Swelter

I was looking forward to Jean-Claude Van Damme and got a bunch of some idiots from the American countryside who think they will fuck over people from Las Vegas, where cash is the main commodity. That’s as if you came to a carnival and you decided to steal customers from the vendors. It would only be a matter of time before some giant who didn’t like it came after you. And I get it. The movie doesn’t necessarily have to revolve around Jean-Claude Van Damme, who actually rarely appeared in the movie and his character was nothing to write home about. But in that case, the movie would have to be worth it in other areas. Itʼs not. Unfortunately. (10.01.2017)

There are films that have a stupid script but solid direction. Then there are films with a decent script but terrible direction. And then there are films where both fail and unfortunately, Swelter belongs to that third category. Some folks say that the film has "average routine direction," but Parmer should consider that an honor. His editing is terrible, the action scenes are minimal which is fortunate because they are poorly shot, and it's evident that the director wanted to make a quick-draw Western because he fell in love with the fast and inappropriate drawing of guns in certain situations. The script is logically full of holes, and the only beacon of support is the cast. Not that you will find any A-list actors here, but the character actors do what is expected of them in a B-movie project, including Van Damme, who at least doesn't get in the way. Overall impression: 15%. (16.03.2020)

Sometimes it's very kitschy, although it could be justified by stylization. It's a mishmash of different genres and approaches to film, creating something quite new, interesting, and personally bearable for me. It's not as cool as it first appears, but for B-movie enthusiasts, this is more than bearable. Plus, I must not forget about JCVD! (27.08.2014)