Good concept, poorly executed.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

I'll try to keep this mostly spoiler free. Mostly.If you like tough-as-nails 80's spy dramas or martial arts films with a plot this might be the film for you. First of all lets talk about the action. Obviously, with names like Jean-Claude van Damme and Shô Kosugi on the cast list this movie has some action. There's fisticuffs a plenty, diving, daggers, guns, a car chase, stealth and even some 80's-style parkour. For the first 80 minutes I'm pleased with the action. Then, for the last ten minutes it just falls apart. Even the 'final battle' between van Damme and Kosugi is badly choreographed, short and very unsatisfying. Most of the fisticuffs has a taste of the east in it, which depending on what you like is good or bad. Some of it is fluid enough to be 'western styled', but its very obvious that Kosugi is used to thinking in one-move sequences. Kane Kosugi has a small action part as well, which he executes well.Speaking of the acting, most of the actors do a good enough job. Vladimir Skomarovsky, Bruce French, Doran Clark and William Bassett do good roles. Jean-Claude van Damme does well enough with what little space his role is given. Most of the other main actors have lapses, especially in the beginning, where they seem stiff or uninterested. The background actors do good jobs, all the small parts are executed well. WARNING: There are child actors in this movie. Also worth noting: almost no acting happens after the 80-minute mark, acting ability ending roughly about the same time as the plot falls apart.At first I liked the plot. The main plot is a good setup for an action movie with heavy spy-elements. It could easily been the setup for a James Bond movie. In an unusual twist for 80's action the main characters family is at risk. Unfortunately this element which could have given rise to much dramatic tension is resolved too soon. It gives the unfortunate effect of giving the main character smaller stakes at the end rather than the middle of the movie. Also there are background details and small side-plots that I think is fun that they made room for. I would like the side plots better if the main plot didn't get so diffuse. I don't think that the small side plots were what made the main story diffuse though. I just think the weakest parts of the exposition were those concerning the main plot.A nice detail when it comes to the plot is that the Russians aren't baby-eating monsters. In fact, if I was going to root for the 'good guys' I think I'd be rooting for the Russians. Not that they're all nice people, but the Americans in the movie are down right bloodthirsty.The music score is mostly fitting, although there are lapses with no background where this was missed. It's also not great, falling within the generic "dramatic violin" genre of action music. It's not an OST you'd sit down and listen to afterwords.All in all it's an OK movie that you could very well see on a Friday evening with your family. (as long as that family is all more than eleven years old) Goes well with a beer and some taco. Just don't let the ending bring you too much down with its suck.

The name of the movie is "Black Eagle" but to me it is known as the film where Jean-Claude Van Damme plays the villain and he does a terrific job. Van Damme is better than the hero simply because he's more scary than Shô Kosugi (who plays the heroic main character) and because the hero is too difficult for any audience to relate with. The story follows clichés after clichés. It is about the old duel between USA and URSS, during the bitter days of Cold War and Van Damme plays a deadly KGB agent working for the bad guys who stolen a powerful device found in a crashed American air force plane. Kosugi plays the agent who needs to track down and rescue this device in order to be the hero of the moment and stay home with his two kids. The whole operation takes place in Malta, a very beautiful place, and there's going to be lots of action and many boring and unimportant dramatic moments.These unimportant moments drags this film way down considering that this a film starring Van Damme, with many punches and kicking. On the action level there's two or three sequences that really goes well but there are two annoying things: 1) Of every 10 fights performed here 7 features someone having his neck broken. No shooting at all, only broken necks. This become so overwhelmingly lame that it's almost laughable. 2) the soundtrack played through the first half hour, the same tune played over and over again. Nothing against these kind of thing after all Carly Simon used Coming Around Again's tune during so many moments of "Heartburn" and it is a really great soundtrack. But here it was annoying to hit rock bottom.The major flaw of "Black Eagle" is not having a good plot. Many things are obvious, there's nothing interesting to see. To name one of the bad moments I need to mention are the encounters between Kosugi and Van Damme, where they fight for a second and then the hero escapes. That's right. One can assume two things: He is a total coward or he doesn't wanna hurt the soviet man (perhaps he's even sexually attracted to him). All the three times they've met something happened and he couldn't handle with Van Damme in a great fight. Van Damme's performance and fights are quite good, if only he had the chance to play the good guy and have a better ending for his character perhaps this movie would be way better. 2/10

"Black Eagle" sounds like an excellent name for an excellent action film! And it is! This movie has it all - aviation, fighting, being a spy, etc. Now those - those, I tell you - those are the essential parts to an awesome action film. This was the rage back in the day when it came out, and although this movie has lost this rage today in 2006, it's still worth watching day in and day out! And Van Damme made superb acting in this movie, also. He's done the same in all his other works, too."Black Eagle" is the movie to rent this Friday evening - don't walk, fly to the Blockbuster video store and rent this movie! A 10 out of 10 movie, indeed!

Playing a cross between James Bond and Jackie Chan, Sho Kosugi is likable enough, but unlike Jackie when he does a stunt the camera is too far away from him and it's hard to know if he is doubled or not (if you stick around for the end credits, you'll discover that he WAS doubled on at least two occasions), and unlike Bond the action of the movie is limited to one location (Malta) most of the time, plus there isn't too much of it. Jean Claude Van Damme makes an awesome villain, but his two major showdowns with Kosugi are rather disappointing. In the role of a female CIA agent, Doran Clark handles her two opportunities for action capably - she should have gotten more. The funniest thing about this film is that Kosugi shows little chemistry with his on-screen kids, even though they are his kids in real life as well! (**)