"Wakey wakey Burke it's time to bleed".

This was David S Goyer's (screenwriter of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight) first successfully sold screenplay. This fact coupled with a strong recommendation from a friend left me anticipating a well structured action thriller.

Van Damme plays Detective Burke an ex-royal Canadian Mountie who agrees to head up an undercover investigation into a string of unexplained deaths at Harrison State Prison. Once incarcerated under the guise on an armed robber, Van Damme must quickly solve the mystery of the multiple homicides while battling to stay alive.

As with all Van Damme films it's obligatory to show a number of different fight scenes and this film doesn't break the mould in that respect. Where it does differ is in the extravagant and extremely violent methods of disposal undertaken by Van Damme and his various enemies. The film is shot well enough and although it tries to capture the dark, dank world of prison life you can't help feeling at times the set is more akin to an elaborate village people video rather than the inner workings of a violent unforgiving high security prison. The plot rumbles along as predicted and there are no real surprises there. However the highlight of the film for me is Burke’s nemesis 'The Sandman' played by Patrick Kilpatrick. Preternaturally tough, seriously imposing and the harbinger of classic quotes like 'Wakey wakey burke it's time to bleed!' he provides a formidable foe for Van Damme, and throughout the film you do look forward to the inevitable showdown between the two.

Overall a film that promises much but ends up being just slightly too formulaic for me.

JP