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.

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.

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.

Wow, this movie is almost like a Road House for the late 90's. In other words, this is a good, no, GRRRREAT bad movie. Van Damme effectively plays another dumb guy / bad ass/ good guy. JCVD arrives in a small desert community populated almost entirely by abrasive creeps. Abrasive is putting it mildly, these guys snort crank/coke and verbally abuse old folks/hot waitresses around the clock. Of course Van Damme must help out the old folks and hot waitresses, probably because he's on some spiritual journey, or maybe he just wants to get laid, or maybe because he was planning suicide anyway. Whatever, the case may be, 2 old indians (one a motorcycle, the other an actual human being) help him get it done. The mullet adorned red necks and bikers which he awkwardly incapacitates are worth the price of admission alone. For my money this belongs amongst the best of Van Damme's entertainingly stupid body of work. Don't miss it!

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.