Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67595 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-12-16
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English, German
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 113 minutes

Amazon.com
The ever-limber Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in the entertainingly over-the-top action flick Derailed. The plot has to do with a deadly virus on a runaway train, but that's hardly the point--what makes the movie fly along is the ridiculous yet entirely enjoyable escalation of plot devices: not only is Van Damme on the train to protect a beautiful high-tech thief (Laura Elena Harring, Mulholland Drive), not only is the train hijacked by terrorists, not only is the virus actually released into the train's ventilation system, not only is the engine on fire, but Van Damme's family came on board to surprise him on his birthday and are now being used as pawns by the terrorists. Derailed is also loaded with spectacle: car chases, shootouts, explosions, a train collision, hand-to-hand combat, and Van Damme riding a motorcycle on top of the train--you really couldn't ask for more. Sheer trashy fun. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

JCVD has DERAILED his fans
Jean Claude Van Damme made his reputation in the late 80's and early 90's with martial arts movies that involved his entering a kumite, winner take all. In BLOODSPORT and KICKBOXER, his athleticism, good looks, and never-say-die persona were magnified in confrontations with a killer bad guy, usually played by Bolo or Michel Quissi. The fights in those films were seen as intriguing choreographed versions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As long as JCVD stuck to that type of film, he stood out and the movie did good box office. Eventually, he felt that he could branch out into being an action star along the lines of Steven Seagal or Jackie Chan. The brutal truth about his acting talent is that it is limited to the savage ring fighting of his early career. With DERAILED, JCVD proves once again that his acting, when combined with laughable special effects, cheesy writing, and illogically paced fight sequences, cannot compensate for these other deficiencies. In DERAILED, he plays Jacques Kristoff, a CIA type who is hired to bring in a sexy Russian female who has ripped off her Mafia boss to the tune of a deadly smallpox serum, which is released into the air of the train on which all are riding. The plot holes are big enough for that train to drive right through without hitting a bump. His wife and children surprise him by meeting him on the train, only to be taken hostage along with the other passengers. If this sounds a little like DIE HARD meets SIEGE, then you have already figured out the ending. The bad guys are tough enough, but JCVD's fights with them are claustrophobic, thus negating the allure of his high kicks. Instead, he has to resort to the grappling devices like chokes and ankle locks that I found to be the most interesting part. DERAILED is a glitzy movie with lots of pretty girls, tough guys, and short combat scenes, but the feeling that I had at the conclusion is that if JCVD wants to avoid the continual embarrassment of straight to video flicks like this one, he would do well to remember the kind of movie that made him a superstar in the first place.

From former Van Damme�s fan - save your time and money!
I used to be a big Van Damme fan. Timecop, Hard Target and Lionheart are still among my favorite action movies. However, recent Van Damme's movies are rather weak. It is my personal opinion that without a interesting original script and quality professional actors portraying the "bad guys" Van Damme's movies aren't' worth the time nor money.

Brief comments about this movie - very [poor] story, much weaker than Segal's Under Siege 2 Dark Territory. Some sickening pictures portraying Small Pox outbreak. Supporting cast, excluding Tomas Arana, Laura Harring, range from weak to complete amateurs. Also, special effects are very weak.

On the positive, if you love Van Damme, you will see him doing his usual stuff in the movie. Also, his son makes a theatrical debut with some nice martial art moves.

Overall, I would rather watch again one of my favorite Van Damme movies than this one.

Terrible but a great laugh!
Van Damme is back and his movies are getting worse . . . sure he has made some great ones like SUDDEN DEATH and KICKBOXER, but this one, from the people that brought you CROCODILE and SHARK ATTACK(and its sequels!) is so bad it's hilarious. Van Damme plays a government agent(AGAIN?!) who has to escort a prisoner across Europe by train, but in the process terrorists steal and unleash a bioweapon on board which she is transporting. And to add to the complications, Van Damme has his family, or the usual oh-the-humanity interest on board. The authorities, fearing a Europe-wide plague from the dealy smallpox bioweapon, attempt to destroy the train. Sound familiar? A rip-off of the far superior CASSANDRA CROSSING with hints of the equally superior UNDER SIEGE 2 thrown in. However, the enjoyment comes from the incredibly bad special effects that you will see. Check out the toy helicopter chasing a train set through papier-mache mountains! Exploding cars on the autoracks that blow up as soon as a bullet hits them, lack of route knowledege through Austria by the producers(all main lines in Austria have overhead wires and do not operate Bulgarian diesel locos), two toy train wrecks set alight by a kid with a match or so it looks and horrendously bad acting and dialogue that makes bad movies like BEYOND THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE and SHARK ATTACK 3 look brilliant. So at least it's funny. Recomended if you love dreck and want something to compliment that bad movie cheese-fest you are putting on!