User reviews

The film sees Van Damme star as Sam Keenan who is given the task of protecting the new president of Moldavia (made up? Maybe!) from violent protesters and ardent supporters of the country's previous regime. Essentially this is a siege movie, and with a plot somewhat resembling Dolph Lundgren's The Defender. Both movies are very similarly toned, however while Lundgren received mostly positives from that film (and more so from his directorial follow up the Mechanik) Van Damme will probably not earn the plaudits on this one. Now the man himself is not the problem, but the film suffers from amateurish direction and overly ambitious delivery of it's ideas in which the film tries to deliver the requisite amount of atypically military imagery. For instance helicopters make appearances in this film, only mostly they are poorly done CGI helicopters. As such the films attempt to look more expensive results in it looking cheaper. This is where SIC fails and where The Defender did not.

The direction from Simon Fellows lacks imagination, cohesion and competence. The trouble is the director is too quick to try and mimic certain styles from other directors. There is also too much compensation made in the editing room. Many of Fellow's stylistic choices do not work and only serve to hinder the film and whereas Dolph Lundgren made the Defender taut and polished, SIC is sometimes a little slipshod. However as the film progresses, Fellows gets a little more controlled. On a technical standpoint the rest of the film is okay, with mostly polished cinematography and an okay musical score.

The cast are good with Van Damme ably supported by Raz Adoti, Julie Cox and Alan Mckenna and William Tapley. Jean Claude himself is good in a pretty straight down the middle kind of role. He's not required to stretch as much as in Wake Of Death, but Van Damme gives his role a humanity and the role some conviction and thus adds depth to the 2 dimensional character as written on the page. Van Damme is certainly developing as an actor and he now adds so much to roles that other action stars would simply do competently. JC has improved so much and in regards to the action stars of the moment Van Damme is the most interesting as an actor. I certainly hope he stretches himself in future roles, cause I think having matured as a person he has a world weariness to him and an inner depth that shows up in his last few roles and there is now something going on behind those eyes.

The action in the film is okay. In terms of hand to hand combat there as some nice brief flourishes from JC, and there's a average length fight scene at the end but that suffers from poor editing and choice of shots. As for the rest it's primarily gunplay and Fellows chooses to go docu style which half walks and half doesn't. However the last half hour of the film is mostly action and the pace picks up nicely and we have a good amount of explosions going on.

Overall this is not a write off and by no means one of Van Dammes worst. It's good to have him back after a long wait following Wake Of Death, but understandably some fans may be disappointed. I can only say to them that Hard Corps promises much more and that also this film is far better than Seagal's recent turkeys. **1/2

Jean-Claude Van Damme again as one army man , here he is an US commander assigned as second-in-command to the American Embassy in an Eastern European country called Moldavia . Then , communist rebels try a state coup . The official gets free the President and they take shelter into US Embassy nearly deserted that encounters itself under siege by violent insurgents . Meanwhile , Van Damme saves the damsel in disgrace, an enticing journalist (Julie Cox) and he along with a detachment of soldiers fight against nasty attackers which have surrounded the siege .

The picture packs noisy action , shoot-outs , explosions, politic intrigues and minimum characterization . It's exciting and tense , at time lackluster action film , but the blown ups , struggles , gun-play are well done in this routine actioner . The story is plenty of firepower , action packed , fights though is added an interesting politic suspense . Scott Adkins , who subsequently starred some film with Van Damme , was offered an important role but could not sign for it due to other commitments . Jean Claude Van Damme is fine as action hero in this middling budget film . Long time ago he played big budget movies (Time cop, Universal soldier, Double team , Hard target) , he nowadays makes low budget and directly to video (Derailed, Wake of death, In hell) like in his first films (Black eagle, Cyborg , Bloodsport). The film was well photographed by Douglas Milsone (Dungeons and dragons, Sunchaser, Body of evidence) in natural scenarios of Rumania though the coup détat was happened in Moldavia (ex-Republic of Russia) . The motion picture was professionally directed by Simon Fellows who directed a Wesley Snipes vehicle (7 seconds) and he recently directed ¨Until death¨ again with Jean Claude Van Damme . The film will appeal to action genre enthusiasts . Pointlessly energetic and occasionally fun for only the true devotee of main actor . It's a must see for Van Damme fans .

"Second in Command" is the best movie that I've seen with Jean-Claude Van Damme since his early films, "Bloodsport" of 1985, and "Lionheart" of 1990." As those films, this one has an interesting plot. There's more depth to the story than the usual fare of mayhem and gore in Van Damme films. As with some other of his films in the first decade of the 21st century, this film was made solely for video release. That may say a lot about the lack of ticket sales and profits from theater releases.

