Alicia I love this movie so much

BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

breakdownthatfilm-blogspot-com By 1990, Jean-Claude Van Damme had claimed success in his late 80s sports films like Kickboxer (1989) and Bloodsport (1988). Along with this film, was Lionheart (1990) released the same year, which also many fans enjoyed. The thing was for almost every film Van Damme had played in, his role was that of a character with a family member he had lost and was fighting for. It was new and touching for him as an actor in the beginning. But as time went on, the story lines began to feel awfully similar. Still, they entertained fans and viewers alike for the most part. Then came Death Warrant (1990), a movie with a whole different setting and situation which is great, yet failed to change the rest of the elements that Van Damme has already worked with in past stories. Van Damme plays a cop named Burke who goes incognito at a penitentiary to solve a series of murders that have taken place there. This particular plot line is fine if it were handled without being treated so generically. Helping Burke from the outside is Amanda (Cynthia Gibb, best known for playing Sandy in Short Circuit 2 (1988)), posing as his wife. Starting off with how generic this story line is already headed, I'm sure viewers could pick out what happens between Amanda and Burke. It's quite blatant with how both characters are set up and developed. Are they memorable? Mehhh,...maybe to some. The only part of the plot that is different from Van Damme's past movies is that he's no longer fighting for a family member, he's fighting for himself. Kind of like First Blood (1982) but with a mediocre script.Besides these actors, the rest of the main cast isn't terrible but are mostly under developed too. There's Abdul Salaam El Razzac as a man named Priest and Hawkins (Robert Guillaume - known for voicing Rafiki to The Lion King (1994)). Both of these actors give interesting character portrayals but somehow side with Burke for little to no reason. If they are criminals what exactly made them warm up so quickly to Burke? Then there's a cult favorite for some fans, Art LaFleur for playing in Stallone's Cobra (1986) & The Blob (1988) remake. He plays the head of the penitentiary and dislikes Burke a lot and for what reason? It's not given either. Lastly is a character known as the "Sandman" (Patrick Kilpatrick) who has the ability to withstand almost any type of lethal damage. And the reason behind this is? Again,...not given. Kilpatrick also isn't that memorable as a villain. He's more obnoxious than actually threatening.Here's the biggest surprise, the screenplay was written by the now insanely sought out David S. Goyer. Yes, the man behind all the future comic book movies - this was his entry into film. Wow, Mr. Goyer you didn't start off that great. Russell Carpenter as head of cinematography was OK but nothing really stood out. The editing was strange at times though, especially during the fight scenes. There would be quick cuts to an action Burke would make and it would be repeated to make it look faster but instead it felt like filler. Even Gary Chang's score was in the middle. At times it work by using his signature marimba drums to emphasize the wild like instincts to survive such a hostile place, but it also didn't feel totally appropriate at times. He even has a main theme for Burke but it doesn't have a tune that is memorable. Sigh.Its situation is written differently from that of Van Damme's earlier efforts but somehow all the same elements make it in as well. Plus, the screenplay suffers from several motivations and explanations that aren't explained. Thankfully it at least has a decent cast and music to back it up.

logantoxic Probably the best action prison movie around. I am not talking about escape thriller type films. I am talking about high kicks, jump kicks, face punches, and people getting lit by fire. This was filmed during Van Damme's glory years with such classics as Kickboxer, Bloodsport and Universal Soldier (MY personal Favorite). Death Warrant is Top Tier Van Damme and he knows it. He has that early cockiness about him that he seems to lose as he gets older and his films steadily get worse and worse and eventually he only makes straight to video type films. Interesting tidbit, Death warrant was written by David Goyer, who has also written Christopher Nolan's Batman Trilogy, for those starving Batman fans who need more. This film is dark and gritty but still has that 90s flare which I think brings a nice balance to the movie. If you are in the mood for some Van Damme Spilt kicks and don't want to think to hard then this is the film for you.You can get more info by visiting my Youtube Channel Logan Toxic or by visiting my page at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIsf-VfAAtU

