Maximum Risk DVD Review

Although I have heard many lament at the fact that Jean-Claude Van Damme seems forever residing in home video collections, but I’m just always amazed when I discover another of his films. With as many films as he has made I am not at all surprised that the same plots have been used countless times. Van Damme has avenged many women, protected and slept with even more, been in the future occasionally, and none of this bothered me. The fact that he has played twins of some sort so many times that it just makes me laugh. One Van Damme is plenty, so at least in Maximum Risk we are never asked to watch him play two characters in the same scene. I suppose I only know a few people that miss Van Damme, but I am one of them and although this isn’t one of his best films, in some of the better segments of Maximum Risk I am reminded of why.

The less important of the two twins is killed in the opening sequence, a typical but energetic chase scene through Nice, France. Afterwards Alain Moreau (Van Damme) discovers that the twin brother he never knew he had has been killed. In order to figure out why his brother had been found dead in his city, Moreau decides to travel to his brother’s city; New York. Once arriving it doesn’t take Moreau long to figure out that his brother had connections with the Russian mafia, mostly because everyone mistakes him for his brother. This includes his brother’s girlfriend (Natasha Henstridge), who is extremely happy to see Moreau without knowing who he really is, and in order to fulfill the male fantasy for as long as possible, Moreau takes his time in telling her who he really is. Even when he does tell her there isn’t much time for emotions in Maximum Risk. This is near the end of classic Van Damme, and the action doesn’t stop for long.

If nothing else, the sound is spectacular on the Blu-ray. One of the most important elements in replicating the theatrical experience is great sound, which impresses me far more than the visual improvements of high definition, and Maximum Risk is the perfect example. Despite that it is nearly fifteen years old, the sound on the disc is so clear and sharp that I found myself more engaged in the action scenes, even if they often felt similar to a dozen other Van Damme films.