Inferno

I saw this movie on Tv. It started good with showing a coyote running in the desert. But after that it became machoactioncomedy. As Van Damme fan I could watch it. I even enjoyed somehow. The story is simple: Bad guys steal his bike that belong to his friend and shoot him. He survives and he wants revenge and take his bike back. The movie tries to be this spiritual movie and it even succeeds in it but the comedy kinda spoils it. I liked the set where the movie was shot. The old people were funny. Ohh that sex scene was hilarious. There is man who goes straight to action! And of cource everybody love Van Dammes martial art kicks and we see them. They save best for end of the film. Checkout Pat Morita from Karate Kid series. Danny Trejo played JCVD´s mysterious friend. Like every review I tell you: If you are Van Damme fan you might like it. The movie went straight to video but I think it would do okay in the Box Office. Overall **/*****

Van Damme is bringing a motorcycle as a present for his friend Johnny before he kills himself. He then finds himself robbed and left for dead before being rescued and nursed back to health by Johnny. He then decides to bring down the criminal gangs that attacked him by playing each one against the other. Oh good. Another version of Yojimbo, with Van Damme in the lead. This is a poor film, the plot is pretty weak considering it ripped off a classic, and the script is everything you'd expect - stereotypical white trash dialogue. This film is worn thin after so many versions and Inferno (or whatever you saw it as) doesn't have anything new to bring to the party. That said, the action is quite good and there are some comic touches along the way, mainly due to the performances rather than the script. Van Damme often has a smirk on his face all the way through his - he almost seems bemused by the whole thing. But he definitely seems to enjoy most of his role as he takes on both gangs, has sex etc etc. It's apparent that he's getting paid well and that he sees this project as a bit of fun. Certainly his character is relaxed and killing people without losing his smile. He's not very good here - his performance varies from crap serious stuff (the drunken rant at the start) to him smiling while chatting over dead bodies. Sadly the Oscar committee missing out on this because it was a video release - I sure he would have been up there. Danny Trejo pops up in another direct-to-video role and again he just seems to be enjoying collecting the money (after all he's been in better - but he's been in much worse!). Larry Drake appears in his occasional rent-a-villain performance but doesn't do much. Love interest Rhonda is played by Gabrielle Fitzpatrick but she doesn't have much to do apart from staring at Van Damme's muscles. And of course, when you need Southern American white trash you call Jamie Pressly (Ringmaster, Poor White Trash), she's ok here but I'd really like to see if she can play any other role apart from trailer trash. The film is a bit of fun despite being very weak. It's obvious that this was not aimed at the discerning end of the market. The makers doubt the intelligence of the audience so much that they actually have the characters talk about the film Yojimbo because they figured we wouldn't be able to work out what we had just seen. Better than most direct-to-video movies but it's sad to see Van Damme's movie clout continue to fall away.

I chanced upon this screen gem on USA as part of their Jean-Claude Van Damme summer movie marathon. Kind of a bizarre mix of "Mad Max", where a loner takes on thugs on motorcycles who are terrorizing the citizens of some out-of-the-way "town" ("town" as in five buildings and a law-abiding population of 12); "A Fistfull of Dollars"/"Yojimbo"/"Last Man Standing", where a loner pits two rival criminal organizations against each other; and gay * (two sweaty men in their underwear massaging each other's feet!). All of the supporting characters are campy caricatures and the interaction is comical. Gee, Rhonda's world famous apple pie was so good that JC took only one bite and left the rest... and apparently no one in the desert bats an eye at murder, or drinks water for that matter. The action was OK for a DTV flick, but don't rent it if that's what you're looking for. Its real appeal is the campiness. "Desert Heat" is a good pick if you want something mindless and off-the-wall to kill a couple of hours.

