Maximum Risk (1996)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Ringo Lam

Writer (WGA):

Larry Ferguson (written by)

Release Date:

13 September 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

The Other Side of Safety.

Plot:

A policeman takes his twin brother's place and inherits his problems and a beautiful girlfriend. He...

Plot Keywords:

Brother | Twin | Russian Mafia | Mafia | New York

Cast

Jean-Claude Van Damme	...	Alain Moreau / Mikhail Suverov
Natasha Henstridge	...	Alex Minetti
Jean-Hugues Anglade	...	Sebastien
Zach Grenier	...	Ivan Dzasokhov
Paul Ben-Victor	...	Agent Pellman
Frank Senger	...	Agent Loomis
Stefanos Miltsakakis	...	Red Face
Frank Van Keeken	...	Davis Hartley
David Hemblen	...	Dmitri Kirov
Stéphane Audran	...	Chantal Moreau
Dan Moran	...	Yuri
Donald Burda	...	Nicholas
Rob Kaman	...	Morris
Herb Lovelle	...	Martin
Denis Costanzo	...	Innkeeper

Also Known As:

Bloodstone
The Exchange

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, and for some sexuality and language.

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:16 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:PG-13 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:18 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 (cut) | USA:R | Singapore:M18 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Future Shop, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

It was Jean-Claude Van Damme's idea that Asian action director Ringo Lam direct this film, as his American directorial debut.

Quotes:

Cab Driver: I could find a penguin in a sand storm.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Gargoyle (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Under The Oak Tree

Good & Bad Of 'Maximum Risk'

This Jean-Claude Van Damme action vehicle gets good marks for sound, low profanity, some very good action scenes and some interesting characters that keep your attention. It loses marks for excessive violence, too much "Rambo" mentality (good guys don't get hit despite a barrage of bullets) and, yet, another modern-day film in which the FBI is corrupt.

This is also another of these action films that has TOO much action. It would be better with some more lulls. It almost gets ridiculous in spots. Nevertheless, some of the scenes such as car chases, fires and explosions are so well-done you have to admire the great stunt work in here. Man, those stunt men earn their money!

You would be hard-pressed to find two leads in any film with the bodies of Van Damme and Natasha Henstridge and neither are shy about showing them off, so you have the usual gratuitous sex scenes, but they are brief, as is the profanity. This is a loud film. If you have good speakers, be ready to have the room shake with lots of bass.

Overall, it's about 100 minutes of mindless but entertaining diversion.