REPLICANT (2001)
I swear I didn’t do it on purpose, but I seem to have yet again picked a film with double the Van Damme. I’ll chalk it up to fate because of the fifty or sixty something films he’s made there’s only four with him playing dual roles. And to be honest, I kind of chose this one at random. I thought I knew what it was, until I gave it a watch and realized I’ve never seen it before and was likely confusing it with something else. It’s not even like vaguely familiar. Add on top of that just so happens to have been released exactly a decade after my last pick, DOUBLE IMPACT. So yeah, there’s some kismet type shit going on here.
I wouldn’t be surprised if nobody else remembers it, either. By the time REPLICANT was released in 2001, JVCD’s star power had significantly dimmed, so this gem was not released in U.S. theaters. As with most straight-to-DVD releases, it either went unnoticed or was automatically assumed to be a bad movie. It’s surprisingly good though. Its major downfall was being a hard sell to audiences or, more likely, marketing execs because it didn’t fit neatly into a specific category. There were always certain expectations of JVCD movies, and this didn’t exactly meet them. It’s not purely an action film and doesn’t rely much on showcasing his martial arts skills. Of course, it has some action and fight scenes, but it also includes some science fiction elements and feels a lot more like a gritty crime thriller.
JVCD plays a serial killer nicknamed “The Torch.” His victims are women he’s judged to be bad mothers. After stalking them, he beats and kills them, then sets the bodies on fire. After several years on the case Detective Jake Riley (Michael Rooker) nearly catches him just before he’s set to retire from the police force. Detective Riley is approached by a secret government agency that has created a Replicant of The Torch, a clone made from DNA collected from crime scenes. They offer him the opportunity to use the Replicant to track down and stop the killer.
I'm the first to admit: it sounds ridiculous. The premise is pretty crazy, and a lot of the details don’t make much sense. To start with, apparently the whole concept of replicants is supposed to be to catch terrorists. But they decided to do a test run with a serial killer. Then Riley takes home the clone and treats him like the actual killer that hates. Meanwhile, the Replicant has no idea why he’s cursed at, chained up, and abused but he somehow comes to care enough Riley that he saves his life. Oh, and did I mention they were able to program in a psychic connection between the genetic doubles? Farfetched does not even come close.
But watching it play out on screen, the need for rational explanations or logical outcomes falls away. It doesn’t need to make sense for it to be entertaining. It really goes to show how a great performance can totally overshadow the flaws in a story. While JCVD does an excellent job, Michael Rooker is the absolute star of the movie. I think he’s such an underappreciated actor. He can and has done everything and anything but never seems to really be in the spotlight.
As the detective, he ends up being the hero of the story while also being the asshole of the story. You want to root for him, obviously you want him to catch the killer. But at the same time, you kind of want the Replicant to kick his ass for being a dick to him for no reason. It doesn’t help that he plays up the childlike innocence. The best part is watching the two actors make this unbelievable story actually feel kind of real. Despite the odd circumstances and seemingly random bond forms between the characters, they made me believe it.
The other thing I like about the movie is the rare opportunity to see JVCD as a villain. He’s most often remembered as the good guy, hero, and charming leading man. But that guy is nowhere to be seen in this movie. As The Torch, he’s sleazy and creepy and oh so slimy. Between the long greasy hair, weird yellow-tinted glasses, and generally disheveled kind of look they almost managed to make him unattractive—almost, he’s still Van Damme hot. (Lol oh that was bad, landed better in my head.)
Despite not realizing what movie I was in store for, I got to say it was an excellent pick. I would definitely encourage you to give it a watch. It’s a bit of a weird one, with some strangely humorous scenes and an abundance of unrealistic aspects, but that’s part of its charm. Everything that should have made it a bad movie is overshadowed by the great performances.
