Black Eagle (1988)

I have a soft corner in my heart for the action films of the eighties. I am also a huge fan of movies where stars are cast against type (see Vera Cruz). So, when I got a chance to watch 1988's Black Eagle pitting international action star Jean-Claude Van Damme as the 'villain' against acclaimed martial arts guru Sho Kosugi, I just couldn't let it pass by.

Black Eagle 1988

Plot

When a US F-111 jet carrying a laser tracking device goes missing in the Mediterranean, agent Ken Tani (Sho Kosugi) code-named 'Black Eagle' is summoned to retrieve the device before the Soviet KGB acquires it. Ken unwillingly lands in Malta and is immediately targeted by Soviet Agent Andrei (Jean-Claude Van Damme). Will Ken acquire the tracking device? Who wins? (Guess that answer is obvious!)

The Cliches

Cliches are the life and soul of action movies. When you have a martial arts movie in the spy genre those cliches only double. So here are all the noteworthy cliches from the 'Black Eagle':

• The introductory scene of our hero, where he's already in the midst of another mission in a foreign country. I have seen heroes take down gangs, armies and even countries by themselves in their intro fights but since this is 'Black Eagle' we shall be conservative on budget and just destroy an army jeep. 

• The over confident colleague of the hero who believes he's the man for the job before the villains take him out.

• The blonde bombshell who hasn't got the respect she deserves at work. She obviously doesn't think much of the hero at first but then develops a respect bordering on passionate admiration.

• The paranoid boss who believes that the hero is the sole solution for any international incident on hand. Their sole purpose is to pop up in the story from time to time and remind the audience how important the mission is.

• The patriotic ally with a dark past. They are always on hand to narrate their sad story and either die before the finale or assist the hero in the climax blow up. 

Black Eagle: Bruce French as the reliable ally

• The seemingly unstoppable henchman of the villain who kills everyone in his way (not quite) until being stopped by the hero. Wonder why these henchmen are not ambitious enough to take their boss' chair?

Black Eagle: Jean-Claude Van Damme

• The evil mastermind with a psychotic streak and a wildly entertaining foreign accent. 

The Potholes:

A movie is like a jigsaw puzzle, every piece adds strength to the puzzle. Here are some pieces from 'Black Eagle' which made me scratch my head and ask "Why?". 

Note: These sort of cinematic liberties or potholes are not exclusive to 'Black Eagle' alone, you will see patterns of the scenes below in several movies across the world.

• When you are on a secret mission to an island in the Mediterranean (Malta) which is teeming with spies, would you want to sky dive of a plane in broad daylight in full view of the Air Traffic Control?

• Same as above, you are searching for something which the enemy is interested in. Would you want to search for it in broad daylight knowing very well that the enemy is lurking around?

• Note to all the Villains out there: When you want to follow someone, please follow them in a way that they can't easily notice you.

• 2nd note to all the Villains out there: When you employ someone to tail the hero find out if they have visual deficiencies because they might end up giving a good chase to the hero but fail to notice that the roof is about to end. 

• 3rd note to all the villains out there: When you kidnap someone don't put them in a room with iron rods lying around.

Sho Vs Van Damme

Every martial arts movie needs two things: 

1. First, you need a credible nemesis who has really angered the protagonist by causing them to lose something important in their life
2. Second you need a climactic seesaw battle between the hero and the villain which will not only leave the viewers with a 'wow' feeling but also deliver the payoff for the loss that the protagonist had experienced

'Black Eagle' has an intriguing match up of sorts on paper with Sho Kosugi as the US patriot (and family man) squaring off against Van Damme the ruthless foreign agent. However by the time they face each other, Van Damme's character has been tamed by an unnecessary love story (which makes it difficult for the audience to really hate him) while Kosugi's character has no personal vendetta to avenge against Van Damme making this a spiceless fight.

Kosugi's focus

Van Damme's love interest

They face off against each other three times in the movie and each time there's no heat preceding the fight. The first fight between the two is just a warm up of sorts. The second fight atop a fort overseeing the Mediterranean should have provided the ideal location for some fireworks but Kosugi retreats throughout the fight with Van Damme trying to hunt him down. To be fair, there's some logic to this sequence. Kosugi has already secured the release of his family so there's really no reason for him to engage with Van Damme. But this is a martial arts movie, you have two martial art action stars, let them just go against each other. Instead you have Kosugi selling Van Damme's offence and Van Damme popping back up like the Terminator every time Kosugi lands one on him. This entire fight sequence does little to elevate the mastery of Kosugi's martial arts skills. 

Black Eagle: 2nd fight between Van Damme and Sho Kosugi

The third and the climactic fight which takes place on the docks pretty much follows the pattern of the second fight. Kosugi who's trying to prevent the bad guys from escaping is stopped in his tracks by Van Damme. Kosugi once again does all the selling with Van Damme looking the stronger of the two. The underwhelming fight finally ends when Van Damme's girlfriend distracts him for Kosugi to take control.  There are a number of ways that this could have been done better but who knows whether Van Damme's success as a leading man in Bloodsport (which released a couple of months before this movie) prevented the production from turning him into an all out villain.  

Black Eagle: 3rd fight between Van Damme and Sho Kosugi

Summary

Sho Kosugi's martial arts talent is under-utilized in Black Eagle (he doesn't throw a kick until the half hour mark). Lack of credible adversaries and dearth of emotion in fight sequences makes the movie underwhelming in parts. There's also nothing in here for Van Damme movie fans unless you are tracing the history of the actor from obscure bit roles to international stardom. On the positive side the movie chugs along at a fair pace, it's family friendly and Sho Kosugi does put in an earnest leading man performance. Plus there's beautiful Malta to feast your eyes upon. Next time you are bored, don't be scared to try out 'Black Eagle'. Don't expect a martial arts movie classic, revel in the cliches and you will be just fine.

Black Eagle: The sights of Malta

Rated: Time Pass

Until Next Time,

Your Movie Buff,

J.J. Chaitanya