Wrong Bet (1990)

Yes yes, I know that this one is also called 'Lionheart'. But I always knew this one as 'Wrong Bet' and it will always remain 'Wrong Bet' to me. Besides, that sounds a lot better than the ridiculously generic 'Lionheart'-title, which reminds me more of something about Richard the Lionheart.

Has Van Damme ever starred in a film about medieval knights? Can't remember, but I'd love to see him do his spinkick and splits in full armour. That would be epic.

This one was still early on in Van Damme's career, but it is one of his finer moments after the already pretty impressive 'Bloodsport' and 'Kickboxer'. The dude had (and still has, actually) the moves and the fighting elegance that made him an international star to begin with. Let's be honest: we didn't watch these films for deep dialogue and Oscar-worthy performances. We watched it for the ass-whoopin' and boy, there's a ton of that here.

Van Damme plays Léon Gaultier, a soldier in the French foreign legion who learns that his brother was killed. He makes it to the US (illegally) and wants to see his brother's wife and kid, because he feels the need to provide for them. The only problem is that he doesn't have any financial means and he is drawn into an underground circuit of fights for the amusement of heavily betting rich people.

That is pretty much it, in effect. You move from fight to fight and in between there are minor moments of character building, but there's not a lot of character to build, so it's quickly back to fighting. And that is obviously where this film shines the brightest. In contrast to the sometimes more stylized combat of his previous two outings, this one keeps it fairly raw and real. Many thanks to fight coordinators Frank Dux (the guy Van Damme portrayed in 'Bloodsport') and Van Damme's long time collaborator Michel Qissi. They go for hard-hitting realism and sometimes you get the feeling you yourself are getting punched around. Now we all know that if one of these guys did a single kick or punch straight to someone's face, said someone would be knocked out cold where these guys withstand a ton of punishment, but still. It works.

By far the most epic part of the film is near the end where Léon is set up to lose to a big guy called Atilla. Even Léon's friend has bet money on Atilla and upon hearing this, Van Damme utters those two words that give you goosebumps.

"Wrong bet."

See, I told you that is a way better title for this film? Now go and see it.