Lionheart was Jean-Claude Van Damme's fourth major billing after Bloodsport, Cyborg and Kickboxer, with the story written by Van Damme himself and who plays Lyon Gautier (no relation to Jean-Paul Gautier). Gautier escapes from the Legion in a region in North Africa/France and initially heads off to America to avenge his brother's attack. When he arrives, he helps pay the sister-in-law's bills and support her youngest daughter. He is also on the run from two blokes of the French Foreign Legion who intend to get hold of Lyon.
Released at the beginning of the 1990s decade, & just before Van Damme hit his peak with 1992's Universal Soldier and a year on Hard Target, Lionheart is directed by Sheldon Lettich. Lettich went on to direct the entertaining Double Impact, Only the Strong and the disaster which is The Hard Corps to name.
Lionheart is more drama first, action second, & it plays out like a version of Kickboxer meets Rocky IV, but with a fish-out-of-water storyline built-in. It is a lot more earnest than Van Damme's latter flicks. It's light on action but heavy on the story and showcases more of his acting chops - which has been a persistent criticism of his film career. Van Damme humanizes Leon and he comes across as not as invincible, but down-to-earth and modest. He has a conscious. The story itself, whilst argued, is pretty rote, bears some weight and is relatively decent as it progresses.
One thing Lionheart and Van Damme didn't capitalize on was making 80s' action B-movie actor Brian Thompson fight Van Damme in a final battle.
Thompson's sharp-suited character was a sidekick who talked more and fought less and it was a missed opportunity to see them square off in a fight, whilst capitalist rich b**** Cynthia was the villainess (that character appears to be a take on Brigette Nielsen in Rocky IV).
Also in this movie was Michel Quissi - the original Tung Po of the first Kickboxer film, and Quissi here as his character looks, well, your average guy in a suit as one of the French foreign legion guys. His brother also appears, and he fights Van Damme at the end fight.
Fight scenes look scrappier and rougher and are not the usual flashy shenanigans of Van Damme's '90s efforts such as Double Impact, Hard Target, and Universal Soldier. It is less reliant on kicks. Does this alone make it any more inferior? Absolutely not. However, in the context of the story, Leon takes part in these illegal underground street fights to make money for his sister-in-law, Helene, a single mother and daughter, Nicole, Leon's niece, and to give them a better quality of life. But he is not doing this alone, as he enlists a street hustler Joshua to act as his manager.
Compared to his other films, including the direct- to- DVD cheapo efforts, this Van Damme film has a lot of heart, and it was a total surprise: I didn't think I would enjoy it, but I ended up feeling the opposite, thanks to the added characters besides Leon. Had it not been for them and for them elevating this film further, I would enjoy it less. The melodrama and family angle also pushes the story forward, and that resonates more than the fights, which act as a backdrop. If the fights are the backdrop to Lionheart, then the family angle is the backbone of this film.
It's earnest, never over-the-top and engaging from beginning to end and the runtime is perfect. The performances are very good, and because of that, it makes the melodrama feel believable, with Van Damme showing some range in his performance. Having him play a character that he wrote that is not one-dimensional but who has a lot to say and having a character that has depth as a human being and person and not just someone who kicks the crap out of people, is interesting to see.
Van Damme's Rocky, yet way, way superior to The Hard Corps, Lionheart is far more reserved than any of Jean-Claude Van Damme's other films. Many people will look down on this as being silly and too toned down for their liking and prefer a more macho Muscles from Brussels.
For me, this is much better than it has any right to be.
Final Verdict:
Bloodsport put Van Damme on the action map alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, but with Lionheart, whilst it isn't as recognised as Universal Soldier and Kickboxer, it is sincere and still works as a crowd-pleaser in the same vein as Rocky. As well as one that I might take over Kickboxer and Bloodsport when it comes to competitive fighting movies, as the fish-out-of-water setting gives it that edge.
Lionheart may not offer much, yet with a simple and effective story and an intriguing set of characters, it turns out to be one of JCVD's best.
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