Waste of time

Very Cool!!!

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This is the worst film I have seen this year.The plot makes no sense whatsoever. The characters are stupid - I mean really stupid - and the script is somewhere between rubbish and turgid.The director clearly wanted to make a Tarantino style western/gangster movie but could not direct or write a script get anywhere near this.One of those films where you realise half an hour in that you have another hour of this to go but you might as well as you are already in it..and then an hour later you realise you made a bad decision an hour earlier.I have to write more apparently to publish my review...so now the film is annoying me more by making me type more about it. This should definitely be near the top of your avoid list.

I bought this film only because it was a mix up between western and crime movie, and also because there was JCVD in a supporting character. Besides this, as we say in french, this feature doesn't break three legs to a duck. Nothing exceptional in this forgettable movie. I did appreciate the wink to THE WILD BUNCH; the sheriff's name is Pike Bishop. I watched Sam Peckinpah's masterpiece at least a dozen times in my life, and Pike Bishop sounds quite familiar to my ears. It's a new wave crime film, in the line of Quentin Tarantino's world, as we watch since the early nineties now.An acceptable time waster, no more, just for rent, and certainly not for buying.

How wonderful to see Van Damme actually acting! This film is blessed with a lovely cast- some excellent actors, who we don't see enough of, make up the ensemble. Always incredible Lennie James, trusted Alfred Molina, and sensual Freya Tingley, each bring their massive talents to their performances- their craft is seamless and a pleasure to watch. And the guys that make up the gang are hilarious and frightening at the same time (Daniele Favilli in particular)- leaving the audience little time to decide who the good, the bad, and the downright ugly actually are. The creative camera work, sometimes unexpected angles, various movements, framing, and a few surprising lighting choices, as well as what renders clearly as thoughtful direction, all combined make for a fun viewing experience. I'm looking forward to seeing a lot more from director Keith Parmer- would love to see what he'd do with a predominantly female cast in the same genre! An entertaining independent feature with commendable production value, SWELTER deserves an audience that celebrates not only sexy masculine storytelling but that recognizes Jean Claude Van Damme as more than an action hero. Hopefully this film will allow JC to expand his reach and his skill level- in SWELTER he holds his own in this fabulous cast and shines in a way we've not seen enough of.

Back in the day, a movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme was an action flick with lots of martial arts. He was the good guy in it. And it actually starred Van Damme.More recently, Van Damme has made some movies with him as a flawed protagonist, and then several more as the main bad guy.This movie is a decent Drama/Suspense film, with Van Damme as a secondary character, and a tries-to-be-good bad guy. He is just above the "character actor" role, probably in my mind only because he is JCVD.The bad guys here go looking for the guy who barely escaped and still has the money, after some hold-up years ago where everyone else goes to prison to stew and fester about their revenge. There are enough variations on this basic idea to keep the viewer interested. Lennie James does a good job as the town Sheriff, easy going, hard to ruffle, and who you somehow know you just don't want to mess with. There is actually a little action here and there, but it is realistic (no martial arts) and serves mostly to add to the suspense.With no JCVD, this would be a movie worth a watch. An interesting plot, with good acting, and nice cinematography. Seeing JCVD do his "actual acting" thing is also fairly enjoyable. He manages to entertain with his french (Belgian) accent and a simmering manner that seems to add depth even to a character that has little.