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source: Swelter

This is not your typical western or action movie. There is a lot going on and a lot of layers to the plot. I liked Lenny James' performance a lot, and Alfred Molina is great as always. I also really enjoyed JCVD in this more understated role. It's definitely worth watching and seeing him in this character! I liked the cast of characters a lot and that there seems to be a diverse group of actors in the movie. I wished that JCVD and Alfred Molina were in more of the movie. They were the most interesting characters in my opinion. Additionally, the cinematography was very nice as well.

Spotting this movie at my local video store, I thought, "Well, if it has Jean-Claude Van Damme in the cast, there must be at least a decent amount of action in it." Imagine my surprise upon watching the movie when I saw that Van Damme doesn't have a great deal of screen time. Not only that, he doesn't do any martial arts in the movie. In fact, the movie really can't be called an action movie at all - there's very little stuff like gunplay and man to man fights in the finished product. Still, despite the movie's false advertising, I was willing to accept the movie being more of a drama, as long as it was well done. Unfortunately, "Swelter" is not a well done movie. The biggest problem is that it is incredibly SLOW. For example, it takes more than an HOUR of the total running time before the central protagonist finds himself in trouble. And the movie isn't terribly interesting up to that point or beyond that point. There are additional problems as well. The movie obviously had a limited budget. While the finished product doesn't look extremely cheap and tacky, there are signs of restraint, like the constant shooting of actors close to the camera (there are few "wide" shots in the movie.) Also, the script is not only slow, there are a number of unanswered questions like how someone with amnesia could be elected sheriff, or how the hero got away with the money with a bullet in his head all those years ago. While this is far from the worst movie I've ever seen, in the end it will likely be a letdown to anyone who watches it, whether they are expecting an action movie or a hard-boiled drama.

Although this movie is a modern crime saga, it often plays like a slow-paced old time Western. It's loaded with violence, as you'd expect from a film in this genre, and has some ridiculous plot coincidences and elements, but there was enough intrigue here for me that I wanted to see how it would all play out. Ten years before, as some of the movie is told in flashbacks, 5 cohorts in crime attempt a heist at a Las Vegas casino. Four were captured, but one escaped being wounded and apparently with $10 million. Now, two of the gang members have served their time, one has escaped, and the three are about to pull off a brazen daytime prison break for the fourth from the prison chapel, where 7 guards will be killed. Their plan is to find out where their former cohort is and get their share of the $10 million, and they don't care how many cops or civilians they have to kill to get what they want. Of these four gang members one is Stillman, ably portrayed by Jean-Claude Van Damme, but don't expect his role to be the charismatic leader like in the past, as his role is fairly low key here. The other three are solid in their roles with Grant Bowler, as Cole, standing out in my mind. They get a lead that the fifth member Pike, now named Bishop, and well played by Lennie James, is in the God forsaken desert town of Baker, Nevada. He's now the Sheriff in Baker, but they soon find out he has amnesia, and except for slices of dreams he has about the robbery, has no idea where the money is. Of course, as the gang terrorizes the town to get what they want, it will all end up in bloody violence. I might note here that the terrific actor Alfred Molina adds much needed comic relief in the film as Doc, the only physician in Baker. In summary, this movie, written and directed by Keith Parmer, offered just enough to keep my interest, but don't expect a fast paced crime thriller.

I bought this film only because it was a mix up between western and crime movie, and also because there was JCVD in a supporting character. Besides this, as we say in french, this feature doesn't break three legs to a duck. Nothing exceptional in this forgettable movie. I did appreciate the wink to THE WILD BUNCH; the sheriff's name is Pike Bishop. I watched Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece at least a dozen times in my life, and Pike Bishop sounds quite familiar to my ears. It's a new wave crime film, in the line of Quentin Tarantino's world, as we watch since the early nineties now. An acceptable time waster, no more, just for rent, and certainly not for buying.

Swelter is a great film all the way around. It's very action packed, has some humor, great dialog and awesome acting in it. This film is a modern-day crime thriller and a classic western high plains story all rolled into one. It has an awesome cast including Jean Claude Van Damme, Grant Bowler, Lennie James, Alfred Molina, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Josh Henderson, Daniele Favilli, Freya Tingley, Courtney Hope and other cast, which is very impressive and makes this film SO strong. The film is directed and written by Award Winning Director, Keith Parmer, and the storyline and films' outcome speaks to his impressive talent. Keith is also the Director and Writer of the feature film 'Mob Rules', which was acquired by Lionsgate. This is a film for everyone and should definitely be a 'must-see.' It's totally entertaining!

Swelter is an interesting movie, but do not expect the classic action movie with JCVD. If I had to compare this film with others, I would say "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." There are clear references to the "spaghetti western genre", in fact many of the characters are modern versions of classic roles of those films (see the old man with the pick-up truck collecting corpses, the preacher who has a past to hide, the good doctor we can find in all the villages of the old west, the sheriff deputy who is absolutely stupid and the prostitutes in the brothel ... The warm atmosphere and the sweaty faces, the constant creaking of fans who remind the hinges of the doors of the old saloons, the Indians that seem to come from the 1800s: all these elements make us forget very often "when" the story takes place and take us forcefully into the genre films. The four outlaws are assorted like 4 aces in a game of poker, some by accident, some by luck and the sheriff is the fifth card that has little to do with the others. Do not ask why the four are together: they are just part of a game, as the bandits in the old west, they are together because they have nothing else to do, or maybe just to exercise their arrogance and their greed for gold. Metaphor of American history, the town of Baker is a border post where humanity emerges in all its misery and where time has stopped in the mid-nineteenth century when Americans survived on a horse and with their gun. Remarkable in this film is a very good photography, a respectable cast and intuitions directing the epic story that follows perfectly the spaghetti westerns genre, both with the themes but especially in the way of "making the movie" (someone surely will understand what I mean). Finally a few words on the acting of JCVD ​​that will surely turn up their noses at the hardcore fans, used to seeing him perform in his famous split. Have you seen "The Wrestler" with Mickey Rourke? OK, you get the idea of the attempt JCVD is making to engage in deeper and more exciting roles than those shown so far. Finally, if you expect a "classic" JCVD movie because the posters and DVD covers show basically only him, blame the distributors and the marketing department ;) Recommended for fans of the spaghetti western.

The good: The cinematography is really nice (except for a view hiccups). The bad: Jean-Claude Van Damme does not so bad as usual (isn't much in the movie) The ugly: Characters and story The whole movie doesn't make any sense - not even a little bit. I don't wanna spoil for the brave that sit trough the movie - but its bad, really bad. In this movie you will see characters (yes I mean plural) that have no soul, are cliché, unbelievable and really stupid. And if I say stupid I really mean it - almost nobody of the main characters would live that long if they where like this forever (but the movie didn't mention a chemical plant accident where everybody got insane - so ...) For me it's always surprising to see that really bad scipts are getting money (and we talk about millions) - where clearly no money can't be made. OK yes Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez could make this film work (but hey they would cast the right actors and give them some crazy lines to work with)

Trailer—Swelter