This is the third Jean Claude Van Damme movie I have seen. One, "JCVD", was brilliant...believe it or not. Another, "Lionheart", was good. And then there was this one!!! "Inferno" (also known as "Deset Heat") is a Van Damme movie that is assisted by a nice assembly of supporting character actors. Pat Morita, Danny Trejo, Vincent Schiavelli and many others are nice additions, though I especially liked Bill Erwin as a very goofy and funny old codger*! However, no matter how nice these actors are in the film, it really is NOT 'Yojimbo" which it's reported to be...."Yojimbo" was a brilliant Kurosawa film. You'll see little brilliance in this picture...mostly a lot of explosions, expletives and macho histrionics which defy common sense. When the story begins, Eddie (Van Damme) is in the middle of the desest--tired of living and in a funk. However, a gang of thugs attack him, shoot him and leave him for dead...and give him a new sense of purpose...to kill them! However, unlike most of the actor's films, he mostly shoots or stabs folks to death...which is much smarter than taking on every single one hand to hand. Unfortunately, it also suffers because after the initial confrontation, bullets never hit him and he can drive a motorcycle through a crowd of these armed thugs without getting hurt. Additionally, Eddie's bullets seem to often hit their target AND often makes things inexplicably explode!! Intellectual fare, this is definitely not! So do I recommend the film? Not really. It's ultra violent, ultra crude and it's almost criminal to say or imply it's a remake or reworking of "Yojimbo"! In fact, it's pretty dopey. *The characters playing the two religious fanatics were not only offensive but amazingly stupid. See the film, you'll see what I mean.

Coyote Moon or Van Damme's Inferno(the title in Spain).Is one of the worst films that I've seen.The film doesn't have argument and the performance of Van Damme makes me laugh it's too bad.The film doesn't have more action or fights and the humorur is bad.The film is bored and the only thing good is Pat Morita perfomance,a good actor.

Also known as 'DESERT HEAT' I caught this movie recently on cable. Van Damme's acting will never be mistaken for that of Humphrey Bogart but even Chuck Norris would have been embarrassed by this weak attempt of a beaten rebel biker flick. The dialog is deadly, the action scenes are hum drum at best and the plot is almost nonexistent. Pat Morita offers some mild comic relief but other than that the movie is a total bore. It's obvious Van Damme was just showing up for a paycheck on this one. If you must watch it wait for the scene where his good friend Johnny bites the dust and then Van Damme cries over his death. Truly acting at its worst!

I think this was a pretty good movie for Van Damme to make his come back from drugs in. It was the same formula as every single other Van Damme movie, but it was pretty entertaining, and Danny Trejelo (sp.?) was very good as his faithful friend Johnny Six-toes. I've certainly seen worse (the matrix, for example)! It's too bad that Van Damme has gone to straight-to-video movies now, since he is STILL a better action actor than a clown like Matt Damon in the "Bourne Mistake" or whatever! Damon is a puss, a bad actor, and a complete wienie! I had a hard time not LAUGHING at the thought of him as an action figure! Oh well.. I hope Jean-Claude Van Damme starts making better action movies again very soon, and gets one in the theater.

Anyway, you shouldn't compare this movie to either of the above. Although I haven't seen Yojimbo (pronounced Yo-Jimbo by one of the characters), but I'm sure it won't be fair to all of them. This movie is an action movie, with Van Damme as the good guy, but it's not very serious. Sure, there are explosions and guns and kicks and a completely unnecessary sex scene and all that, but it seems like there are quite a lot comic relief moments and characters. Pat Morita and Bill Erwin reminded me of Statler and Waldorf from The Muppets, for one. Van Damme plays an American, which meant that he talked very little and tried to talk in a raspy voice to disguise his accent. And you know what? It worked. The only thing that I couldn't let go is because I expected to hear his unique accent. This movie is 95 minutes well spent. Don't go out of your way looking for it, but you don't have to avoid it either.

I originally didn't really have any intentions of watching Dessert Heat. As much as I love a Van Damme film, the fact this is one of his released straight to DVD films did put me off. I only ended up purchasing it because I happened to come across it in the 50 Pence section of a DVD and Games store we have in the UK. I thought for 50p why not. And to be fair, I really enjoyed it. If you can prepare to watch a movie and not take it too seriously then it's worth a watch to let the time pass and entertain you. Don't get me wrong, it's not Universal Soldier or Sudden Death. But Van Damme kicks ass in this.

I keep telling folks that it is not a good idea to remake Japanese movies. This is an attempt to do the 1962 film YOJIMBO again. It doesn't work, but that doesn't mean it not worth your time. OK, so some very stupid yahoos decide to kick Van Damme around when he is severely depressed and suicidal and steal his gun and motorcycle. These boys are the local counterfeiters/drug dealers/village thugs. You can guess what comes next. What sets this film apart is the inclusion of Pat Morita (154 films!), Danny Trejo (139 films, including the upcoming Grindhouse), and Trailer-Trash Queen Jaime Pressly. It's really a very funny Van Damme movie and worth checking out. At least some passionate action returns.