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Black Eagle
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List Price: $24.95
Our Price: $88.75
Availability: N/A
Manufacturer: Studio / Sterling
Starring: Victor Bartolo, William Bassett, Godfrey Bezzina, Doran Clark, Josie Coppini
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 9786305232766
Format: Closed-captioned
ISBN: 6305232768
Label: Studio / Sterling
Manufacturer: Studio / Sterling
Number Of Items: 1
Picture Format: Pan & Scan
Publisher: Studio / Sterling
Region Code: 0
Release Date: 1998-12-15
Running Time: 93
Studio: Studio / Sterling
Theatrical Release Date: 1988-05
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Seems every time Van Damme plays a bad guy he does his mute method acting
Comment: Black Eagle was released a few months after Van Damme became a star with Bloodsport. The film could have made Van Damme a wash up but luckily it didn't. The martial arts chorography in the film is very sloppy and the fight scene between Sho Khogusi and Van Damme is weak. Skip this one
Customer Rating:
Summary: Black Eagle is a Black Spot on Van Damme's Resume
Comment: If you are a Van Damme fan, beware! He is barely even in the movie so don't let the DVD box cover fool you. Actually, he isn't even the star of the movie!! I'm not sure what advice he was given post Bloodsport from his agent, but when you go from being the main star in a very good martial arts movie to having a very tiny role in a very bad movie, I think that would raise some questions as to his choices in roles. Likewise, he is playing the stereotypical "bad Russian"--much like he did in his brief cameo in No Retreat, No Surrender. With the exception of 3-4 fight scenes and a romance scene, Van Damme is no where to be seen. Trust me though, this DVD is cheap enough (or can be found cheap enough) to warrant buying just for those fight scenes (for the true Van Damme fan).
Plot - D
Typical '80's plot with a downed jet fighter with a top secret device onboard that the Russians want and the CIA wants to get back. The CIA sends Asian martial artist Sho Kosagi after it and the Russians send Van Damme after it. The two have several confrontations, most ending in a draw. The martial arts choreography is very good and Van Damme performs his trademark splits and jumping spin kicks. There is a slight side story about Kosagi's kids and a female agent, but it isn't very detailed and not all that interesting. Again, the main reason for renting or buying the movie is for the fights between Van Damme and Kosagi.
Acting - D
Terrible acting from everyone. There really isn't any redemption for this category. The wooden acting of Van Damme playing a Russian is fine and expected, but the lifeless acting of the rest of the cast is just aweful.
Music/Soundtrack - D
I assume there was a soundtrack and some music, but it was so forgettable that nothing stands out.
Cinematography - C
Very nice location shooting in Malta (or a location doubling as Malta). Other than that, the camera angles are all standard and nothing to set it apart or make it very memorable.
DVD - F
Some DVD's claim to have the making of featurette. BEWARE - I have never seen it or found it on a DVD of this film. The extras are standard with an original trailer and some back story bios. The quality of the image transfer is subpar and is full screen only.
Overall - D
Perhaps Van Damme's worst movie of all time. Only for the true die-hard Van Damme fan and one who will pay $5 for 5 minutes of fight scenes.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A really good action movie, but the real star is MALTA!!!
Comment: From the end of the Cold War comes a movie that was probably written at the height of the Cold War, went through several years of production and finally came out right at the end of the Cold War and this probably killed any chance it had at success. I mean, who wants to watch a movie about Russians spies fighting US spies when you can get down with that sexy East German girl in your chem class while listening to the Scorpions' song "Winds of Change" or that cool Jesus Jones ditty, "Right Here, Right Now"? As a result, this enjoyable action movie is a hidden gem that few people remember. On to the plot...
SHO KOSUGI, Star of tons of Japanese Ninja films, plays a CIA spy who is called into action when a secret US plane, an F-111, goes down in the waters off Malta. This sequence is probably the cheapest of the entire movie as we only get to LISTEN to the plane going down instead of WATCHING the plane crash. Guess they had to spend that extra money on Jean-Claude's body wax. Speaking of JC, Mr. Van Damme plays the Russian martial arts expert/ body guard who is brought in by the KGB to try to steal the top-secret warhead off the F-111 before the CIA can get it. The only catch is, first they both have to find where in the ocean the plane crashed...
Along the way, Sho kills multiple Maltese citizens and various KGB agents all while Jean-Claude romances a young lady on the KGB's tugboat. In fact, all of the killing makes JC's character a lot more sympathetic than Sho's, which I'm sure the producers did not intend. Anyway, lots of action and things blowing up later there is the final showdown with Sho and JC which...well, you'll have to watch the movie to see what happens. Take my word, though, it's a great fight scene.
As the movie progresses, the viewers are treated to scene after scene of the gorgeous Maltese countryside: churches, forts and of course lots of the beautiful blue Mediterranean. Malta is the real star of this movie. However, almost all of the actors are attempting to speak English as a second language and as a result of the conflagration of Japanese, Belgian, Maltese and fake Russian accents, entire sections of the movie are almost unintelligible. I challenge even someone with a digital comb-filter, mondo-sound TV to understand what the heck Sho and JC are saying to each other in the final fight scene. But, since I'm here trying to defend this film, let's just call that a "minor production glitch."
All-in-all this is a good action movie that can be bought for a cheap price. Sounds like a great combo to me. Since this is an international production, watch out for bootlegs that are floating around. Also, don't buy the SLP tapes churned out by "GoodTimes" movies back in the 90's. Awful quality.
Those of you who read my other review of a Malta-filmed movie, "Final Justice," be on watch for a couple of actors and locations featured in that movie. The evil bar-owner has a big role in this movie as does the heroic cab-driver. Where the heck is Hellena Abella? Ah, well, only Malta knows and Malta ain't telling...
Customer Rating:
Summary: Horrid-looking martial arts bore fest...
Comment: Could someone tell me who Sho Kosugi is? This guy plays the main character of this crummy movie, "Black Eagle," where he goes up against Jean-Claude Van Damme while defending America against the Soviets in a plot so ludicrous that the people confused by "Mission: Impossible" would gnaw off a limb from utter boredom and confusion. Now, Van Damme's not a great actor. He's decent in most of his films, but he's not great. Heck, I wouldn't even call him good. However in this film he does a terrific job for a few reasons. A) He has about three lines, B) He only needs one facial expression through the whole film, and C) No one else in this film can act!!! What we get are blank stares, monotone deliveries, and very uninteresting dialogue. Now the action scenes: they stink too. There are a gazillion chases in this movie, all of them uninteresting (I fell asleep during a car chase, woke up and it was still going on), the much-hyped one-on-one fighting between Van Damme and this Kosugi guy is great at first, but the final battle loses the edge and just can't seem to get very innovative. "Black Eagle" may have been a good choice for Van Damme so early in his career. Now if they would've made an entirely different movie, perhaps there would've been something there to enjoy.
Customer Rating:
Summary: GREAT ACTION MOVIE!!
Comment: I'm not one to write reviews but it drives me crazy when people put down movies because they're similar to others! I really enjoyed this Van Damme movie. I see it getting put down because of the similarities to Blood Sport, and yes there are similarities BUT it's not the same movie. I gave the movie 4 stars because it was very entertaining and kept my full attention the entire time. There were plenty of action scenes and I loved the plot. DEFINATELY A MOVIE TO SEE!!!
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