Inferno

Oddly enough, then I have actually never seen the 1999 action movie "Inferno" (aka "Desert Heat") from writer Tom O'Rourke and director John G. Avildsen before now in 2022. And I grew up watching the action movies of the likes of Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Van Damme, and so forth.

I enjoyed "Inferno" for what it was, but this wasn't among the best of movies from Jean-Claude Van Damme. Sure, the movie was watchable and entertaining, but it was suffering from being a little bit too generic. But hey, at least it made for the type of entertainment where you just lean back, munch on the snacks and watch the action on the screen.

The acting performances in the movie were good, and they definitely had a good cast ensemble for the movie, with the likes of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Danny Trejo, Pat Morita, Larry Drake, Jaime Pressly, Bill Erwin, Vincent Schiavelli and Jeff Kober to mention the most recognizable.

There is a good amount of action in "Inferno", and it is definitely the action that mostly drives the movie forward and carries it a great long way.

My rating of "Inferno" lands on a five out of ten stars.

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable.****Very Good.***Okay.**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead.*Avoid At All Costs.

Granted the Belgian one's recent spate of work has been the deplorable 'Knock Off'and,although I hav'nt seen it(don't want to)rather repellent 'Universal Soldier:The Return',and granted the overall quality of the movie,Inferno is a Van Damme movie I rather enjoyed.The opening scene especially,of Van Damme in the desert with the nutty Mexican bloke off 'Con Air' and 'Point Blank' was very well written and strangely effecting.You also got to feel for the resident's of the town,including the 2 pretty waitresses,the old guy,and the standard wise old Japanese guy.And there was of course,some great kickboxing action,at the end especially.

Also,towards the end especially,the movie loses it's sense of pace a bit,and goes a bit awry.And the gunfights wer'nt great.But overall,these were minor quibbles in a very entertaining action vehicle.****

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 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 porn (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.

Hey, if you want art go to a museum. This thing is entertaining. Slow start but it makes up for that. Funny in understated ways. Vivid characters that weren't all made with cookie cutters. If the dialog had been witless the life would have drained out of this movie as easily as the bad guys die. But I'll wager the writer (Tom O'Rourke II) was awake and had some fun. I was too and I did too. Hats off to him.

We (viewers) made Hollywood (filmmakers) to have a steady source of diversionary schlock. This one delivers.

P.S. Should get an award for egregious miscasting: Vincent Schiavelli as a Sikh?