This film has a huge dose of the pyro-technics, mayhem and gore. But they don't consume most of the film. Instead, there's a plot with some realism about saving people in an American embassy. The story revolves around a rebellion in Moldova and an attack on the American embassy. The freely elected president of the country is being protected there. So, this film scores much better than the usual mindless mayhem of Van Damme films.

The idea of an embassy siege is not a contrived Hollywood plot. The fact that there have been such incidents in the recent past adds a sense of realism to the film. Of course, this was made before the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack of the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya, in which the American ambassador and others were killed.

The writers may have been inspired by real incidents of the past. The most successful large rescue happened in 1991. That took place in Somalia. Armed rebellion broke out in Mogadishu in January. People from several countries made their way to the U.S. embassy. The rescue was called Operation Eastern Exit. Two huge helicopters delivered a team of 60 Marines and Navy SEALS to the compound on January 5. The choppers returned to Guam with the first 61 evacuees. Then, after midnight on Jan. 6, the main rescue took place. Four waves of five Sea Knight helicopters each evacuated the entire compound. In the end, 281 people from 30 nations were rescued through the American embassy.

Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as a soldier who becomes the first in command after the ambassador is murdered by terrorists, along the way Van Damme comes up with a plan to get the soldiers and civilians out before the terrorists take over. Second In Command is one of Van Damme's more one note efforts. One in which reminds one of the vastly superior Sudden Death, however the problem with Second In Command is that it's just plain boring. Van Damme doesn't have really any hand to hand combat sequences and the shootouts are rarely exciting. Fellows tries to go for suspense and fails because the situation is so clichéd and the movie so uninspired. It's as if all the planning went on how to get Van Damme in the position of power and then didn't know what to do with the plot. In other words there just isn't enough plot or momentum in the story to make this all that entertaining. It's a movie that's forgettable and downright dull.

*1/2 out of 4-(Poor)

As an action flick "Second in Command" is nothing we haven't seen and it's based on a very unoriginal plot. Featuring an American intelligence or military action in a poverty ridden Eastern European Country. The problem with some of these movies is that the production staff does very little if any research. As if people who make these movies don't expect these movies to be shown in those Eastern European Countries they portray. Things like a Rebel Leader swearing in Serbian or Croatian language while speaking on the phone to Van Damm - from what I know in Moldavia or presently known as Moldova local population speaks Moldavian (romanian dialect) and Russian. I give this movie 2 for the lack of research and unoriginality.

Saw this film on DVD.. Van Damme plays Sam Keenan who's just been appointed to Second in Command where's he stationed at an East European country.. There, he finds himself at a situation where the President has been confined at an American Embassy from a group of ruthless soldiers..

As things gets worse, Keenan must do all he can stop the soldiers and save the President..

For this type of film, it's a bit better than some of the other Van Damme films I've seen..

I saw another film on TV called 'IN HELL'.. I felt that this film was terrible. So shallow and not entertaining enough..

In 'SECOND OF COMMAND', we see Van Damme playing a Marine.. Something we don't usually see him play as.. But it's something that Van Damme fans would love to see..

I also believe that Van Damme should stick to good roles that fans will definitely see over and over again.. Rather than work on something that is so boring and horribly made..

It's not bad.. Pretty good movie.. I hope JCVD will do and make better films in future..

6 out of 10!

As such an admirer of Jean-Claude Van Damme, watching him make stuff like this is really disheartening to be honest with you all. I grew up with his movies, and whilst not all of them were great, he has provided me with many hours of entertainment with classics such as Bloodsport, Universal Soldier, and Time Cop. Even recently he has really upped his game with some DTV gems like Until Death, Wake Of Death, Replicant, Assassination Games, and In Hell. But this feels like something that Steven Seagal rejected. It doesn't have much action to speak of, and when it does happen, we get a lot of frustrating shaky camera work that really hampers what little it has going for it. It doesn't help that I can't stand politics. Anything to do with it, I tend to lose interest in quickly. There are a few exceptions to this rule where I end up enjoying them, but this was bloody terrible. Jean-Claude Van Damme isn't really trying all that much here. He phones it in, but he can't overcome the weak script or poor pacing issues. I realize he has toned down his histrionics over the last few years, but this movie really lets him down. The rest of the cast do what they have to do, but none of them really stand out all that much

Final Thoughts: He's made some really good DTV gems since this awful film, but this is without a doubt one of the worst movies he has ever done. It's up there with Double Team, Black Eagle, and Derailed. Even die hard JCVD fans (I consider myself one of them!) will be disappointed by this. The lack of interest really sinks this one

3/10

Upon watching JCVD's previous movie wake of death,I knew it would take something special to top that monster.Unfortunately SIC is not gonna do it.But it does manage a bit of suspense,a lot of bang for the buck,Some competent direction,and some decent actors That manage to rise above the proceedings.

