Q: What happens when you take a man on a comeback career plan (Jean Claude Van Damme) and another man whose got a string of credits where he plays the heavy (Vinnie Jones) and put them together in a movie?
A: I’m not entirely sure, but neophyte producers Todd Moyer and Alison Semenza will find out as they plan and shoot the first film to come out of their new production company Flagship Films, Weapon.
According to Variety, Weapon will tell the tale of two rival assassins who each have a different preferred method of dispatching their targets, have probably been double-crossed by the head of a drug cartel that’s backed by the DEA, and now have to team up to get their revenge. (Raise your hands if you’ve seen that plot somewhere before.)
The film will be directed by Australian Russell Mulcahy, a former music video director whom genre fans love for having directed Highlander, and then turn around and despise when they learn he also directed Highlander 2: The Quickening.
Perhaps the most unfortunate part of this story is that Moyer and Semenza do have a talent for putting movies and deals together, but they just may not be the right kind. Moyer worked for several years at Dark Horse Comics and helped put together the deals that resulted in The Mask and Timecop, and Semenza has a string of straight-to-DVD sequels and prequels on her IMDB credits page, but also worked on the upcoming Powder Blue (which reminds me a hell of a whole lot of Dancing at the Blue Iguana; I blame the strip club setting).
Here’s hoping the second film they produce can be a bit more original.
DJ Purkis says:
Hehe, The Quickening. What an awful movie. In Mulcahy’s defense, though, Highlander 2 didn’t just share aesthetic aspirations with Blade Runner. Apparently an evil bonding company ran some creative interference with Mulcahy’s work, and there were also economic woes within Argentina at the time, though how the latter affected the production I am unsure.
(Umm…yeah…I was on Highlander II’s Wikipedia page less than a week ago…long story.)
On topic, I still think Dolph Lundgren could be found a part in this potential actiongasm. A comedic cameo, if nothing else. It would be Universal Soldier all over again. Only not. Oh, the 90s, your spirit lives on in me (and I am ashamed of it).
DJ Purkis says:
I should probably also mention that among the various cuts of The Quickening floating about (nearly all of which are unarguably superior to the Theatrical Cut), none escape the cruel verdict of ‘shockingly, shockingly bad’, so will be interesting to see if Weapon is any good.
Anywho42 says:
Aww, and I just gained respect for Jean Claude after finally getting around to watching JCVD.
I can only pray that Weapon is actually a slapstick comedy in disguise.
Gordon says:
JCVD was so, so good. I was really hoping he would follow that up with something, you know, good.
I suppose there’s still hope….
Caolan says:
You know, for as much of an art movie hipster as I can be, I have a real soft spot for mindless action movies. They work well as palette cleansers. This looks like it’ll be right up my alley.