We Die Young Movie Review

The following is a movie review “We Die Young” by Marc Primo.

Release date: 01 March 2019

Director: Lior Geller

Language: English

Production companies: Dream Team Films

Producers: Moshe Diamant, Sagiv Diamant, Gabriel Georgiev, Evtim Miloshev, James Portolese

Don’t expect an all-out action fest from the legendary Jean-Claude Van Damme in this one. Don’t even expect him to deliver one single line either as Lior Geller’s We Die Young presents the action icon as a war veteran who lost his voice. Not giving him much ample screen time as posters would like you to think may not sit well with fans either.

The main protagonist here is Lucas, played by Elijah Rodriguez (Sicario: Day of the Soldado), a teenager caught up and trapped in the world of the MS-13 gang who in real life are notorious for drugs and human trafficking. Little credit can be given to Rodriguez though or at least not as much as Van Damme as the addicted ex-marine Daniel, and David Castañeda (The Umbrella Academy, Sicario: Day of the Soldado), who plays Rincon the gang leader.

The story revolves around Lucas’s involvement in the ghetto drug network of Washington D.C. as the gang’s drug mule. Lucas later on finds MS-13 on his tail after he earns Rincon’s ire, and eventually the support of his Oxycontin-addled customer Daniel.

Storywise, the plot seems compelling enough to get you engaged into its complex web of sequences. The film does give audiences a slice of life into the world of the urban drug war, but its heart shines splendidly in Van Damme’s performance as he acts out Daniel’s pain and suffering. With little screen time, Van Damme still manages to present the character’s humanity without being too overly dramatic.

On Geller’s part, the director heavily invested on the real life MS-13 gang’s violent tendencies as portrayed by Rincon and his second-in-command Jester played by Charlie MacGechan (The Girl From The Song, Squadron 42) which is pretty impressive considering the film’s low budget.

What you may want to take note in viewing We Die Young is how the story is woven and harmonized with gripping cinematography. Adding Van Damme’s acceptable yet limited performance, makes it a decent action-drama that’s enough to steal your hour and a half.

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