"Lukas" is well worth a watch, mainly because of its fine performance by Jean-Claude Van Damme. This is not the kind of sentence you're going to read a lot when browsing through imdb but : good work deserves laurels. Here he does very well as an aging man battered by fate who's struggling to keep afloat in a vicious and imperfect world.
Van Damme, by the way, is still in excellent physical shape, as proven by a number of well-choreographed fights and stunts.
The movie has a number of other assets too, but sadly it is not without its inconsistencies and plot holes. For instance : try to imagine, dear reader, that you are a ruthless gangster and that you are looking for a reliable helper. You meet a man who looks a suitable candidate - he's tough, he's silent, he's obedient, he needs money - but you want to make sure he's going to remain faithful and do exactly as you tell him. So what do you do ? I'd suggest : pay him well, give him a nice bonus here and there, flatter his ego, indulge his vices, introduce him slowly (VERY slowly) into a world of ever deeper crime. However, kidnapping his only, much beloved daughter and holding her hostage seems completely bonkers - the man might very well explode into an ultra-violet rage and shoot a few bullets through your brains, or through the brains of your accomplices. Or he might just pretend to go along for a few weeks, while plotting a retribution worthy of Shakespeare at his darkest...
Still, we've all got our own theories on how to motivate employees.
Van Damme, by the way, is still in excellent physical shape, as proven by a number of well-choreographed fights and stunts.
The movie has a number of other assets too, but sadly it is not without its inconsistencies and plot holes. For instance : try to imagine, dear reader, that you are a ruthless gangster and that you are looking for a reliable helper. You meet a man who looks a suitable candidate - he's tough, he's silent, he's obedient, he needs money - but you want to make sure he's going to remain faithful and do exactly as you tell him. So what do you do ? I'd suggest : pay him well, give him a nice bonus here and there, flatter his ego, indulge his vices, introduce him slowly (VERY slowly) into a world of ever deeper crime. However, kidnapping his only, much beloved daughter and holding her hostage seems completely bonkers - the man might very well explode into an ultra-violet rage and shoot a few bullets through your brains, or through the brains of your accomplices. Or he might just pretend to go along for a few weeks, while plotting a retribution worthy of Shakespeare at his darkest...
Still, we've all got our own theories on how to motivate employees.