Legionnaire Blu-ray Review
Distributor: Ascot Elite Germany
Made in 1998 just as Jean Claude Van Damme's career was beginning its journey into direct to video territory, Legionnaire was certainly a step in a rather different if somewhat risky direction.
Comprising of none of the classic martial arts mayhem that Van Damme's regular followers had come to know and love by this time, Legionnaire replaces the fighting with a character driven time piece which ultimately appears as a cross between a mob style revenge flick and a 1920's take on Zulu.
Van Damme stars as Alain Lefevre who in escaping the mob, enlists in the French Foreign Legion and ends up hiding out in the last place on Earth anyone would want to look for him, only then to find himself immersed in an even greater war severely outnumbered against the Rif tribes of the North African Desert. The film moves along at a steady pace giving the characters time to connect well together and providing enough back story to at least care once the inevitable slaughter begins.
Ascot Elite have previously provided altogether excellent Blu-ray releases with their stellar example being The Wild Geese. Although not quite on par with this earlier title, Legionnaire does not disappoint in offering a wholly decent 2.35:1 16x9 1080p transfer which shows a vast improvement over any previous format. With fine detail well supported, colours and black levels appearing as reasonable and absolute minimum of print damage on display, the transfer presented here is another credit to its distributor, who once again have presented an English friendly release. There are no forced subtitles to worry about and even a reversible cover for haters of those German censor logos. In addition, the Blu-ray has not been region locked, therefore making a hassle free import for worldwide collectors.
Audio is presented in German DTS 5.1 and English DTS 2.0 which actually sound surprisingly similar. Dialogue can on occasion appear a little distant with some of the action scenes sounding perhaps somewhat flat when compared to newer bigger budget releases, however not in any way enough to spoil your enjoyment of the presentation and when considering the original low budget roots of the film itself, the audio holds up pretty well.
Extra features are represented with a theatrical trailer, cast biographies and a production diary featurette, however these are presented with German audio only. There is also a split screen feature which compares a previous print of the film against the new HD transfer. Admittedly for the English speaking buyer there is not much here in the way of extras however it is really the films current exclusivity on Blu-ray which will be of interest here.
All things considered, if you are a fan of Van Damme's movies and have been wondering how he would handle a more fuller character driven piece, then this may well be the film for you. With plenty of emotional content and action on offer, the film makes a nice addition to an otherwise very similar resume and shows the actor as more than capable of only delivering those high kicks
for which he has ultimately become known for. Left somewhat open ended, it is a shame that a sequel to the film was never commissioned to continue the story, as the viewer is kind of left wanting more. Unfortunately however this was not to be the case, but some justice has finally prevailed, in that we can now at least enjoy the movie looking better than ever before in its ultimate presentation.
Blu Review Obscura - reviewing the less mainstream releases - find us on Facebook or at blureviewobscura.yolasite.com