RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
RT's Blu-ray HQ
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / JCVD
JCVD

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Visit Official Site External Icon
Bookmark and Share

JCVD (2008)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
N/A
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:N/A

Fresh:N/A

Rotten:N/A

Average Rating:N/A

Consensus: JCVD is a touching, fascinating piece, with Jean-Claude Van Damme confounding all with his heartfelt performance.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for language and some violence.

Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:Nov 7, 2008 Limited

Box Office: $382,923

Synopsis: In JCVD, a French- and English-language film from savvily tenebrous director Mabrouk El Mechri, Jean-Claude Van Damme is Jean-Claude Van Damme. Losing his roles to Steven Seagal and a custody... In JCVD, a French- and English-language film from savvily tenebrous director Mabrouk El Mechri, Jean-Claude Van Damme is Jean-Claude Van Damme. Losing his roles to Steven Seagal and a custody battle over his young daughter, the international action hero is struggling to maintain relevancy on levels both professional and personal. But when Jean-Claude walks into a bank to withdraw his attorney fees and is suddenly in the thick of a heist, is the haggard superstar orchestrating the stickup? Or is he simply a hostage, as trapped by fame as he is by criminals, who happens to know a couple of take-down moves? Don't be fooled by its action-ready premise; JCVD isn't quite the latest kickboxing carousal from the Muscles from Brussels. It's something even better: a sad, seriocomic meta-movie that may recall BEING JOHN MALKOVICH or one of Charlie Kaufman's many other ontological curios in the minds of some viewers. But, while both JCVD and MALKOVICH examine the strangeness of celebrity through the lens of absurdist self-referential filmmaking, and both films choose a fascinating, quasi-alienating aesthetic of vibrantly muddy mid-tones, JCVD dresses its dankness in glaringly blown-out lighting effects that acknowledge a topsy-turvy world in which artifice sits just upon reality. It also assumes the opposition of its Kaufman counterpart by being the one to look at fame from within (which is ironic, since it isn't the one that features people entering an actor's head and peeping though his eyes). Buzzily hilarious, JCVD is a personal, deeply felt film. Van Damme's delivery of a Fellini-esque soliloquy about the angst of fame could've resulted in the action star coming across as a crybaby. Instead, the speech, in which he breaks the fourth wall and expresses his ironic frustrations, is revelatory and heartbreaking. [More]

Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Francois Damiens, Zinedine Soualem, Karim Belkhadra

Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Francois Damiens, Zinedine Soualem, Karim Belkhadra, Jean-Francois Wolff

Director: Mabrouk El Mechri

Director: Mabrouk El Mechri
Screenwriter: Sidonie Dumas, Frédéric Bénudis
Producer: Sidonie Dumas
Composer: Gast Waltzing
Studio: Peace Arch Entertainment

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
  • Trailer
    >
1 of 1

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Apr 28, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in this limited-release film about the action star, who finds himself in the middle of a bank heist. Bonuses: never-before-released footage, digital copy.
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews

    • T-Meter Critics
    • Top Critics
    • RT Community
    • My Critics
    • My Friends
    • DVD
     
     
     
     
    Looks like your friends haven't reviewed this film yet.

    Want to know what they think? Ask them!

    Invite Friends To Review This Film
     
     
    See All

    More DVDs

    Close
    Top Rentals
    Tomatometer Percentage Movie
    15% 15% The Ugly Truth
    98% 98% Up
    36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
    52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
    45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

    More Rentals…

    New On DVD This Week
    Tomatometer Percentage Movie
    36% 36% Angels & Demons
    68% 68% Funny People
    25% 25% Four Christmases
    45% 45% Shorts

    More New Releases…

    What’s Hot On RT

    Total Recall

    Total Recall

    John Travolta's top reviewed movies

    Disney Countdown

    Disney Countdown

    Look back on Disney's best animated movies!

    RT's Gift Guide

    RT's Gift Guide

    Give the best movies, gear, and more!

    What's Coming Out

    What's Coming Out

    Find movies for the holiday weekend!

    Other News

    Close
    • Top Stories
    • Popular
    • Interviews
     
     

    Comments

     
     
    Top Stories
    Headlines Comments
      
    • First Look (Sort Of) at New Nightmare's Freddy Source: ShockTillYouDrop.com
    15
    • First Look at Shrek Forever After Source: USA Today
    36
    • Woody Harrelson Will Battle Zombies in 3-D Source: Moviehole
    22
    • Natalie Portman Says Kat Denning Is in Thor Source: MTV
    34
    • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
    10
    • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
    1
    • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
    118
    • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
    112
    • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
    32
    • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
    64
    Popular
    Headlines Comments
      
    • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
    176
    • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
    130
    • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
    76
    • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
    75
    • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
    59
    • Critics Consensus: Flee From Ninja Assassin
    37
    • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
    32
    • WB offers DVD to Blu-ray Trade-In Program
    26
    • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Angels & Demons, Funny People, and Superman
    18
    • Five Favorite Films With Zombieland Director Ruben Fleischer
    18
    Interviews
    Headlines Comments
      
    • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
    13
    • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
    9
    • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
    19
    • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
    6
    • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
    15
    • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
    20
    • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
    8
    • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
    28
    • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
    28
    • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
    14
     
     

    Sponsored Links

    Around The Network

    • JCVD at Rotten Tomatoes
    • JCVD at IGN
     
     
    About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
    IGN Logo

    IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
    TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
    AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


    By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
    Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
    IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
    Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.