Jean-Claude Van Damme kicks his way into Kyiv with Netflix movie
Updated 21:22, 03-Aug-2020
Catherine Newman

Popular U.S. streaming platform, Netflix, will shoot its first movie in Kiev, Ukraine's culture minister Oleksandr Tkachenko has announced.

The Last Mercenary is a Netflix action comedy, which will star Jean-Claude Van Damme, the iconic Belgian-born actor and martial artist. Van Damme will play the role of a mysterious former secret service agent, who must return to France when his estranged son is falsely accused of arms and drug trafficking by the government, following a blunder by a bureaucrat and a mafia operation. 

The film is directed by David Charhon and will be produced by Apple Tree film studio and Ukrainian Vlad Riashyn, who is also the founder of Russian-Ukrainian production company, Star Media. 

The 1980s-style action movie will also star Alban Ivanov, Assa Sylla and Samir Decazza and features both English and French dialogue.

The movie is also shooting in France, where filming is already under way and Tkachenko says work will go ahead in Kyiv and Paris until Autumn. 

 

Kyiv is an ideal backdrop for films, particularly due to its unique architecture. /Lucky Person/CFP

Kyiv is an ideal backdrop for films, particularly due to its unique architecture. /Lucky Person/CFP

 

Why Kyiv? 

One reason could be that Ukraine's 16.6 percent cash rebate for local and international film and TV production shooting has been launched this year. The government incentive was approved in 2017 and aims to make the country a hotspot for the entertainment industry. 

Ukraine is also considered to be a relatively inexpensive shooting location and is home to more than 200 production companies, film studios, and post-production and visual effects facilities. 

Ukraine's landscape is diverse – ranging from highlands to lowlands. In contrast to the vast mountain ranges, the capital city is famous for its Gothic, Byzantine and Baroque architecture. 

Kyiv's charms have also made it an attractive location for other projects, including the latest Mission: Impossible film and Coldplay's music video Trouble in Town. Renowned companies such as Apple and Three UK have also chosen the city as the backdrop for commercials. 

 

What can Kyiv expect from the 'Muscles from Brussels?' 

A Jean-Claude Van Damme film would not be complete without flashy moves and intense fight scenes. /Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/VCG

A Jean-Claude Van Damme film would not be complete without flashy moves and intense fight scenes. /Stephane Cardinale/Corbis/VCG

 

Van Damme is a cultural icon. Ahead of his time filming in Ukraine's capital, here are some of the things that the city can expect from the screen legend: 

- A Jean-Claude Van Damme film would not be complete without his thrilling moves, particularly his 360-degree leaps, and high kicks. Van Damme also frequently performs the splits in his movies, and once went viral for performing the classic move between two Volvo trucks accompanied by a song from Irish artist Enya. 

- Famous for his lightning-fast moves and martial arts style that encompasses speed, agility and graceful strength, Van Damme's fight scenes are so intense that the ballet-trained fighter refuses to film in the U.S. for fear of getting sued. 

- He was the inspiration for the character Johnny Cage in the video game Mortal Kombat. One of Cage's signature moves is doing the splits while punching his opponent, a move that Van Damme's character, Frank Dux, is known for in the film Bloodsport.  

Some of Van Damme's most famous movies include Cyborg, Kickboxer and Lionheart, to name just a few. Could this latest Netflix blockbuster also become a cult classic?

A release date hasn't been announced yet. 

Although filming is slowly restarting across Europe, current coronavirus restrictions are both impeding filming processes and pushing back release dates across the industry. 

However, the upcoming months are sure to be interesting for Kyiv as the city forms the backdrop to a film that looks to revive the golden age of 1980s action movies in the era of online streaming.