That's not necessarily a bad thing since Van Damme has often tried, with mixed results, to prove that he's more than just an admirably limber set of gams (Most mugging: " Enemies Closer" Best body language: "The Bouncer"). This leaves Van Damme in the unusual position of playing a tragic supporting role. Finally: Lucas goes on a special/dangerous mission for Rincon, who wants to make a deal with an (apparently) more dangerous El Salvadorian drug cartel-even though Rincon's chapter of MS-13 is under FBI surveillance. Then: Lucas tries to stop his impressionable 10 year-old brother from joining MS-13. First: Lucas delivers pain-killers to Daniel, who broods silently in his auto body shop whenever he's not flirting with under-developed love interest Anna ( Joana Metrass) or flashing back to his traumatizing tour of Afghanistan. Lucas casually mentions (through voiceover narration) that his neighborhood is just a 20-minute bike ride away from the White House, an otherwise unrelated factoid that gives "We Die Young" a superficial kind of political relevance.Īfter this introductory scene, "We Die Young" is a mostly by-the-numbers crime melodrama in the vein of " A Bronx Tale" or " American Me." Lucas juggles several responsibilities, all of which inevitably come to a head at the wedding of Gabriela (Robyn Cara), Rincon's handicapped sister. You can tell that Geller doesn't really care about his characters beyond a point just by watching his movie's sensationalistic opening scene: Lucas (14 years old) gives viewers an unsettling tour of his corner of Washington D.C., one that concludes with Rincon quoting Shakespeare's Shylock-a very selective reading of his famous "If you prick us, do we not bleed" speech-right before he encourages his minions to beat a random debtor to a bloody pulp. But Castañeda and Van Damme's scene-stealing performances don't significantly improve writer/director Lior Geller's frequent reliance on racial stereotypes and gangster movie cliches. Lucas' story is also sometimes believable thanks to a strong performance by David Castañeda, who plays the brutal MS-13 gang leader Rincon. But Daniel is the most compelling part of "We Die Young," a familiar story about reluctant teenage gang member Lucas (Elijah Rodriguez) and his seemingly impossible quest to break away from Mara Salvatrucha (aka: MS-13), a gang of Central American criminals who, in real life, have been associated with drug-running and child prostitution. Granted, a bigger role might not have improved Van Damme's enjoyably twitchy performance as the mute, Oxycontin-addicted ex-marine Daniel. Sadly, Van Damme, the rare '80s action star who has (in recent years) given some thought to how he can age gracefully on-screen, is not in "We Die Young" a lot. If you watch "We Die Young"-the new coming-of-age/gangster drama hybrid-it'll probably be because Jean-Claude Van Damme is the film's headlining star.
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