People are voting emotionally.

Good movie but grossly overrated

Blistering performances.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Disclaimer: If you are a viewer that mainly prefers art-house-type movies, then you might as well ignore this review. In addition, if you're not able to take an Van Damme underrated, epic war, drama film, ignore this review, as well. We'll both be better off.Legionnaire (1998) in my opinion it is a solid good war drama movie. I like this movie a lot since I was a kid, I rent the VHS tape and I like it, I watch it on TV and I like it. This is different solid performance from Van Damme, who actually went making a different movie, from his action movies by showing that he can act! This movie did worked perfectly for me. Is not one of my Van Damme favorite films, but it is still entertaining solid enjoyable Van Damme movie. The film is about courage, loyalty, love and true friendship. That is what I like about this movie. It is hell a lot of better than stupid The Quest (1996) I hated that movie from Van Damme, that was one of his worst movies ever! Legionnaire is the opposite about that bombed film. Van Damme did a solid acting performance for me.However this film has a major problems and a flaws that are really not explained at all. The acting in this movie was good but the film is a "whole" pretty slow paced & boring at times, plus the film needed better ending, that explained what happened to his women? I think I do remember hearing that this film was suppose to hit big screen, but since his recent films wasn't making the big money like his early 90's flicks ,it went to VHS. Van Damme was trying his acting out without any of his famous kicks and head butts which feel flat. Still I think this movie is hell out better than Street Fighter (1995) that I also really hated.This was the second time Van Damme played a Legionnaire, the first time he played a Legionnaire was in Lionheart (1990) my favorite Van Damme film! But this time Van Damme play's a boxer who suppose to lose a fight in the second round and he should went on a dive, but he won the fight instead, on the run from the mobsters, they tried to killed Van Damme, in self defense Van Damme kills one of the mobsters brother and than flees to the Legion. I liked about this movie that it was set in the earliest 20th century, I like it that is was historical event and I like it the acting in this movie, the true friendship and loyalty in the war in the film. I had no idea Steven Berkoff was in this movie, I mostly remember him from my favorite action movie Beverly Hills Cop (1984) which he did an awesome villain, but this time he is a commanding officer of the legionnaires. Peter MacDonald did a great job directing this war movie. He gave us Rambo III (1988), so I don't think this movie is awful bad or terrible, it is pretty good War drama film. I like the theme score which, is a good score for this film, the similar score was used in Lionheart (1990), just it was different score from John Altman. In Lionheart John Scott made the music for the film, in here it was John Altman who made a score for this film.Legionnaire is a 1998 war film set in the year 1925 and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as Alain Lefevre, a French boxer on the run from the Marseilles Mafia for refusing to fix a fight. Lefevre then joins the French Foreign Legion to escape the assassins who are trying to kill him. The decision puts Alain into the middle of the Rif War in French Morocco. The battles shown in the film are based upon real events. Abd-El Krim (Kamel Krifa) was a real life leader of the Rif/Berber rebels who were trying to force the French out of North Africa. Though the film ends with Abd-El Krim victorious, in real life, after early defeats, the French and Spanish ultimately threw a quarter of a million troops at him and his rebels, and Abd-El Krim was defeated and exiled after a bloody 10 month campaign.I am giving this movie a 7, because the movie deserves it, it is not my favorite Van Damme movie, but it is still a good one. If there where not have been a slow paces and boring scenes sometimes, I would gave this movie a 10. But it is a 7, good movie.7/10 Grade: B Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Steven Berkoff, Nicholas Farrell, Nicholas Farrell, Jim Carter, Ana Sofrenović,Daniel Caltagirone, Joseph Long Director: Peter MacDonald Producers: Christian Halsey Solomon, Kamel Krifa, Sheldon Lettich, Peter MacDonald, Roberto Malerba, Richard G. Murphy, Edward R. Pressman, Jean-Claude Van Damme Screenplay: Sheldon Lettich, Rebecca Morrison, Jean-Claude Van Damme Rated: R Running Time: 1 Hr. 39 Mins. Budget: $20.000.000 Box Office: $8,162,450

It's 1925 Marseille. Boxer Alain Lefevre (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is forced to take a dive by crime boss Lucien Galgani. His ex-fiancée Katrina happens to be Lucien's girl. They plan to run off to America after he wins the fight. The plan goes wrong and he escapes by joining the Foreign Legion. He is sent to Morocco to battle the locals. Lucien sends assassins to kill Alain.Jean-Claude Van Damme is in a movie with an actual story. It doesn't make the movie good. The story is full of questionable plot points. The start is not that tense. I kept waiting for him to join the Foreign Legion. After all, that's the point of the movie. There are some relatively good war action. Overall, Van Damme is not good enough of an actor to make it without kick fighting.

