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List Price: $14.94 | | Label: Sony Pictures
Salesrank: 19471
Released: August 15, 2006 |
| Our Price: $5.49 |
| Used Price: $1.24 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
AN EX-COMBAT DESERT STORM VETERAN IS HIRED AS A BODYGUARD BY A FORMER WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING CHAMP TO PROTECT HIS FAMILY AND HIM AGAINST A VENGEFUL RAP MUSIC MOGUL.
The Hard Corps Reviews:
Good Movie 
2009-09-12 - I ordered the movie for my son, he really likes it. We received it pretty quick and in good condition. He and his friends have enjoyed watching it.
mildly entertaining crossover . . . 
2009-09-07 - The Hard Corps (2006) is an off-beat, mildly amusing action feature, that makes a bid for the hip hop audience. Action star Jean-Claude Van Damme is Philippe Sauvage, an ex-soldier, now doing personal security work. Retired boxer Wayne Barclay (Razaaq Adoti), needs protection, when Terrell Singletery (Viv Leacock), a man he helped send to prison, is released early. Reluctantly hired by Barclay's sister Tamara (Vivica A. Fox), Sauvage is given complete control over Barclay's security, after he saves the fighter's life in an attempted hit.
Sauvage's assembled team of bodyguards play to mixed reviews, as they foil another attempt on Barclay's life, but the results are not as good at a rally, where the bodyguards apparently take down an innocent man. Barclay likes doing things his way, with his emotions often getting the better of him. Singletery is determined to see Barclay dead, and when he abducts Tamara, it sets the stage for a cartoonish final showdown, which features more of Adoti's fighting skills than Van Damme's.
The film is written and directed by Sheldon Lettich. A frequent collaborator with Van Damme, Lettich also wrote and directed Lionheart (1990), and Double Impact (1991), which featured Dennis Rodman. An action feature that was not meant to be realistic or taken seriously, The Hard Corps mixes gunplay, with a bit of fighting, and a sprinkle of race based humor. Disappointingly this release is fullscreen, without any extras.
Underrated 
2009-06-27 - What a good thug, action movie. I couldn't go to sleep until the movie was over at 3 am. I've watched it over and over. Can't beat the price.
The Hard Corps
2009-03-30 - I enjoyed the movie very much. Even though Van Damme is noticeable aging, he was full of energy as he always was. Seems as though he hasn't lost a step physically, either! Razaaq Adoti played an excellent part as a tough s.o.b. I'd like to see him in more movies. Vivica A. Fox's acting was mediocore and lacklustre as usual. Nevertheless, I liked the plot and the action scenes.
JCVD stepping a bit outside his comfort zone
2008-10-04 - The Jean Claude Van Damme Review Matrix (JCVD-RM)
1. Who is he? He's a hallucination-prone, recovering alcoholic, troubled former U.S. soldier Phillippe Sauvage who served in Afghanistan and a few times in Iraq.
2. Which family member/friend must be avenged? His former Sergeant Major, with whom he served multiple tours, was killed in a shootout.
3. Does he take his shirt off? Unbelievably, it doesn't happen.
4. Does he have sex with a C-List actress? It was probably a deleted scene (or will be in the sequel), but JCVD hit the jackpot in this one and he hooked up with Tamara Barclay (Vivica A. Fox). C-List? Pshaw!!
5. Is there a tournament? He trains several novice bodyguards like there is going to be a tournament, but it's just to protect the champ.
6. Is training needed for this tournament? In a surprise twist, JCVD trains others!
7. Does he do the splits in training or in the tournament? The actual splits aren't done, but in the penultimate battle, he does a kick that exposes "Big Jim and the Twins" to the enemy - close enough.
8. Does he punch someone in the balls? No, but one of Wayne's booty-call girls field-goals a thug's balls somewhere near his esophagus.
9. Does he do a series of flying or 360 kicks? Good ol' JCVD, he had me going for a while. He saved the 360-goodness for the very end.
10. Is his enemy unbeatable? Hardly. A group of ignorant thugs who hold their pistols sideways do not a formidable enemy make.
11. Does he overcome an injury or other hindrance? Aside from being fragile and suffering from PTSD, there are no real injuries of which to speak.
12. Does he win? He basically assassinates everyone; so, I'd call that a win.
A former boxer, Wayne Barclay, needs protection from a cliché-ridden Suge Knight wannabe. Eventually, a battle-hardened Sauvage (JCVD sporting a huge, baseball-sized knot on his head throughout the movie) is hired and tasked to build his own security team. The people he plans on hiring are the "hardest of the hard corp," but that basically ends up being one former soldier buddy and a few people from Barclay's gym.
To summarize this movie, I'd borrow a line from Wayne: it's like "pouring water on $*&# and calling it gravy". The convoluted plot, the stereotypical black characters, and the paint-by-numbers approach shouldn't work. It should be ridiculous. Adding JCVD's over-complicated character is brilliant. It's never enough for JCVD to have a drinking problem in a movie; the character has to be riddled with problems and responsible for the My Lai Massacre in order for JCVD to bite. Somehow, however, all of it together simply works.
As far as production value goes, it's slightly better than average for JCVD. It steals bits from several other movies (The Bodyguard, Major League, Four Brothers, Rocky II, Romeo Must Die,New Jack City, Jungle Fever) but ends up providing a relatively new, enjoyable experience. Watch this movie. That's an order, soldier.
