Main Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Natasha Henstridge, Zach Grenier, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Stéphane Audran, Paul Ben-Victor, Frank Senger
Release Year: 1996
Country: US
Run Time: 100 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Alain Moreau (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is a French cop whose colleagues make a startling discovery -- a man named Mikhail, who was killed in a high-speed chase with police, looks exactly like him. Curious about the stranger with his face, Alain is told by his mother Chantal (Stephane Audran) that Mikhail was in fact his twin brother, whom her poor family was forced to give up at birth. Alain wants to know more about the brother he never knew, but the more he learns the more troubling the news becomes; it seems that Mikhail was involved with gangsters, corrupt FBI agents, and a gang of drug dealers. In order to avenge his brother's death and get to the bottom of his sad story, Alain assumes Mikhail's identity and travels to New York City, where to maintain his cover he takes up with Alex Minetti (Natasha Henstridge), Mikhail's tough-as-nails girlfriend, before finding himself hip-deep in danger with Mikhail's associates. Maximum Risk was the first American film from noted Hong Kong action director Ringo Lam, whose City on Fire has often been cited as a key inspiration for Reservoir Dogs. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
David Hemblen - Kirov; Stefanos Miltsakakis - Red Face; Frank VanKeeken - Davis Hartley
Credit
Deborah Brown - Casting, Jason Clark - Co-producer, Jeffrey Steven Authors - First Assistant Director, Ringo Lam - Director, Bill Pankow - Editor, Roger Birnbaum - Executive Producer, Charlie Picerni - Fights Choreographer, Robert Folk - Composer (Music Score), Steve Spence - Production Designer, Alexander Gruszynski - Cinematographer, Moshe Diamant - Producer, Glen Gauthier - Sound/Sound Designer, Larry Ferguson - Screenwriter, Eric Small - Screenwriter, Daniel Petrie, Jr. - Screenwriter
Alain Moreau (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is a cop in Nice, France. Alain is at a funeral that is being held for a fellow cop, when Alain’s partner Sebastien (Jean-Hugues Anglade) shows up. They discover that his name was Mikhail Suverov, and Mikhail was born on the exact same day Alain was. As it turns out, Mikahil is the twin brother Alain never knew he had.
Tracing his brother's steps back to New York City, Alain discovers that Mikahil was a member of the Russian Mafia, who was chased down and killed when he attempted to get out. Of course, now Alain is mistaken for Mikhail, who was also mixed up in a war between Mafia organizations. With his only real ally being Mikhail's fiancé Alex Bartlett (Natasha Henstridge), Alain sets out to avenge his brother's death, which is complicated not only by the Mafia, but by two corrupt FBI agents.
Critical & box office reception
Maximum risk opened on September 13, 1996 at the number 1 spot at the box office taking in $5,612,707 in its first weekend,and made final tally of just $14,502,483.Overseas it made $37,600,000 in ticket sales.
Critics were mixed on the movie noting that as a Ringo Lam film it was a disappointment when compared to his earlier work,while as a Van Damme feature it was better than average.