After nearly a two year absence Jean Claude returns with the siege flick Second in Command in which he is a special forces type of guy who who is made second in Command To the US ambassador in a small euro-country on the brink of war and chaos.It gets worse when the local Prez seeks sanctuary at the US Embessy causing the local insurgents to target it as well.Its up to JCVD to lead them into the light.

The action is fairly good a bit realistic,and on the brutal side.Van Damme does not have a lot fight time in this one.Though there is one of 3 that is just down and dirty street-like that fans will enjoy.Lots of machine gun fire and explosions.Some decent twists along the way also.

Van Damme is just as good here as he was in WOD.He gives a very steady and controlled performance in this one.He has arrived.The rest of the cast are good.Julie Cox handles the dramatics very well.Razzaq Adoti is likable as ever.Leading man anyone? William Tapply provides smugness,and a-holisem as the CIA guy out for JC.Much like Ron Silver in Timecop did.Velibor Topic is in Arnold Voosloo mode as the leader of the insurgents.

Simon Fellows does a good Job of keeping things moving forward and directing.He even gives the movie a documentary-like feel to some of the scenes.With each movie he is getting better.Van Damme regular Doug Milsome give the movie a crisp look as always.

There are a few gripes.There should have been more tanks.Continuity issues abound.CGI work is merely okay.There could have been more Mano-a-Mano involving JC.Some of the camera work is a bit shaky.

But with IN Hell,WOD,and SIC Van Damme is becoming a credible actor.I was a bit worried when he signed with MCPA that SIC would end up like the Marksman or the latest Seagal trash.Not so thankfully.

Now i am a massive van Damme fan I've seen everyone of his films and i could say that i like everyone one of them until i watched this film. There is so much wrong with this film that not even van Damme can rescue. Firstly the storyline is just awful its just not realistic, i only say this because the film is obviously trying to be very accurate and life like as possible. The filming is terrible, it keeps showing close up views of everything, things that u don't need to see like and close up of a mans arm and a close up of tyre the list is very long so i wont go on. Now when anybody goes to watch a van Damme film they are not expecting the storyline or the acting to be amazing they are just looking for some great action and fighting from van Damme but this does not happen. van Damme fights like 3 or 4 times in the whole film and when he does its done with a close up camera view and some weird slow mo effect that just doesn't do nothing for the film.

I hate to say this about a van Damme film but this is one of the worst films I've ever seen. Even if you are the biggest van Damme fan (which i am) i guarantee you will not like this film.

This is absolutely THE worst movie I have ever seen Van Damme in. The plot is rubbish, the actors are rubbish and everything about it is nothing but dreadful. Van Damme is clearly past his prime and it is about time he retires from making any more 'action' movies, like Steven Seagal.This movie was a total waste of time! Do not even consider watching this B grade movie. You are better off doing anything but this. Trust me when I say that this movie is to be avoided at all cost. Any of Van Damme's movies, even when he made his first appearance in 'No Retreat, No Surrender' is miles better than this effort! 'Bloodsport' would be considered an Academy Award winner compared to this movie, which would not be fit even for TV viewing. It IS that bad!

This movie sucked. I'm a Van Damme fan and like my boyfriend we keep hoping Van Damme will find another great film but like Segal's movies he's in just to many sucky versions of the same thing over and over.

First off there isn't much of a plot.

I do give him credit for using a combat karate instead of what I'm use to but the action scenes weren't all that great.

It hurts me to give this a rating of 1 but trust me, do not fool yourself! If you've been finding Van Damme's movies lacking then this is one you should skip. I'm just glad we rented it and didn't buy it.

Sad thing is that this requires 1000 words. I don't think there are enough words in the English language to describe my disappointment and disgust with this film. May reading these reviews be all that you suffer of this film.

I was really disappointed watching this movie. As a citizen of Republic of Moldova, I had the same filing as if someone from USA will watch an action movie about Washington DC that was filmed in some average Mexican city. People that made this movie had to do a little research on the country they make movie about and show at list something close to reality. Not just go in some Romanian city that doesn't have anything in common with the capital of Moldova, Chisinau, and shoot a movie with a bunch of Romanians that also doesn't know much about this country.

That's why I rate it with 2.

In the Eastern European nation of Moldavia, the new appointed prime minister is facing some political resistance, where some figures want to take him down. To do so, they plan a sniper to shoot an innocent civilian, which makes it look like the prime minister's guards were shooting. Riots break out and it's up to American marine Sam Keenan to get the prime minister to the American Embassy for protection. Soon they find out there's a large militia group outside the Embassy and they want the prime minister. So the small group of American soldiers and civilians hold up inside and try to wait for reinforcements, while the well-armed insurgents surround the building.

