PLOT: Serge holds a state secret. He, his household, and gardener Leo seem on a authorities demise listing. They try to plot a plan to remain alive.
REVIEW: The pure development for any ageing motion star is to check out comedy to attempt to lighten the load. The physique simply can’t take these stunts the identical manner. And over time, we’ve seen Jean-Claude Van Damme dip his toes in comedy, and have some success with tasks like Jean-Claude Van Johnson. Now we’re seeing him in a movie that desperately needs to be a comedy, however can by no means escape the “Geezer Teaser” mould of being a generic motion movie. The Gardener is tough viewing, particularly for lifelong followers of the actor.
The Gardener follows Serge, an eccentric politician who finds out he’s on successful listing. Fortunately for him, his gardener has a shady background and makes it his mission to cease the would-be assassins. They’re going with the very drained “I just want to live peacefully but you’re forcing me to kill” trope. Your enjoyment with the movie goes to begin and cease with Michaël Youn‘s Serge. Either you can sanction his buffoonery, or it will annoy you to no end. I was in the latter camp and was constantly hoping he’d simply shut up. Serge is such a buffoon all through the movie that the emotional beats actually don’t work as he’s already confirmed to be a clown in different folks’s dramatic moments.
Van Damme seems like he’s in a wholly totally different film from Youn. There’s one scene specifically the place he’s baring his soul, and Serge is simply wisecracking in response. Which is just too dangerous as a result of Van Damme really seems like he’s doing one thing considerably attention-grabbing. However you’re hiring the person for his motion acumen, and he’s, understandably, misplaced a step. Any probability that they get to make use of a stunt double, they do. JCVD is doing the close-ups and a few of the much less impactful stuff, but it surely’s very apparent when it switches to the double. Don’t get me fallacious, what Van Damme is ready to do at 65 is insanely spectacular, there’s only a very distinct distinction in motion that you just simply can’t faux.
The most effective a part of the movie comes with Matthias Quiviger‘s Esmerelda. He’s an absolute madman and is quipping practically each second he’s on display. He’s received such manic vitality and is so unpredictable that he offers the movie a much-needed increase. In any other case, the henchmen are faceless bores, missing in any human qualities. On a technical aspect, the motion is effectively finished. You possibly can actually really feel the influence of the punches and kicks inside the sound design. They even do what seems like “day for night” taking pictures that, outdoors of the sky alternative, really seems fairly respectable. However these moments occur hardly ever, and it’s as a rule a load of inexperienced display backdrops and poor composites.
Whereas attempting to be farce, The Gardener by no means leans far sufficient into its comedic sensibilities. Every now and then, Van Damme is available in to beat up a nasty man and breathe life into the movie, but it surely’s too little, too late. The comedy doesn’t work, and it by no means settles on a constant tone. Is it an motion movie? Is it making enjoyable of them? I’m not even positive the filmmakers know.
THE GARDENER IS IN THEATERS AND VOD ON JUNE 6TH, 2025.
