Pound of Flesh: A Muscle-Filled Melodrama

Oh boy, where do I even start with *Pound of Flesh*? Van Damme plays Deacon, a guy whose kidney gets snatched the night before his niece needs it for a transplant—talk about bad timing, huh? It’s a classic action romp sprinkled with a dash of melodrama. I mean, Van Damme serves up his usual roundhouse kicks and brooding stares, but I couldn’t help but chuckle, imagining him trying to order a herring sandwich in Gamla Stan with that intense glare of his.

Now, directed by Ernie Barbarash, you can’t expect anything less than a rollercoaster of action antics, albeit with a plot that might’ve benefited from a bit more finesse. Sometimes it felt like trying to navigate Stockholm’s subway after a Glögg too many—kind of disorienting, you know?

What puzzled me was the portrayal of morality. Everyone’s morally ambiguous. It’s like Kalles Kaviar—you either love it or can’t stand it, and there’s not much of an in-between.

The film’s got these scenes where you find yourself gripped by the raw tension. Picture yourself standing in December cold, waiting for the bus that never comes—similarly thrilling and frustrating, trust me! Yet, the emotional depth sometimes feels as thin as the Svenska flag on a windy day.

But hey, it’s not all bad! There’s a nostalgic charm to seeing JCVD kick his way through the bad guys while quoting Shakespeare. Yeah, you heard it right! Shakespeare.

I think *Pound of Flesh* aims high but lands somewhere around your cousin’s attempts to make perfect Swedish pancakes—not flawless, but undeniably charming in its own way. Grab a fika, maybe with friends, and give it a whirl. Perfect? Nah. But for an evening of muscle-fuelled escapism? Why not?

Check the trailer below