Pilot (E01)

The original theme of the series turned out to be a small-scale thing which was produced, among others, by Ridley Scott and one of the Zucker brothers, who has, for example, The Naked Gun under his belt. And I admit that I am not giving 5 stars to this 30-minute uniqueness only because I saw a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie with a similar premise that deserved those 5 stars simply because it came up with the idea of humiliating Jean-Claude Van Damme first. I say humiliation but it isn’t like that really. It is more about self-irony and self-reflection and that’s something I always value greatly. It surprises me how it is possible that the serious movies in which Jean-Claude Van Damme portrays himself look so perfect. Technology-wise, acting-wise, and visually… here he is absolutely great and I admit that at times I purred like a kitten. That’s how funny this half-hour was. (09.01.2017)

I wouldn’t object if Jean-Claude would just walk around the block dealing with everyday problems. At least from time to time. This might turn into a nice satire on the lives of movie stars, combined with comedy spy inserts. Reaching out for the classic crutches used in action movies, a dumb love interest storyline, everything is well balanced. On the brink of parody. I would certainly like to see at least one season of this. They mustn’t be afraid of shelling out money for some more daring movies. JCVD enjoys himself in this role, after all, it’s written for him alone. (26.08.2016)

Unfortunately, this has already been done before, in a more conceptual, sincere and self-contained film version. This pilot for a potential Amazon series clearly draws on Mabrouk El Mechri’s phenomenal JCVD, but instead of that film’s balancing on the edge of reflection, homage, mockery and admiration, it is rather an attempt at Tropic Thunder turned on its head. Johnson is yet another contribution of the current line of quantity TV, which is built not on progressiveness, but rather on the comforting variation of what has already been seen and loved. In the age of quality TV, it was true that the main advantage of series was that, unlike films, they had more room to manoeuvre in terms of character development and could thus be less formulaic and thus more complex. In the current state of the flourishing competitive market and a return to classic television consumerism, the focus is on capturing the audience with an attractive and optimally familiar concept and stretching it out endlessly. The main thing is to attract attention, and screenwriting dodges will ensure that viewers keep coming back for more. Johnson is thus another contribution to the main current trend of series production – milking well-known movie brands for all they’re worth. Except at Amazon they properly understood that the brand consists not of the title of the film, but of the main character. On one hand, the pilot is clearly very likable and ticks all the boxes for engaging the chosen audience (generations of Van Damme fans and film buffs). There is thus obvious potential for a long-running series, but, on the other hand, it is impossible to imagine that it could offer a more intense viewing experience than simply re-watching JCVD, followed by Tropic Thunder. The pilot actually works best as a sort of fast-paced commentary on JCVD (it contains variations on the film’s most affecting scenes – Van Damme performing variations on the iconic rush and mountains, meeting fans everywhere and even crying – but due to the absence of dramaturgical structure and context, it lacks the film’s emotional impact). (30.08.2016)