The Last Mercenary Scene That Proves You Should Never Fight Jean-Claude Van Damme
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Jean-Claude Van Damme has been a force of the action film scene since the '80s, and he's not slowing down anytime soon. The "Muscles from Brussels" returns for another round of martial arts movie magic in "The Last Mercenary," and he brings along all of those signature moves that made him such an international superstar, as well as a few new ones, to the action-comedy film.
The French-language movie features Van Damme as Richard Brumère, a former secret service agent turned in-demand mercenary who's known only as "the Mist" thanks to his ability to disappear into thin air to get the job of the day done. Due to his high-profile status, Brumère secured immunity for his then-infant son, Archibald, over two decades ago. But once that protection is unexpectedly lifted and Archibald's (Samir Decazza) life is threatened by the mafia, Brumère must step in to save his son — even if the kid has no idea who his father is or why he's been absent from his life up to that point. As Brumère assembles an eclectic new team filled with a few former contacts, a couple of resourceful youths, and an off-kilter bureaucrat, he finds that he's in for a fight like none other when his foes close in.
That's where Van Damme's extreme martial arts skills come into play in a big way. There are many awesome fight scenes that show off Van Damme's impressive talents in "The Last Mercenary," but there's one scene in particular that shows why his character's enemies should never try to take him on. Let's take a look at the newest movie moment that brings some vintage Van Damme domination to the screen.
A history of violence
Throughout his blockbuster career, Van Damme has become one of the most recognizable and respected action heroes of all time, thanks in no small part to the fact that he brings his formidable real-life fighting skills to the big screen. (After all, the man has a black belt in karate, and he's competed in full-contact kickboxing competitions.) Fans of the actor would be hard-pressed to pick a favorite among his films because he's got so many cinematic wins under his belt, including "Kickboxer," "Bloodsport," "Timecop," "Universal Soldier," "Street Fighter," and "Hard Target," just to name a few.
And in "The Last Mercenary," Van Damme gets a chance to remind audiences exactly why he's still such a top-tier talent of the genre. At first, his character uses some very creative evasion skills to keep his unusual team out of harm's way — and to make good on his nickname, of course. But despite some ingenious efforts to pull off an undercover operation, he eventually finds himself face-to-face with danger once the stakes are raised to all new heights. Even though Brumère is outnumbered and unequipped with the kind of weaponry that might easily win him a fight, he's still an absolute force to be reckoned with, and he makes his opponents pay for even trying to test him.
Melee in the game room
Things come to a head when Brumère and his son, Archibald, are caught trying to impersonate the "Scarface"-obsessed criminal who's been stealing Archibald's identity as a cover for a dangerous weapons exchange. After their plan to buy the so-called "Big Mac" device and catch the sellers in their international terrorism scheme goes south, Brumère must engage in some good, old-fashioned hand-to-hand combat with the bad guy's goons.
Make that foot-to-foot combat because, though Brumère has little more than a terrible costume wig to work with, he still has a mean kick — something no Van Damme character is complete without, considering the actor's long history of intense leg work. And while introducing his foot to their faces isn't enough to fully stop the villains, it does buy Brumère some time to come up with another inventive fight maneuver.
Since the fight takes place in a neon-soaked game room, there are plenty of toys that can be used as deadly weapons. From a boxing bag to a few stray billiard balls, this leisure suite is filled with objects that the resourceful Brumère can use to his advantage. Between his sweeping kicks, gnarly jabs, and a few unexpected weapons, Brumère gets the better of the full-on squad of attackers all by himself, even if he takes a few bowling pins to the noggin along the way.
Eventually, his own team jumps into the action to secure the payload, but Brumère doesn't quit serving up some pain to his nemeses. By the end of the fight, nary a strand of his fake hair is out of place. And throughout the entire action scene, we're reminded of all of the ways Jean-Claude Van Damme can manipulate his environment to hold his own against his enemies, no matter how many there are or how few weapons he has at his disposal. Simply put, we wouldn't bet against him in a match, and we certainly wouldn't want to be on his bad side.