Black Eagle, 1988 
Directed by Eric Karson  

Black Eagle really isn't a Van Damme film. Probably he's on the cover to sell this movie, aldo in 1988 Van Damme had barely begun making a name for himself. He was less well-known than Sho Kosugi, with whom he had to share top billing.

Van Damme plays a Russian villain, up against Shô Kosugi. Kosugi plays Ken Tami, the CIA's best agent. Ken Tami is trying to salvage a crashed F-100 aircraft (which is outfitted with a super high-tech laser guidance system, that could be used for evil) off the coast of Malta. Mostly, this is a kid-friendly action yarn, complete with Tami's two sons (played by Kosugi's own real life sons), who accompany him on the mission.

What is of interest is Van Damme's interpretation of a Red bad guy. This was not his first appearance as a Russian fighter. In No Retreat No Surrender he was Ivan, a Russian mafia enforcer. Here he is Andrei, a KGB operative who is battling Kosugi for a secret weapon. When Van Damme plays the heavy, he is somehow more threatening, more lethal than when he is the punching bag good guy.

The first action sequence with Van Damme is totally awesome. This is one of my most favorite Van Damme movie-scenes ever. It has the kick, mega punches, Van Damme looks brutal, and look at those muscles. It's the first moviekill by Van Damme. Van Damme's style is breathtaking.

 
 

In another scene we see that Van Damme pulls a man into the water and drowns him:




One of Van Damme's best moments in this or any of his other actioners occurs when he is not fighting at all. He is seen as merely talking to his wife who is genuinely concerned for his safety. Their verbal interaction marks him as distinctly human as they ponder his looming fate.

Further his aggressive fight scenes with Kosugi are first rate. Van Damme's untimely demise with a ship's propeller raises some unexpected sighs of sympathy. Van Damme proves that if given the right script, he can deliver acting on cue with the same verve as one of his patented roundhouse kicks.



Without Van Damme the movie is not worth watching it. Van Damme has by far not enough screentime. Every scene without Van Damme is boring, aldo every scene with Van Damme is just awesome: Van Damme looks realy great. His fights are great, and his looks are even greater. He does kick and even we see an awesome split, where he goes into a perfect split and come back up quickly like a puppet on a string... For sure one of his fastest splits ever!

Conclusion: Black Eagle is only worth seeing because of the looks and the moves of Van Damme. Use the forward button of your remote-control to skip the rest of the boring scenes.