Jean Claude Van Damme has kind of been in the wilderness of churning out straight to DVD junk over the last decade, but honestly on this occasion what entertaining junk "Second in Command" turned out to be. As Van Damme action vehicles go, "Second in Command" is a modest action thriller joint that delivers the goods in a fast-paced and intense fashion, even though the whole one-idea set-up is familiarly derived. It does comes off, though. "The Alamo" reference is fitting to what you're seeing and it also takes some tips from Ridley Scott's frenetic "Black Hawk Down". The premise starts off at a breakneck pace and then tightly builds up to its chaotic siege situation with a exhilarating climax with some organic grit. Along the way it offers up a surprise or two and there's no real political interference in how they shape the story, despite the topic at hand and flawed nature. Logic is lacking and it's far from clever. The basic script won't set the film alight, but never falls into any cheesy mumbling. It's an old school layout with new technology adding to the glitz. The camera-work has that natural doco-style intrusion with many nauseating movements, fast editing is razor sharp, slow-motion gets a look in and the musical score has a cutting techno jibe that stays in the background. I usually can't stand these types of novel techniques, but it was easy to swallow because it never gets overwhelmed by it all.

The action scenes, which for this type of film is what we are actually hanging around for. Are handled with great vigour and the set-pieces can raise a sweat. Those looking for Van Damme's crisply striking martial arts skills will get very little of it, even though it boasts a few exciting one-one combat scenes (mainly the climax with the lead bad guy), but instead there are ample explosions and raining gunfire that makes sure this parade is aggressively violent. There's plenty of bang for your buck! The robust direction by Simon Fellows can build up the tension effectively and it does well to staying to its strengths, as it feels larger than it actually is, because it works around its budget restraints to achieve an honest attempt. The film location was in Romania, but you can easily tell when they were staged on sets and the real stock footage interwoven into the film sticks out clearly. They do get that washed out look with a dusty and at times hazy air forming in certain sequences. Jean Claude Van Damme is capably good and fit's the mould perfectly, with his downtrodden and workman like performance of a more beatable and humane character than anything overly heroic. Yeah he ain't bad at all. The rest of the support performances are agreeable enough.

"Second in Command" is a bold, noisy, ultra-zippy action film, which doesn't kick up anything of special importance or originality, but to simply entertain. It enjoyably succeeds and never lets a flat note get hold.

What this movie lacks in acting, realism and surprises it makes up for in running time - it is comfortably short. The plot is recognizable enough: Rebels try to throw over a president, USA protects him and ends up raising flags and salutes as a tribute to the invulnerability of the American soldier, who is willing to lay down his life for a questionable cause. JCVD runs through the action and general mayhem on autopilot. The rest of the cast follow this lead ... much like lemmings. There are no surprises in this movie; not for lack of trying, though. There are "twists", but they come as no surprise to anyone who has seen more than five movies in his life. Especially not if these are JCVD-movies. Soldiers on both sides drop like lemmings off a cliff, pulling the movie and its rating with it.

OK here4s the scoop, me and my friend always rent Van Damme films whenever they come out to DVD so we can have ourselves a good laugh while we are intoxicated. I saw this movie at my video store, giggled at the cover, and rented it. My goodness!!!!!!! For the first time.....in a long time, we found ourselves not laughing hysterically at a Van Damme movie. This movie has a pretty good story line that involves corruption and politics in a third world country. This movie has you guessing throughout, and it has a pretty descent ending. I gave this movie a 10 only because Jean Claude shocked me with this movie. Otherwise id give it a 7. Definitely worth the rental

I remember when JCVD was the MAN back in the late 80s and early 90. His name was synonymous with great action movies near to the level of Schwarzenegger and Stallone. But in the mid 90s his career went literally downhill and instead, most of his movies went straight to video and not many of them are even worth mentioning. Just recently I went to the DVD rental and decided to give good old Van Damage another chance by renting "Second in Command" and I have to say that I was pleasantly entertained by this film.

JCVD plays Commander Sam Keenan, a Navy Seal sent to defend the U.S. Embassy in Moldavia after a group of insurgents, loyal to the former dictator, plan to kill the new elected president and take over the city. Commander Keenan transports the new president to the Embassy just to be holed up in it and defend it until U.S. forces arrive. Unlike many of JCVD former movie, this film doesn't have much martial art in it, but it has a lot of war action scenes.

I would say that this is one of best straight to DVD movies and one of the most underrated. The acting is little above average, the story is interesting, the characters are good but not memorable, but the action is definitely the highlight of this flick. If you are a JCVD fan and you still haven't seen this one, definitely check it out.