Van Damme's spiral into straight-to-video obscurity continues with this cheap, trashy amalgamation of a HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER-style western and a typical blow-'em-up action flick. What starts off with an interesting opening soon loses it with an awful middle and only partially redeems itself with the ending. And it's a shame, as by all accounts this could have and should have been a whole lot better.There are plenty of interesting characters and offbeat situations in this film to enjoy, but for the most part it's a clichéd mess. Sometimes the dialogue is inaudible, and when we do get to hear the speaking it's generally full of swearing and unwanted crudity, especially in the case of the bad guys. Van Damme reaches a new low when the film takes on a pornographic slant to show an energetic sexual situation between Van Damme and a bimbo he's taken off the street ("No, wait..." he says to the woman's sister, "you're next!). Van Damme certainly looks the part with his Stetson hat and white vest, but his acting skills haven't improved over the years and the moments which call for him to display grief and suicidal thoughts are unimpressive.His supporting actors aren't much better, being as they are a supremely untalented and uncharismatic group of unpleasant people. A few familiar faces pop up (Danny Trejo shows up as Van Damme's friend) and it's inevitably the old-timers who we like the most. Pat Morita is especially good as a white-suited little man with a fine line in body disposal (he wraps 'em in cling film and dumps them in a quarry). The familiar face of Vincent Schiavelli also appears, in what amounts to little more than a racist cameo. Fans of DARKMAN baddie Larry Drake be warned: he is on screen for only five minutes.For an action film, this contains little in the way of action: there's too much talking and inactivity for it to be exciting. A distinctly past-it looking Van Damme kicks his way through a few bad guys but he's a long way from his early prime (and let's face it, those twelve years of drink and drugs have taken their toll). There are the requisite loud explosions, motorbikes for the boys, and inappropriate music, and a few nice touches here and there. Otherwise this is strictly by the numbers fare.

In a town consisting of about 40 people,28 is a high proportion but,as they say in "The Mikado","They'll none of them be missed" seeing as how they were all complete nut jobs who severely p*ssed off the good folks of "Inferno",the sort of small town that you drive through very quickly whilst keeping your eyes strictly on the road ahead. "Desert Heat" is a very good and entertaining movie by Mr J.G.Avildsen that does not contain an iota of originality,depth or plot and character development but nonetheless manages to grab your attention from the start with some excellent desert photography and dexterous choice of music,first-class photography and lighting and a brilliant cast of minor characters,many of whom would have been right at home with Hawks or Ford.Yes sirree,if you're gonna steal,steal from the best. Ignoring that well-known advice about digging two graves before setting out on revenge,Eddie Lomax(J-C vD)ends up having 28 baddies buried in a canyon by the gleeful Pat Morita operating a power-tipper.Way to go,Morita-san. With so many townsfolk having challenging behaviour even J-C vD has his hands full,but with a little help from the USAF he manages in the end. Monsieur van Damme - looking more like a young Tony Curtis than ever - evidently had a lot of fun with this,and,despite being in a decidedly ambivalent relationship with his buddy Johnny Six Toes (how homo erotic is that?) rather ungallantly simultaneously beds two ladies he rescues from the grip of the local psychos.A quick glimpse of J-C vD's bottie here may be an enticement to a certain element of his fan base. In short - "Inferno" is fun,particularly so for the older movie fan who can smile at all the bits (i.e.most of it) stolen from it's olders and betters.

Inferno starts out in the Californian desert where Eddie Lomax (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is on his way to see his native Indian friend Johnny Six Toes (Danny Trejo) when some local thugs from a nearby town stop & take a fancy to Lomax's motorbike, they beat Lomax up & steal his bike leaving him for dead in the middle of the desert but is saved by his mate Johnny Six Toes who takes him home & nurses him back to health. Lomax is annoyed, not only was he left for dead but they stole his motorbike & he intends to get it back. Lomax travels to the town where his attackers live & soon discovers that no-one likes them & the town would be grateful if Lomax would get rid of them which gives him all the more reason to sort them out...Also known under the title Desrt Heat & originally had the working title Coyote Moon this was directed by John G. Avildsen & is yet another weak JCVD action thriller with an unnecessary comedic side that just feels out of place. The various genres don't sit well with one another & Inferno is yet another loose remake of the classic Japanese film Yojimbo (1961) in which a stranger rides into a small town & plays two criminal gangs off each other in order to wipe them both out & there's even a not so subtle mention of Yojimbo at the end. Here the Lomax character played by JCVD is surrounded by silly eccentric comedy relief character's that just end up annoying & at times feel like they belong in a different film. The action scenes are quite weak with little imagination & as soon as any of that clichéd ancient Native American Indian superstition, mysticism, chanting & nonsense started my eyes just glazed over & I lost all interest. The pace is alright but it's just predictable, a little oddball & there's not enough action here either.I will say that Inferno does look quite nice at times with some striking cinematography of the vast desert & some nice sunset shots but it's hardly worth watching for that. The action is tame with JCVD getting two or three fight scenes with the rest of the action consisting of a few explosions & some standard shoot-outs. The town in the film seems very underpopulated, we only ever see five people yet it has a motel & a diner which manage to stay open despite the obvious lack of customers.The IMDb says this had a budget of about $22,000,000 which i find hard to believe since not that much happens here. Director Avildsen cast his son Jonathan as one of the bad guy's, JCVD doesn't seem that interested while Larry Drake is wasted in a bit part.Inferno has a fairly predictable plot, weak action scenes & awkward comedic moments that just don't work. One of JCVD's worst films from the 90's.

Yes, it's a cheesy film, but it's marvelous and mysterious in its own way. Toward the end when Pat Morita is whistling a tune, the melody is THE INTERNATIONALE, anthem of international Communism. No explanation for this is offered, nor does one seem obvious. It's hard to imagine adding much new to the remaking of YOJIMBO with Van Damme in place of Eastwood or Mifune, though motorcycles and exploding fuel tanks can't hurt. Not every action film can match the classics. But this one beats the pants off ROADHOUSE with Patrick Swayze, with a similar landscape. Such is, at least, my own opinion. And it's better than AVENGER with Sam Elliott, who was also in ROADHOUSE. But I digress...