It really seems like that out of all the great 80s action stars, Jean-Claude Van Damme has aged the most gracefully, not just as an action star, but in reinventing himself as a singular performer through his meta-narrative dives in stuff like JCVD and the recent show, Jean-Claude Van Johnson. He doesn’t shy away from his age in the way other actors have done, and instead embraced it, and allowing for some occasionally interesting experimentation.
His new film, The Bouncer, offers a rare but welcome opportunity for Van Damme to stretch his dramatic muscles. It’s less like another one of those DTV actioners, and instead keeps the action fairly minimal, playing more like a hardboiled crime drama, complete with a droning, propulsive 80s inspired electronic score, and bursts of visceral and tension filled violence.
The film follows Lukas (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a bouncer at a night club, who – after getting fired due to an encounter with a drunk guy goes bad – gets hired as a doorman for a sketchy strip club. However, things soon get complicated for Lukas, who is also a widowed single father, as he is forced to work with the police who want to know more about the strip club owners, who have other operations happening on the side.
Julien Leclercq, who is directing from a script by Jérémie Guez, clearly knows how to work to Van Damme’s strengths, and Van Damme has the screen presence to make it all work. He doesn’t often play average Joe types, but his grizzled and exhausted physicality lends itself well to the bleak and desperate circumstances that the character finds himself in.
Certain action fans might be a bit disappointed at the film’s more meditative approach, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any great action here. An early brawl where Lukas auditions for the doorman job at the strip club features some fantastic hand-to-hand combat. There’s a wonderful tracking shot in the middle of the film where Lukas sneaks into a house for an extraction. And there’s an intense car chase inside a parking garage. There’s more than enough here to satisfy action junkies, but the drama of a father having to use his withered body as a tool to make the money necessary to raise his daughter is plenty compelling on its own merit.
The Bouncer isn’t going to blow your mind, by any means. The plot doesn’t have much in terms of surprise or innovation, it simply keeps things relatively straightforward and as serious-minded as possible, which might not be everyone’s cup of tea. It’s just a small pulpy film with modest ambitions, but it very much meets those ambitions, mostly due to the distinctive gravitas that Jean-Claude Van Damme is able to bring to the central role. You buy into his struggle, you buy into his love for his daughter, and you buy that he’s willing to go through hell and back to ensure her well being. He is excellent here, and for anyone who has been a fan of the actor, the film will be a cool, little treat that is definitely worth seeking out.