Director: Ernie Barbarash
Writer: Joshua James (Screenplay)
Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Darren Shahlavi, Charlotte Peters, John Ralston, Aki Aleong, Jason Tobin, Kevin Lee
Plot: A man’s heroic attempt to help a woman in distress ends up with him waking up the next day without a kidney and plotting his revenge.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Good Simple Action Movie
Story: Pound of Flesh starts with Deacon (Van Damme) arriving in Philippines checking into his hotel before waking up in an ice bath trying to piece together what has happened. The flashback includes Deacon breaking up a man Drake (Shahlavi) beating up his partner Ana (Peters), who later brings him back to the hotel room where she drugs him and has an organ removed.
Deacon calls upon an old friend Kung (Aleong) as we meet George (Ralston) Deacon’s brother who has been waiting for Deacon to give his kidney to his dying daughter. Deacon starts retracing his steps to locate this kidney, leaving bodies laying in his way. He is against time because when time runs out his niece will die.
Pound of Flesh puts a slightly different twist on the action genre, we have seen so many films that end up being drug, robbery or basic nonsense, but this ends up using the human body part transplants. Having the hero lose a body part and want to get it back for a heroic reason works and tries to put the heart into the action much like The Warrior King. The action side of the story will end up coming average, but the story adds some heart to the fight. (7/10)
Actor Review
Jean-Claude Van Damme: Deacon is a man with a secret past coming to help his distant brother as his daughter who needs a new kidney. He finds himself drugged and his kidney stolen, he has to piece together the events of the night before to track down the people responsible for stealing hi kidney before it is too late. Jean-Claude does a good job giving us the performance we would expect. (7/10)
Darren Shahlavi: Drake is the man who has the idea to steal Deacon’s kidney, he is calculated and uses his skills of SAS training to make him a deadly enemy. Darren does a solid job but really doesn’t get enough screen time for his role. (6/10)
Charlotte Peters: Ana is the escort that comes onto Deacon so the kidney can be taken, she doesn’t understand what is at stake thinking this would just be a big pay day for herself. Charlotte gives a basic début performance but doesn’t get enough screen time. (5/10)
John Ralston: George is Deacon’s brother that has to put aside his differences to help his daughter, he ends up joining forces with his brother and uses his brains to solve the situation rather than his brother’s muscles. John does a good job being the opposite to Deacon. (7/10)
Aki Aleong: Kung is an old associate of Deacon who helps them discover the truth about who stole the kidney. He tries to keep Deacon out of trouble or on the safe path as he goes through the underground looking for his kidney. Aki does a good job in the role mostly as guide though. (6/10)
Support Cast: Pound of Flesh has generic supporting characters that really don’t end up adding much to the film just someone for Deacon to kill.
Director Review: Ernie Barbarash – Ernie gives us a solid action that ends up giving up plenty of heart. (7/10)
Action: Pound of Flesh gives us the action we expect to see without giving us anything breath taking. (5/10)
Thriller: Pound of Flesh does make you interested in what will happen but you have the constant feel of what will happen. (7/10)
Settings: Pound of Flesh give us the location of the Asian to make it generic underground idea in a new country. (5/10)
Suggestion: Pound of Flesh is one for the action fans to enjoy because it entertains. (Action Fans Watch)
Best Part: The heart side of the story.
Worst Part: Action is slight generic.
Action Scene Of The Film: Final fight.
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: No
Budget: $7.5 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 44 Minutes
Trivia: Pound of Flesh is dedicated to the memory of British actor Darren Shahlavi who plays the films main villain Goran, who passed away in January 2015.
Overall: Solid Action film that gets to show of Jean Claude Van Damme skills.
Rating 
