A.W.O.L., 1990.
Directed by Sheldon Lettich.
Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Harrison Page, Deborah Rennard, Brian Thompson, Lisa Pelikan, Ashley Johnson, Abdel Qissi and Eric Karson.
SYNOPSIS:
A French Foreign Legion deserter takes to street fighting to help pay his murdered brother’s wife’s debts whilst trying to avoid capture.
Sandwiched between the classic Kickboxer and the largely under-appreciated Death Warrant, A.W.O.L. (or Lionheart if you’re in the US) sees Jean-Claude Van Damme on fine form as Lyon Gaultier, a soldier in the French Foreign Legion who receives a letter saying that his brother has been set on fire by drug dealers and is lying in a Los Angeles hospital with not a lot of hope for recovery. Escaping from his camp after being refused leave by his oddly angry superior officer, Lyon stows away on a ship to America but ends up in New York so, needing to earn some money to travel across the country, he ends up competing in no-holds-barred street fighting bouts, where he meets streetwise fight organiser Joshua (Harrison Page – Bad Ass) who introduces him to the unscrupulous Cynthia (Deborah Rennard – Dallas) and her assistant Russell (Brian Thompson – Cobra). Sensing a big pay day, Cynthia courts Lyon with promises to help him out with money for his sister-in-law and her young daughter on the condition that he fights the unbeaten and very lethal Attila (Abdel Qissi – The Quest), but with the Foreign Legion in pursuit and his extended family to support, can Lyon beat the odds and come out on top?
What separates A.W.O.L. from other Van Damme movies of the period is that it actually has a story (written by JCVD himself) and, much like its main character, it has a heart. Van Damme doesn’t just fly around the screen with a constipated look on his face – although he does some of the time – but he also has a few scenes that call on the actor to emote a little more than what other action stars of the time were called to do, and to his credit he doesn’t do a bad job despite his obvious limitations. It also helps that he is supported by a cast of character actors whose faces you’ll recognise but the names escape you (Brian Thompson and Harrison Page definitely fall under the “Hey, it’s that guy” banner), and despite the film delving head-first into the department of cheese on more than one occasion – just check out that emotive late ‘80s/early ‘90s score that’ll creep under your skin like an infection – it doesn’t ever take away from the family drama or the action elements of the film.
And while there is definitely an attempt to create a family based drama, at its (Lion)heart it’s an action film and sees The Muscles From Brussels in some of his most brutal – at that point, at least – fight scenes that escalate from grubby underground car parks up to empty swimming pools in a millionaire’s Hollywood mansion. Naturally, Van Damme was on peak form at this time and provides all of the moves that you would expect but there is also more blood on show than you would normally see, and a lot of the fights also show Lyon getting his arse kicked before finding the spirit to go all the way and finish his opponents off, instead of leaving him unscathed like a lot of other action stars (**ahem** Steven Seagal…) would insist on.
If there are any complaints about A.W.O.L. – apart from the overpowering whiff of fromage that generates from the score and the occasionally over-sentimental script – it’s that the direction is fairly flat and offers nothing to get too excited about, especially coming off the back of Kickboxer and Bloodsport, which offered up a bit more flair with the visuals. However, Jean-Claude Van Damme’s heartfelt performance, while not consistently successful, gives the film a lot to get invested in and contrasts the bloody fight scenes nicely, making this crisp and clear print of A.W.O.L. one for the collectors to snap up and one that also provides a good argument against those who claim JCVD’s movies are just brainless action and nothing else.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Chris Ward
https://youtu.be/8HTiU_hrLms?list=PL18yMRIfoszFLSgML6ddazw180SXMvMz5
Originally published May 18, 2015. Updated April 14, 2018.
