Maximum Risk (1996)

While seeking answers regarding the death of the twin brother he never knew he had, a French cop and his sibling's fiancée find themselves pursued by corrupt FBI agents and the Russian mafia.

Director:

Ringo Lam

Writer:

Larry Ferguson

Stars:

Jean-Claude Van Damme, Natasha Henstridge, Jean-Hugues Anglade

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean-Claude Van Damme	...	Alain Moreau / Mikhail Suverov
Natasha Henstridge	...	Alex
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

Storyline

Alain Moreau didn't know he had a brother, even a twin brother - until he found him laying dead on the street. To reveal the truth about his twin, he now has to continue in his footsteps - he simply has to become Mikhail, travel across the Atlantic and sink into the world that ended his brothers days. Here he meets his brothers beautiful girlfriend Alex, who doesn't suspect a thing for starters. She works as a waitress in a pub, owned by the Russian mafia, and when they find out Alain's true intentions, all hell breaks out...

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Plot Keywords:

female frontal nudity | sex scene | twin | russian mafia | fistfight | 

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Taglines:

The Other Side of Safety.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Maximum Risk" was a box-office disappointment in the U.S., but performed well in Europe, grossing almost 40 million dollars.

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Goofs

The scene where Agent Pellman grabs the chainsaw, the power-cord attached to it is clearly visible, still we (The audience) are led to believe that it's a gasoline powered chainsaw when it's obviously an electrical one.

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Quotes

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

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Alternate Versions

18-rated UK video version cut by 9 seconds for violence.

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Connections

Referenced in Best of the Worst: Our DVD and Blu-ray Collection (2019)

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Soundtracks

Strip Club Metal
Written by Bernie Greenspoon

User Reviews

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.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 September 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bloodstone

Filming Locations:

Dundas Square, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,612,707, 15 September 1996

Gross USA:

$14,502,483

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$14,502,483

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Roger Birnbaum Productions, Moshe Diamant Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Dolby Digital (uncredited)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1