Plot
A man must survive a prison where hardened criminals battle to the death for the wardens' entertainment.

Release Year: 2003

Rating: 5.9/10 (7,996 voted)

Director: Ringo Lam

Stars: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Lawrence Taylor, Marnie Alton

Storyline
Kyle LeBlanc is an American working overseas in Russia. When he hears his wife being attacked over the phone, Kyle rushes home to find that he's too late. The man who killed his wife is found not guilty on lack of evidence. So Kyle takes the law into his own hands, and kills the man to avenge his wife's death. He is sentenced to life in prison without parole. The Russian prison he is sent to is tough, and the warden amuses himself by putting on fights where he fills his pockets with money by betting on the fights. Kyle begins to break and go crazy, so he is forced into these fights because the warden knows he is a sure thing. Kyle's cellmate 451 begins to make him think what he fights for. With that, Kyle knows now he must fight another battle: the fight for inner peace. It is the only way he can become the man he once was.

Writers: Eric James Virgets, Jorge Alvarez

Cast:
Jean-Claude Van Damme - Kyle LeBlanc
Lawrence Taylor - 451
Marnie Alton - Grey LeBlanc
Alan Davidson - Malakai (as Malakai Davidson)
Billy Rieck - Coolhand
Jorge Luis Abreu - Boltun
Lloyd Battista - General Hruschov
Michael Bailey Smith - Valya
Robert LaSardo - Usup
Carlos Gómez - Tolik
Chris Moir - Billy Cooper
Paulo Tocha - Victor
Juan Fernández - Shubka
Clark Sanchez - Tiefoo
Manol Manolov - Ivan

Taglines: Rage unleashed.

Official Website: Filmax International (Spanish) |

Release Date: 8 August 2003

Filming Locations: Bulgaria

Box Office Details

Budget: $17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: $302,979 (Spain) (8 August 2003) (131 Screens)

Gross: $531,561 (Spain) (28 August 2003)

Runtime: 98 min

Trivia:
Lawrence Taylor's character is named 451, a reference to Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451.

Quotes:
451: Without evil, we would never recognize good.

brutal prison drama

Rating: 8/10

I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this film, as it was a very hard hitting and brutal drama, which I didn't expect from a Van Damme film. Certain scenes I found profoundly disturbing, but also very gripping and compelling. I think this film deserved more praise than it recieved on it's release, but fans of Van Damme will like it anyway!!! It may also come as a surprise to a more varied movie goer, like it did to me.

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