I know, another Van Damme picture, but don't write it off too quickly. Despite the fact that it went direct to video, it really is a good movie, and probably the best job of acting that Van Damme has done.It has a great supporting cast, too. Remember Steven Berkoff as Lt. Col. Podovsky in Rambo II? "I don't know who you are yet, but I will!" He has the same accent here. He may just be a sergeant now, but he still has that presence.Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Mr Eko from "Lost", The Mummy Returns, The Bourne Identity) also adds greatly to the story of those seeking a new life in the Foreign legion.Also great jobs from Nicholas Farrell, and long-time Van Damme film actor, Kamel Krifa.Sure, it's the same story you have heard many times about the Legion, this time being carpet-bombed by the Berbers, but it still is worth your time.And, the music was great, too.

It's 1924; in Marseilles, France and boxer Alain Lefevre goes on to win a fight that he was supposed to take a dive in. He had it all planned out that he would win and then leave with his old girlfriend (who's now with the mobster) to head to America. However things go terribly wrong, and this leads to Alain joining the Foreign Legion to mould a new identity to escape from those mobsters. Although this second chance is going to be a hell of an ordeal. What good can come from a straight-to-video, Jean-Claude Van Damme action film? Well, you know won't be expecting a masterpiece or even a great movie. So it gotta crash and burn. But wait a minute. "Legionnaire" actually breaks that trend, to be one of Van Damme's better movies of recent years. Hey, it's probably my favourite of his and that's saying a lot when compared to "Time Cop", "Universal Cop" and "Nowhere to Run". I don't know why I enjoyed this film so much, but even with my second outing, it delivered the minor goods in a simple, flourishing formula. There's no escaping the old-hat concept creaking in the set-up. It might be a change of scenery. Although, it's no different from a ordinary war film with an assortment of token characters setting up a loyal partnership to pull together when it gets tough going. There's no pretensions to its clichéd material and while, its contrived and heavily laced with them. It seems to get away this dramatic edge and its survival of the fittest message is passionately orchestrated. Most of these men are burdened souls, escaping from life or trying to prove something. This is why these comrades hold a strong emotional rapport with each other, as they know when they signed up there was no release clause to fall back on. The gleefully, corn-riddled script provides plenty of overstrained melodrama and electrically campy banter. The camera-work is swiftly executed and an elegant music score that could turn fiery in an instance are resourcefully worked in. The performances aren't anything special, but surprisingly competent and workable. Vann Damme is *cough* … solid, yes that's true. He's portrayal is quite convincing and subdued in his blistering like attitude. There's good turns by Nicholas Farrell, who chimes in as an optimistically, witty British man, Mackintosh and Daniel Caltagirone as the fickle Guido. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is an excellent character-actor and he does wonders with a plain stereotypical character, Luther. They were quite a likable bunch that we got to know. Steven Berkoff is compulsively good as the hot-wired Sgt. Steinkampf.When watching Van Damme flicks we know there's must be some kick-ass martial arts when he's wiping the floor of the bad dudes. Oh no, that hardly happens here at all. There are a couple of moments, but they are short lived. It plays for a meaningful war film, where its main focus is the high-octane battle scenes than just one-on-one combat. Sometimes the action does play second fiddle to the inner-goings of the men, but the loud, relentless war scenes were well organised and made for a more believable rough 'n' tumble foray. This just proved how much the French army were out of their league when facing the skilfully quick and deadly Arabs on their turf. Here he's no potent individual, but relies on his comrades to look over his back. Few surprises occur and knee-jerk jolts find there way into the warfare. When it came to the final minutes it seemed to lose a bit of creditability, to what has happen before it. An ambitious detour to the formula for Van Damme, but it mostly worked out and delivers undemanding entertainment.