During a murder spree, precious DNA is left behind that allows a secret government agency to render a killer's perfect duplicate. Jean- Claude Van Damme squares off against his deadliest opponent yet ? himself ? when he st... more »ars as both a heinous serial killer and the replicated clone that represents the agency's best and only chance at capturing this mad killer on the loose. Can the Replicant lead the police to the original killer before he strikes again? Between them a breathtaking war will be waged. And only one will win.« less
"Jean-Claude Van Damme has reunited with Director Ringo Lam (Maximum Risk) for the movie "Replicant." To my surprise, this movie delivers a powerful punch and why it did not get a theatrical release in the United States is unknown. However, it deserved one. This is not the average straight to video/DVD type of movie. The production values are high and the acting by Rooker and Van Damme is very good. Actually, it is Van Damme's best performance ever and is the caliber of any action star in the "A" market today.Van Damme plays a convincing serial Killer and Clone who is directed to track him down. Both characters are well acted. He, for once, does not over act in two roles which could have been very easy to do. Rooker plays a street cop who is obessed with catching the killer. His character is developed well for an action flick and the two pull if off nicely.The fight scenes are terrific and the stunts are great. For action fans-this film is a must. For others, it may not be worth the purchase, but is well worth the showing. You will be entertained."
You'd think with Van Damme vs. Van Damme the action would be
Alexander M. Walker | Chicago, IL USA | 08/12/2009
(2 out of 5 stars)
""Now, now, perfectly symmetrical violence never solves anything!" ~ Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth, Futurama
Ten years after fighting himself in Double Impact in 1991, Jean-Claude Van Damme realized that he'd never fought quite a foe like himself since and resolved to fight a rematch in Replicant. However, anyone tuning in for a solid 110 minutes of martial arts action will leave sorely disappointed. Maybe Jean-Claude's age had caught up to him by 2001 or maybe he wanted to try his hand at actually acting for once - who knows. What is known is that Replicant leans heavily on a traditional cop/serial killer plotline with little room for the head-spinning acrobatics of Van Damme's younger days.
`The Torch' (Van Damme) has taunted Detective Jake (Michael Rooker) for years with his pattern of burning women alive in their homes. The game of cat and mouse seems like it will end though when Jake's last night on the job leaves the pursuit unfinished. Retired to a job in boat repair, Jake grows restless within a matter of hours; so when `The Torch' calls him up (they have a phone relationship, apparently), Jake finds himself back on the job, but with a new partner. Just like Jet Li, apparently Van Damme is easily cloneable; Jake's new partner, a telepathically linked clone (here called a replicant) of `The Torch', starts life anew slowly learning to walk, talk and kick-ass using a stretch on the concept of genetic memory.
The flashes of `The Torch's life received by the replicant lead him and Jake closer and closer to the murderer until the two learn of each other. Upon the two meeting, the quandary of how the impressionable replicant will react arises. Whose influence will hold over the replicant's mind? The abusive and violent Jake? Or the bloodlust-crazed psychopath who revels in the pain of others? The replicant's mind becomes a whirling torrent of conflicted feelings as he questions his fate after the case has ended and also whether or not he can participate in the death of a man who is quite literally himself.
But for all the film's success as an interesting detective procedural, it neglects to give the audience the one thing it wants above all else: a no-holds-barred fight featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme versus Jean-Claude Van Damme. We don't get what we want. Maybe Farnsworth knew what he was talking about when he lectured us on symmetrical violence - because in the end the mirror-match doesn't solve anything; which only makes the wait to get there all the more infuriating. After 100 minutes of drama with next to no typically fun Van Damme fight scenes, the final conflict is so hum-drum that we feel cheated.
On the bright side, and this is only a minor recompense, both Van Damme and Michael Rooker give atypically good dramatic performances for a Van Damme film. Catherine Dent (of The Shield fame) gives a good supporting turn as the intimately close co-worker of Jake.
Visually the film looks quite polished and the hi-definition treatment only helps. The increased resolution doesn't add much to the film though as there are very few stunts or explosive sequences. The audio quality bump is negligible.
Blu-ray Extra Features:
The accoutrements won't blow you away, but hearing a commentary from Rooker and Van Damme does make for an interesting experience. Beyond that you'll find deleted scenes and storyboards, neither of which holds much value to the casual viewer."
One of Van Damme's best
Mian Sukiman | Jakarta Indonesia | 10/25/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"First of all, this movie should have been released theatrically instead of going straight to Video. But since the DVD is here, Van Damme's fans (and action fans) should check it out. It is far better than his last 4 or 5 films (which are very bad: Desert heat, Universal soldiers: The return, Double Team, Knock off). The story about cloning but director Ringo Lam made this movie highly entertaining. Van Damme plays double role, one is the serial killer, the other role as his clone which created so the police can catch the serial killer. Interestingly, Michael Rooker co-stars, he also appears in other cloning movie starring Arnold (The sixth day).The DVD is OK. Bright and clear and the sound is fine. Van Damme provided commentary tracks along with ROoker, which are quite amusing. REcommended."
One of Van Damme's best
N. Durham | Philadelphia, PA | 02/09/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"While Jean-Claude Van Damme may be a direct to video action star now, Replicant is a surprisingly good film that should have seen time in theaters instead of other Van Damme flops like Knock Off and Double Team. The storyline, which has Van Damme doing double duty as a serial killer called The Torch and a clone of the killer, is instantly ignored as we see how surprisingly creepy and effective Van Damme is as the killer, and how naive and innocent he is as the developing clone. Michael Rooker is great as well (he always is though) as the ex-cop on the killer's trail. The action scenes are very well put together, and as I said before, the acting from Van Damme is so unbelieveably good in his dual roles that you might forgive him for films like Street Fighter and The Quest (well, maybe not), but all in all, Replicant is one of Van Damme's best, and it is a shame it has gone direct to video."
Well I?ll be Van Damme?d.
dsrussell | Corona, CA. United States | 02/19/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I never thought I'd ever give a Van Damme movie 4 stars. I also never thought I'd see the day that Van Damme would perform as a "real" actor. Well, folks. This is the day, and this is the film. While this may only be a fluke (like Segal's UNDER SEIGE), one can always hope.Granted, the storyline isn't much to talk about (what is it that makes Van Damme want to play two rolls?), and the premise itself is absolutely unbelievable ... still, it is not without interest, but one must keep eyes tightly closed to a few plot holes and contrivances. But believe it or not, what helped make this film interesting was Van Damme's performance (that and Ringo Lam's fast, hard-hitting direction -- he also directed Van Damme's MAXIMUM RISK).If you're not much of a Van Damme fan, I doubt this film will change your mind. But for those of us who enjoy mindless action every now and again, this film turned into a real surprise. Between 1 and 10, REPLICANT gets a marginal 7. Happily, I got much more than I bargained for."