The Shepherd: Border Patrol (2008)

hyped garbage

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Will wonders never cease? First off, I caught a not-bad Seagal film from 2008 on TV one night (the title is PISTOL WHIPPED, in case you're interested), proving that the ageing action hero can still make entertaining films on occasion. Now, three nights later, I've caught a Van Damme film from 2008 on the same channel, and guess what? It's pretty good! THE SHEPHERD is a throwback to the classic Van Damme thrillers of the 1990s, an action-packed testosterone ride full of vehicle chases (in this instance, a stand-out sequence has a coach – modified with machine-guns and a bullet-proof chassis – pursued across the US/Mexican border by Van Damme), intense shoot-outs, and some scorching martial arts action.The film itself might be pretty predictable but it's a step up from the last Van Damme film I watched, SECOND IN COMMAND. Isaac Florentine has proved himself to be one of the best straight-to-video action directors and he doesn't disappoint with his efforts here. The action choreography is slick and stylish, with nice clean fights and some great slow motion moves from the professionals. Van Damme is matched against Brit high-kicker Scott Adkins for an extended bout at the climax, and it's another highlight in a film full of 'em. Naked chicks, torture sequences, traitors, twists, suicide bombers, and balaclava-wearing bad guys: all of the ingredients are here and make up one thrill-ride of a film.Van Damme himself particularly shines in a role that stretches his acting as well as action chops. He's actually very good indeed as the ageing cop struggling to cope with dark memories from his past. Compare his acting here with that in CYBORG and you'll see just how far he's progressed. In fact, he gives the likes of some A-listers a run for their money here, and his acting blows Seagal's clean out of the water. He's supported by a cast seemingly recruited from British television: there's Stephen Lord, fresh off EASTENDERS and fairly convincing as Meyers, the chief bad guy, and Natalie J. Robb from DOCTORS as Van Damme's tough, ass-kicking superior (less convincing, but pretty enough). In any case, this is nothing new, but it runs through the action clichés with aplomb and sits solidly as one of Van Damme's best.

Some people will notice that since Belgian-born martial arts star Jean-Claude Van Damme, who was at the peak of his Hollywood popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s, retreated to the direct-to-video route in the early 21st century, that some of his movies have gotten progressively better, both in terms of his acting abilities and the increased realism of his martial arts hand-to-hand combat sequences.2001's "Replicant" is one example. "In Hell" (2003) is another. 2008's "The Shepherd: Border Patrol" is the latest of his that I've seen. The single best film Van Damme has ever done in his entire career is "JCVD" (2008); while not a true action movie in the usual sense, his performance in that film is worthy of an Oscar nomination ("Time" Magazine said so at the time - I'm just confirming it). I was also quite pleased with his villainous turn in "The Expendables 2" (2012) when I saw that earlier this month.But back to "The Shepherd: Border Patrol." In the film, which is competently directed by Isaac Florentine, Van Damme plays Jack Robideaux, a former New Orleans police officer who has just transferred to the U.S. Border Patrol agency in New Mexico. Carrying along with him his pet rabbit (also named Jack), he knocks heads with the sexy no-non-sense Border Patrol commander, Captain Ramona Garcia (Natalie J. Cobb), and soon finds himself at war with a team of rogue ex-U.S. Special Forces commandos-turned-mercenaries working with a Mexican drug cartel just across the U.S.-Mexico border. And it is later revealed that Robideaux has a personal vendetta against the mercenaries and the cartel."The Shepherd: Border Patrol" is not a bad film at all. Like I said earlier, the film is worth noting for a noticeably more dramatic performance from Jean-Claude Van Damme, and fight scenes that are more realistic and lack the flashy glitter of the fight sequences from his earlier Hollywood heyday. Since Van Damme was 47 at the time of the film's release, he is still remarkably well kept-in-shape, and can still hold his own against the legions of bad guys in his way. And he is still arguably one of the best screen kickers out there. His greatest fight sequence, of course, will be his climatic showdown with mercenary henchman Karp (Scott Adkins, who also appeared as Van Damme's chief henchman in "The Expendables 2"). That scene alone will be worth the price of the DVD.As a direct-to-video effort, "The Shepherd: Border Patrol" contains better-than-usual production values, since these types of movies are usually quickly, and cheaply, made, and typically it shows. This looks like it did not have a real big budget behind it, but Isaac Florentine obviously put forth some effort to make the movie look good and cast actors capable of putting on decent performances and staging really cool-looking action scenes.In other words, it's a worthy straight-to-video Jean-Claude Van Damme effort that proves that he still has what it takes to deliver the action.7/10

when van damme makes a good movie, he makes a really good movie, when he makes a bad movie, he makes a really bad movie, luckily this is one of his better efforts, as he plays a border control agent, who wants revenge for the death of his daughter, who died after taking drugs. the action scenes are plenty full, and very well made and choreographed, the villains are good, and the acting actually pretty decent. van damme looks on great shape, expecialy compared to others like seagal and stallone, and he pulls his fight scenes off with ease, i didn't notice any doubles. the movie isn't a masterpiece by any means, but its a solid action thriller that delivers the goods, and van damme fans are bound to enjoy it. i recommend

This movie was better than I thought it would be since most Jean Claude Van Damme movies I've seen since about 1995 have just sucked it. Van Damme and Scott Adkins are okay but this movie still is no better than the average Van Damme flick. Director Isaac Florentine, this is probably his fault since Van Damme gives a good performance (yes you read that right he doesn't suck in this movie). But his fighting is slowing down because his fight scenes are all just a few kicks and punches with nothing spectacular or anything you haven't seen a hundred times before in other Van Damme movies. The acting is okay and the story is actually pretty good but the fight scenes are below average and the directing is not very good.