ShangLuda Admirable film.

Borserie it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

Derry Herrera Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Cristal The movie really just wants to entertain people.

kathorder i'm rod, i watched van damme movies religiously until legionnaire and street fighter which were terrible, up until then i liked them all. this was the first movie of his i had watched for a while and it was the best movie i have seen for a long time, the plot was realistic and could happen to anyone which i liked, and the plot twists were very smart and well written. fight sequences were excellent and i put this right up there with lionheart as my favourite and both of which i can watch over and over again and never get sick of them, know what i mean? i hope he does more movies set in asia like this one, with detailed story lines and varied interesting locations

Lewis Paterson Ah, Pound of Flesh. Such a criminally cheesy and over-the-top premise - Van Damme gets his kidney stolen and needs to get it back from the scumbag criminals that got in order to save his dying niece. It's a move that seems like it has the perfect foundations to create a JCVD B-movie classic. Unfortunately, the issue with Pound of Flesh is that it falls over itself trying to be more complicated than it needs to be and forgets the basics matter most.The story is as the premise I previously stated - but there's massive deviation along the way, in the form of numerous silly unnecessary plot twists. Honestly, the premise is ridiculous enough on its own that you could just go with it and enjoy the crazy ride. But instead, the creators of this feel the need to convey some sort of depth that isn't done well and isn't even necessary in the first place - it's a DTV Van Damme flick! Keep it simple with Van Damme beating guys to bits in pursuit of his quest and you keep everyone happy. Instead, the film has half-cooked attempts at trying to touch on themes like religion, sacrifice and family loyalty. The "attempts" mainly consist of random plot twists involving these things, with the characters acting in completely unrealistic ways. There's suspension of disbelief and then there's just stupid, and this well crosses the line into stupid.It feels like another one of these DTV action movies where there is no real plan and one scene is created after another - Seagal's poorer DTV material often had this issue, leaving glaring plot holes and characters behaving in irrational or idiotic ways just to further the story somehow. There wasn't many plot holes in this from what I could see, mainly because any attempt at a consistent plot was superseded by crazy twists.It's sad, because for the first half hour or so, everything seems to be going well. An entertaining premise has been established and you're ready for JCVD to go out on the hunt. After that, it seemed the creators didn't know how to properly sustain interest in an action movie during the quieter midsection so plot twists and poor attempts at character development came flooding in.As for the action itself, the best scene is probably the first one, as we see Van Damme performing his martial arts repertoire and beating guys to a pulp. Everything thereafter is never really interesting, with Van Damme doing a bit of gunplay and also MMA but it never really works compared to his classic martial arts routine.Also, this seems to have strong use of green screen in completely unnecessary situations. The main culprit is when Van Damme and other characters are driving in the car - there's a pretty obviously visible green screen outline on the actors. It begs the question, why? You're already filming in the location on the green screen. Why not film them actually driving? It's just another bit of stupidity in a long list.I believe I've said all that needs to be said about this. It's a shame, because the premise is so ridiculous in itself that it could potentially be really entertaining - then they messed up the plot, writing, and direction...this is one to miss.

estebangonzalez10 "What I'm really good at is killing."We all know what Jean-Claude Van Damme is really good at, it's his amazing stunt work and despite his age he continues to be in great physical form. Honestly the only film I'd seen him in after the 90's was The Expendables 2 and he was one of the only redeemable characters in that film. He made over a dozen films since the last time I had seen him in the first Universal Soldier sequel which was about the moment I lost interest in his work. I grew up enjoying his performances in movies like Bloodsport, Kickboxer, Lionheart, and Universal Soldier, but after that his body of work got very repetitive. I don't know why I decided to check out Pound of Flesh considering it has been an eternity since I've seen him in a starring role and the film hasn't received any love from critics or audiences, but I guess I just wanted to see if he was doing anything different. I'm sure the nostalgic factor also kicked in a bit. The film opens with Van Damme waking up in a hotel room naked in a bathtub full of ice. I was immediately reminded of the scene in Universal Soldier and I kind of guessed from the second the story began that this was going to be just another Van Damme vehicle. We get some strange flashbacks (done with cheap effects) where he recalls spending the night with a woman he had saved and everything begins to come back to him slowly. He was drugged by this woman (Charlotte Peters) and now he discovers that his kidney has been removed. The first thing Deacon does is call an old friend, Kung (Aki Aleong), who immediately shows up to offer his assistance. This is where we are told Deacon is in the Philippines visiting his brother, George (John Ralston), and Kung insists that he let things go considering the black market is very dangerous in the region. Deacon will not let it go because the reason for his visit was to donate his kidney to his dying niece. So the quest for his missing kidney begins as he decides to return to the bar where he met the woman and try to connect things from there on. Darren Shahlavi plays the villain who will do what it takes to keep Deacon off his tracks. With a few exceptional moments where Van Damme gets to use his martial art abilities and prove he can still split his legs, Pound of Flesh is incredibly dull and cringeworthy. The dialogue in this film is incredibly stupid and Aleong's character is only introduced to explain the situation and to give us some background on who Deacon is. The film is basically a conventional revenge film with a low production value and some absurd revelations. The pacing of the film dragged whenever they tried to force the relationship between the two brothers which wasn't interesting despite the fact that the story depended on it to build the tension. I think I've already written too much about a film that never put any effort into trying to deliver a quality revenge film. http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

Dr_Sagan The premise of "Pound of Flesh" is interesting to say the least. It's difficult to describe the plot without any spoilers. It unfolds in every scene. It's not a "mystery" per se, but if you think you have the usual revenge type b-seagal-movie you are mistaken.Overall it is good for what it is. I liked the pace (not too hasty or abrupt), I liked the direction and editing, and the plot/script is good enough.Van Damme got old, as it was expected. We see his trademark feet open 180 degrees as in many of his movies, but the stuntman was obvious in a few scenes. The green screen used in many scenes, including many scenes inside a van are distracting but I wouldn't insist on that as a serious flaw.The newcomer (her 1st movie) Charlotte Peters has an interesting look that maybe give her some good roles in the near future but she need lots of training in her acting (despite the fact that she went to Drama Studio London, a prestigious drama school based in England).The conclusion, that I won't spoil you, is satisfying, something that lack many movies nowadays.My recommendation: Check it out. Is better than the 5 average you see here. I gave it a 8 to boost it a little. Might not worth such a high score but I think is better than other recent movies of Jean-Claude.