The Quest Reviewed by: Joe Blenkle Rating:
Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Roger Moore, James Remar, Janet Gunn, and Jack McGee Studio: Universal Pictures Producer: Moshe Diamant Director: Jean-Claude Van Damme Screenplay: Steven Klein and Paul Mones MPAA Rating: PG-13 Release Date: Apr. 26, 1996 Running Time: 95 Minutes
The Quest is an interesting movie for you Van Damme fans out there. I'm not sure whether to rate it as a video game waiting to happen or a movie based on the popular video game fighting genre. Toward the end, I was sitting there thinking to myself that I had definitely played this movie on one of my video game systems, and fans of any of the fighting games will quickly see why. The movie deals with Van Damme's character - Chris Dubois - a street-wise young man who rides herd over a gang of homeless children. The group robs a gangster of some money and when he comes looking for revenge, Dubois barely escapes with his life, vowing to come back for the kids, but finding himself imprisoned on a cargo ship where he is forced to work in chains. He discovers they are running guns and right at the point where he is about to be killed, the ship is attacked by another ship guided by a scheming character played by Roger Moore - Lord Edgar Dobbs. Dobbs seemingly befriends Dubois, but eventually leaves him on an island where he is again enslaved and trained as a fighter. Now we must backtrack to the start of the movie where invitations had gone out to the world's best fighters for a tournament in a secret location. The prize to the winner is a huge, solid gold dragon and this becomes Dubois' "Quest." The only problem is that he has not been invited to the tournament. But when he hooks up with Dobbs again, a deal is struck to latch onto the American contender's invitation and fight in his place. To this point, the movie tended to drag in places, but once the tournament starts, moviegoers are treated to some top-notch action sequences and even a few laughs. Dobbs, of course, is scheming to steal the dragon, but Dubois becomes more concerned with winning the tournament to keep his honor and avenge the death of a fellow fighter at the hands of the Mongolian fighter Khan. As Van Damme action fare goes, this movie is a good one. And it's interesting to see Van Damme's acting talent improve with each outing (he also directed the film). The Quest is totally predictable, but entertaining nevertheless. While it is violent in places, there is no gross blood-letting - in fact, the worst part of the movie for me was the characters getting served a freshly killed cobra for dinner! Return to The Movie Corner |
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