Damage

I never seen like this movie

"Damage" is a remake of a Charles Bronson flick, "Hard Times," which in turn was remade some years later with J.C. Van Damme. Steve Austin plays an ex-con who gets involved in the murky and illegal world of bare knuckle fighting. A hokey subplot has our hero trying to raise enough money to obtain a new heart for the daughter of a late acquaintance. Walter Goggins plays Austin's sleazy but likable manager and the very pretty Laura Van DerVoot is Goggins' partner. Several veteran actors were cast as well, including Donnelly Rhodes, to support Austin, who in fact isn't all that bad as the soft-spoken, hard-hitting tough guy. Casting several veterans in a film like this is nothing new; it has been used with folks like Chuck Norris, Ah-nuld and Steven Segal, none of whom started out as actors. The fights are clumsily staged, which in a strange way befits an ex-pro wrestler. "Damage" doesn't begin to touch the Bronson version, but it is watchable, especially for Goggins, who reminds me of a young Tom Cruise.

Why Excellent? Matrix-level (but very different) action movie. A rough, "theoretically sophisticated" action movie with an amazingly clear ethical and metaphysical dimension. On the action movie: conforming to Yin-Yang principles, use of Chin Na in a symbolic place, fighters with specific styles, brilliant reverberation of the first fight, and all this in rough, bloody street-fight, with sheer determinations and blocks of energy testing each other, at a point brilliantly nodding to Rodrigez. And all this in an amazingly clear ethical setting. Imagine that there is a man, who could be any of us. We could be this man if we believe that we have committed anything wrong. And he is forgiven. This is where the film starts. And the film is about the effects of doing everything morally correctly and responsibly. As a catalyst or alchemical amalgam this person doing the right cuts through a world not by destroying it but by forcing everyone else (i.e. all the non-fighters) to do morally right decisions. He is teaching all, like Jesus. Silently, without a word. And at the same time with all fighters he behaves as perfect gentleman - or warrior, always yielding a little, letting them show how far they go, and then adjusting the "teaching" load. Perfect for both East and West. For both believers and atheists. This amazing clarity is also true in my opinion of the filming style, and smooth transitions between levels of narrative and layers of the human psyche. The most mature action movie I have ever seen. Danny the Dog and Ong Bak Enlightened, in a guy heavier than the two of them together.

There's a workable story hiding in there somewhere, but it's mostly obscured by mind-numbingly cheap fights, a clichéd soundtrack and general DTV feel. Stone Cold Steve Austin is John Brickner, a recently paroled ex-con. He is aided by Veronica (Lynda Boyd), the widow of the man John was imprisoned for killing. However, Veronica's help is not motivated by forgiveness or understanding, but rather by a need to have John help her with her own desperate agenda. Needing money and fast, John befriends underground fight agent Reno (Walton Goggins) and his girlfriend Frankie (Laura Vandervoort). Together they enter a fight circuit hoping that the rewards of victory will solve their respective dilemmas. The acting in "Damage" is sub-par. Here I don't evaluate Steve Austin because you aren't expecting much. Laura Vandervoort is a little bit of eye candy, but her character seems more interested in appearing scene than actually helping her man out. Walton Goggins is too old for his role and is very inconsistent. Sometimes he's convincing, sometimes very dry --- but you can never put a finger on what his character really values. Instead of helping his woman, his character seems to gamble all his spare dollars away. Thematically the film is a Christian tract with an "original sin" subtext. Necessarily, this leads to a class warfare view of social relationships whereby everyone is either portrayed as a "master" or a "slave" due to their debts --- moral, economic or otherwise. By consequence this perpetuates the bromides that money = root of all evil, and happiness consists of a duty ethic. And oh yeah, rich whitey is behind it all. Many action film fans are willing to overlook genre clichés if the film has exciting fights, like in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine". But the fights in "Damage" consist of unrealistic blood splatter and mindless repetition, so it's doubtful that even the action buffs will be satisfied. Steve Austin only throws hay-makers (which rarely appear to connect),and his primary fighting attribute seems to be that he is "Stone Cold", i.e., takes a beating without getting knocked out. The "final fight" of the film hearkens back to the cheese of mid-80's action flicks, but without the enjoyable payoff. Captive audiences should not be made to endure such a ruthless conglomeration of "YOU CAN DO IT!" aerobic workout music and extreme body greasing. It's not 1986 anymore, and there's just no excuse for direction of this kind. The whole film is summed up by the homophobic hug given at the end: Weak.

This is the second Steve Austin film I've watched this night. They both seemed to be morality lessons. THIS is how to be brave. THIS is how to be noble. THIS is how to be kind, etc. Early TV was like that. A typical sitcom would present a moral dilemma, and then give a demonstration of how to address it. Seen on Tubi, the free streaming site; which has many indie films, low budget films, foreigns, and older major studio films. Now Tubi has live TV.

"Do you mind if we finish this?"...is the line Steve Austin uses before he knocks out his last opponent in Damage. Steve Austin wasted too many good years in the wrestling ring when he could have been honing his acting chops in action films like this one. Austin plays an ex-con named John Brickner, who is enticed in to the underground fight world with the promise of a six figure pay cheque by a bar maid named Frankie played by Laura Vandervoort and her questionable crony friend Reno Paulsaint played by Walton Goggins. Okay, so the story line has been done hundreds of times before. In this action film John Brickner agrees to enter the underground cage fight scene in an effort to raise $250K to pay for a new heart for the pre- teen daughter of the man Brickner strangled to death years earlier. I like Steve Austin as the ass kicking hero with a big heart in Damage. His fight scenes are better than most action stars, and his acting character that he portrays is humble and realistic. If you like the action and fight scene genre than you should enjoy this film better than the other average cage fight movies. Steve Austin should go on to make many more action movies based on the quality of his acting skills, large physique, calm cool collected mannerisms, and his natural All American hero image.

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