A Legionnaire goes AWOL to raise money for his brother’s widow in the JCVD vehicle Lionheart, directed by Sheldon Lettich. The 1990 film receives a 4k upgrade to MVD’s previous Blu-ray.
Whenever I think of Sheldon Lettich’s 1990 film Lionheart, our topic for today’s review, it takes me back to when I was about 8 years old. Lionheart was my first R-rated film (at least that I recall; I did watch plenty of horror with my mom, but likely TV cuts on USA). Lionheart for an 8-year-old? It is when my best friend at the time stole his dad’s video rental from downstairs. It’s not quite the mind-blowing “this is what adults watch” that we expected, though a few years later at a Cub Scout sleepover, the also starring Jean-Claude Van Damme Universal Soldier was for other kids in my troupe. Lionheart is a solid film, surely, so 8-year-old me’s let down is not a quantitative analysis of the film. While there are plenty of fights as the plot is based around them, there’s a larger drama aspect; more so than someone expecting Bloodsport might want.
Lionheart was the first of four films Sheldon Lettich directed featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme, with Double Impact, The Order and the Hard Cops to follow. Lettich also wrote the still freakin’ awesome Bloodsport (KU-MA-TE!) and Legionnaire, so he gets along well with Van Damme, knowing how to use JCVD to his best. As I’ve said in my recent Van Damme double feature of reviews for Double Impact & Knock Off, I rather like JCVD. He’s a damned fine physical performer who knows his more dramatic limitations and works in and around them. (Speaking of double features, Death Warrant comes in two weeks. Also from MVD, it’ll have a review at release.) With Lionheart, Lettich writes with Van Damme himself, from an earlier script by Stefani Warren to work that balances with (although the film wasn’t originally indeed to him but for Stallone after Leitch wrote Rambo III).
When his brother dies, leaving his wife and daughter with little, Legionnaire Lyon (unrelated to Van Damme’s later Lettich film Legionnaire) goes AWOL (another title for the film in some regions) and heads to America to help them out. He ends up involved in underground fighting movements in NYC and LA with the help of Joshua, a scene-stealing Harrison Page. The fights in these set-ups are very well done, with JCVD in his prime showing off his skills. The team makes it a point to use a variety of styles to keep it fresh and interesting each time. Never boring, Lionheart maybe doesn’t quite reach the push of other JCVD films of the era, but it’s a solid watch.
In a strange story shift, revenge over his brother’s death is not in the plot. That and the unstructured use of the fight clubs keep down the overall drive, with the two B-plots of avoiding the Legionnaires out to pull him back and sliding under the thumb of rich woman Cynthia, played icily by Deborah Rennard, as a schemy big bad, more in using him than truly nefarious. That’s because, for Lettich and Van Damme, the focus is Van Damme and the widow & orphan. It’s a nice through line to draw the film together, gaining enough narrative and dramatic tension to drive the film. Definitely helped along by a “this is from a different film” performance by Lisa Pelikan, and a cute as a button kid played by Ashley Johnson. Johnson would go on for a long career in voice acting and a small role in Avengers! She’s the waitress Whedon keeps focusing on. Once you see it, you can’t unsee. The plot is a little half-baked, but it does the job well.
Lionheart isn’t a great film, but it is a good one. I nearly always like to see JCVD, and Lettich knows how to get the best of him as both an action star and an actor, getting him into the right range where he’s not just a flat-faced hunk, but not overdoing it, turning the drama silly. Lionheart is the perfect Saturday afternoon USA flick. Good storyline, decent performances by JCVD, with a standout by Pelikan and damned good action. Check it out.
This collection offers two cuts of the film: the Extended cut (on 4k and Blu-ray) and the Theatrical cut (on Blu-ray). The Theatrical cut removes much of the dramatic ends, focusing more on the fighting and less on the widow and the whys of it all. With only 6 minutes difference and the Extended cut filling in the world better, it’s the better cut.
Final note: Weird to have Brian Thompson, an actor I love to see, but not having him fight. As the right-hand man of Rennard, one expects him to get into it by the end. But he’s just around.
The Package
MVD presents Lionheart 4kUHD & Blu-Ray as an update to their 2018 MVD Rewind collection (reviewed by Felix), now as part of the 4k LaserVision Collection. The two discs (with the label’s VHS-styled disc printing) fit on either side of a black 4k case, with a fold-out poster nestled within. The sleeve is double-sided, with the original artwork on one side and an edit of said poster, focusing on JCVD, on the other. The poster and the O-sleeve feature this art, which has a fun touch of artificial water damage, as an old VHS might have. Akin to the VHS theming, the discs open with the sound and video akin to loading a VHS tape into a VCR. The spine is numbered 20 (for MVD Rewind) and 7 for 4k LaserVision.
The Presentation
MVD offers a new 4k transfer for the Extended cut. It looks pretty good but retains notes of grain and fuzz. But overall it’s a good look but not that much of an upgrade from the Blu-ray. It holds the image well with the quickness of the fights, and the detail levels are solid. Audio is a few options with English subtitles. Sounds good.
The Features
MVD ports over all features from the 2018 release, which includes new-to-then and contemporary footage. Makes sense as the Blu-ray disc is literally that disc. The 4k disc, which contains the director’s cut, also has a new commentary. It’s a good set, but very repetitive; with many of the same stories retold.
Commentary 1 (new)
Sheldon Lettich, moderated by Heath Holland, is a good track, looking back a decade after the last. Not much changes, and it does cover much of the same as the other, older track. But Holland does get more into the wider stance on the film and JCVD and Lettich’s career before and after.
Commentary 2 (2018)
Lettich and actor Harrison Page talk on this one. I liked this track more. They worked together often and are close friends, so they have great chemistry and camaraderie between them. They’re telling one another stories they both have said and recounted many times, giving a worn flow of two pals shooting the shit after so many years. Lots of fun.
The Story of Lionheart (2018)
An in-depth set of interviews and looks back on the production featuring JCVD, Lettich, Page, and Deborah Rennard (and others). It’s a ton of fun and an open and interesting look. Good stuff, just as the similar ones were on the other JCVD movies I covered this year (and likely will be on Death Warrant when I get there soon) (47m)
Inside Lionheart with the Filmmakers and cast (2018)
A continuation of the above, with further bits and looks back. Could be seen as a part 2 or “interview outtakes” if you will. (26m)
Behind the Fights (2018)
Specifically looking at the action and fights, a solid flashback. (10m)
Making of featurette (1990)
EPK but a nice glance of the contemporary in the moment of making it. (9m)
Sheldon Lettich (archival, not sure from when)
Lettich fields questions (printed on the screen in English and German) about this film, working with JCVD and his career. Across these films, Lettich has been a fantastic storyteller, and on his own here he shines. (26m)
Harrison Page (same as Lettich)
In the same style, Page gives entertaining answers to a handful of questions. (13m)
Behind the Scenes of the Audio Commentary
Page and Lettich get set up and joke, showing their friendship, and they start in on the film. A fun little thing. (5m)
Photo Gallery
Behind-the-scenes and promotional images. Plays a single file, I’d guess around 60 images. (5m)
Trailers
Lionheart and some other MVD titles.
TV clips
Five promos totalling about 7 minutes.
Final Thoughts