Legionnaire
Released: 1998
Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Daniel Caltagirone, Nicholas Farrell, Steven Berkoff
Directed By: Peter MacDonald
Written By: Sheldon Lettich, Jean-Claude Van Damme and Rebecca Morrison
Morocco 1925: Abd al-Karim has united the Rif Tribesman of Morocco and for the past 4 years has waged a guerrilla war against the Spanish and French. To this land comes Alan Lefevre, a boxer who won a fight that he was paid to lose. During his desperate escape from Marseilles he killed the brother of a powerful gangster. To escape he has taken a truly desperate option and enlisted in the French Foreign Legion. The Legion asks no questions about a mans past, but if he is to have any hope for his future he will have to face the Sahara desert and the Rif Tribesman of Abd al-Karim. After training Alan and his fellow Legionnaires are sent to the furthest French outpost. As the Rif Tribesman descend on them Alan learns that men from France have been sent to kill him, as the Legion prepares to fight to the last man, Alan faces an uncertain future…
Harkening back to the moribund subgenre of adventure films of Hollywood’s early days, most notably Beau Geste, Legionnaire is a surprisingly solid war movie with an unlikely star. Shot on a now laughably small budget of $35,000,000.00 Legionnaire looks great. MacDonald and his crew create a convincing desert Fortress for the films second half. Had I not listened to the commentary I would have thought they actually found an old colonial fort to film in. The location shooting helps immensely giving the viewer the sense of being a stranger in a strange land. The desert is as harsh and as threatening here as it has been in great films of the past like Laurence of Arabia. The shot of Van Damme on the wall of the fort looking out at the Rif forces encamped in the distance is astonishing and gives you a sense of how alone Legionnaires in similar circumstances must have felt.
The cast consists of character actors. Steven Berkoff pops in as the asshole Sgt. that’s standard for this type of film, he shouts well but doesn’t have much to do. Daniel Caltagirone plays the ethnic stereotype that appears in every war flick, he’s ok but easily replaceable. Nicholas Farrell is given more to do as the ex-English Major turned Legion Private. When he talks about his shame you can understand, if not sympathize, with what he does. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, a Nigerian educated in London (Law school no less), convinces as an American member of the Legion. Given how well Adewale handles an American accent I’d love to see him in more. He conveys his characters emotions to the audience even if it gets a bit melodramatic. For me however the big standout is Van Damme himself. Before his head turning role in JCVD he showed that he could be, when called upon, an honest to God actor not just an action star. I’m not saying that he’s worthy of an Academy Award but he does genuinely convey Alan’s emotions, and lets you now during some of the scenes where he’s staring into the desert that he’s thinking about his lady-love and whether she is safe. The way he delivers the line to one of the mob hit men well lighting the hitmans cigarette “We’re all going to die today,” carries an aura of heavy finality and fatalism. This is a man facing the end and has no illusions about it, thinking on that scene it is heartbreaking and Van Damme nails it.
That I think is the difference between a “star” and an “actor”. You hire the “Star” for his or her presence and expect that to carry the film, you do not ask them to go beyond a limited range. An “Actor” loses his or her self in the role and brings forth the emotion in the scene. In this regard Legionnaire was the first time I saw Van Damme as an actor rather than a star. Though Van Damme the star has been regulated to Direct to DVD projects here’s hoping we will see more of Van Damme the actor.
Recommended For: Fans of classic adventure flicks, war movie fans, history buffs, and I got $30 says your girlfriend will like this
If You Haven’t Seen It: It’s solid enough and an oddity amongst Van Dammes filmography that I’m going to suggest you make a point of seeing this.
An overview of the Rif War of 1921-1926 can be found here.
Vanity Fair had an article on the Legion last year: The Dark Romance and Grim Reality of Life in the French Foreign Legion
If you feel the need to join the Legion check here.
Guardians of the North 