Scott LeBrun "Death Warrant" should do just fine when film fans need their action fix. It's a pretty entertaining Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle with a solid pace, assorted brutality, and enjoyably heinous villains. Written by David S. Goyer, and directed by Deran Sarafian, it stars JCVD as Louis Burke, a Royal Canadian Mountie from Quebec (thus explaining his accent this time around) who is recruited to work undercover in the L.A. prison system. Posing as a prisoner, his job is to find out who has been offing various inmates. The real trouble begins when an old nemesis of his, a serial killer dubbed The Sandman (Patrick Kilpatrick) is transferred to the same prison as Louis. All in all, this movie is a good deal of fun; even if forgettable in the end, it's slickly made, with JCVD in fine form and kicking lots of ass as per usual. It benefits from a strong supporting cast beginning with Robert "Benson" Guillaume as Hawkins, a one-eyed veteran prisoner who provides Burke with valuable assistance. The bad guys are an entertaining bunch, from brutal head guard DeGraf (Art LaFleur) to the hilarious Sandman, a swaggering psycho often to be seen with a smile on his face. He also proves to be very hard to kill! Joshua Miller ("Near Dark") is a geeky genius computer hacker, Armin Shimerman ('Star Trek: Deep Space Nine') a nefarious prison doctor, Conrad Dunn (Psycho from "Stripes") the solicitous Konefke, and the extremely striking Abdul Salaam El Razzac plays enigmatic prisoner Priest. The pretty Cynthia Gibb is adequate as the major female presence and requisite love interest. The instantly recognizable Al Leong has one of his standard henchmen parts and Larry Hankin, himself no stranger to prison pictures having done "Escape from Alcatraz", appears unbilled as Myerson. Russell Carpenter does the frequently moody cinematography and plenty of atmosphere is guaranteed due to the prison setting; the opening sequence with Burke searching for The Sandman is likewise full of menace. The final quarter hour or so with Burke and The Sandman facing off is exciting and a total hoot as The Sandman keeps coming back for more. Fans of the star and the genre should be quite amused, overall, and at just under an hour and a half, the movie does not overstay its welcome. Seven out of 10.

lost-in-limbo A husky sounding Jean-Claude Van Damme is a typical Canadian mounted maverick cop who goes undercover in a maximum security prison to investigate the random deaths of certain prisoners. Surprisingly "Death Warrant" seemed to focus on Van Damme actually acting than more so on just busting body parts. The sadistic violence (and its good to see Van Damme is only human copping a battering or two) plays second fiddle to the brooding dramatics of this undercover investigation. Still the over-the-top, knuckle cracking sequences were excitingly well-done, especially when Van Damme goes up against his nemesis a maniac performance by Robert Kilpatrick as the dangerous Christian "The Sandman" Taylor. When the two come to blows (after the first being landed by a large spanner), hell erupts. Kilpatrick's character might no have much to do with the central plot, but his rousing inclusion (the atmospheric first encounter in the prison) was a memorable one. Van Damme goes about trying to make friends with the inmates, but instead sticks out like a sore thumb by finding himself in glaring competitions, asking numerous questions, using his mopping skills on unexpected victims and he can't seem to hang around with his own kind. From this he catches the eyes of the prison guards. Art LaFleur stands out as the rock-hard prison Sergeant. Robert Guillaume is good as a grizzled inmate and Cynthia Gibb as an outside contact. Also showing up in smaller parts are George Dickerson, Abdul Salaam El Razzac, Joshua John Miller and Armen Shimerman. The simplistic plot is a routine genre piece, which opens up a can of worms involving a secret conspiracy… although a predictable structural development unfolds with some uncanny acts. While it might be clichéd with its characters, circumstances and anxiety (things not entirely going to plan), director Deran Sarafian's tidy handling crafted some tough suspense and simmering visuals from its sordidly dark and testosterone laced surroundings. Sarafian has gone on to much bigger things. A commendably taut Van Damme action drama vehicle blast."Here no evil, see no evil".