"Running Scared" director Peter Hyams' "Enemies Closer" qualifies as a good, fast-paced action thriller that dares to be different.Unfortunately, it doesn't succeed as much as it could, but this ranks as an above average actioneer for the Muscles from Brussels. "Expendables 2" action-star Jean-Claude Van Damme plays a murderous villain named Xander as if he were on LSD. He wears his hair feathered around his head and he has a memorable entrance. Honest, Jean Claude is the best asset of the film. He must have had a blast hamming it up as the bad guy and his performance is as much a stretch for him as "JVCD." He retrieves fifty pounds of heroin from a river after a plane crashed. He runs afoul of Henry, the Park Ranger (Tom Everett Scott) and another guy, Clay (Orlando Jones) who has come to kill the Park Ranger. Seems that Clay's deceased brother served under Henry's command in war and he didn't make it back. Naturally, Clay holds Henry responsible and Henry is pretty broken up about it himself. Henry had taken the job as a Park Ranger so he can put himself as far away from humanity as possible. If the prospect of watching Van Damme as a non-marital arts villain is offbeat for any film so is the prospect of Tom Everett Scott having been an elite military commando. Nevertheless, Scott appears solid, and he handles himself with acceptable finesse, particularly in his close-quarters, hand-to-hand combat scenes. Clocking in at about 85 minutes, "Enemies Closer" has a surprise or two, other than its unusual casting, and Hyams never lets the pace drag. The biggest complaint about "Enemies Closer" is its adherence to tradition. Wouldn't things have been cooler if Van Damme triumphed over the heroes and left with his heroin. Now, what'd that have been an intriguing movie: let the bad ass villain win. Tony Morales' orchestral soundtrack captures the rugged, tough guys must die feeling. Lensed in Burgaria, but you'd never notice it.
Review of Enemies Closer
