s villain, Jean Claude Van Damme has a ball. He is making big physical choices, and offsets his bag of physical tricks with a jocular, relaxed performance that gives the familiar kicks and Van Damme’-isms a sense of suspense and danger. He is legitimately threatening in this movie, and Hyams serves him well by showing his physical prowess in extended long takes.
One particular example that stood out was his rapid scramble up a tree after Tom Everett Scott. It never feels like our hero has a chance.
There are points where he seems to be disconnected from everything around him, and playing for the camera, but it works. He conveys a world weariness, a sense of a killer who has done it so long he can no longer keep up the pretense of caring about it.
The decision to cast Van Damme as the villain is the film’s reason for being.
Everett Scott has decent physicality, but otherwise he comes across as bland and wooden. It stands out when he is against Orlando Jones, who makes him disappear. Jones brings the sense of history and pathos that the filmmakers want Henry to have.
The action sequences are low-key, and there are a couple of clunky plot turns (including a character reveal which feels unnecessary).
With its single location and small stakes, Enemies Closer feels like a missing installment in the Marine franchise. In its favor, it handles the outdoor action better than The Marine 4.
Like a lot of Hyams movies, things do get bogged down about halfway through, and there is some dialogue which feels like a first draft. But the movie never stops moving, and it gets its business in 85 minutes.
In a neat closing of the circle, following his father’s role as cinematographer on Universal Soldier: Regeneration, Peter’s son John Hyams contributed to the editing on Enemies Closer. The editing on Enemies Closer is part of its success - the action is frenetic but never confusing, and shows off the elder Hyams’ compositions (and JCVD’s action credentials) to their best.
Overall, Enemies Closer is a solid little programmer. I am surprised Hyams did not join his son John in the DTV action/thriller arena.
No comments:
Post a Comment