Enemies Closer

Enemies Closer is a 2013 Canadian/American action thriller film directed Peter Hyams and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Tom Everett Scott, and Orlando Jones. Scott portrays a former Navy SEAL who is forced to work with a vengeful man trying to kill him (Jones) in order to stop a ruthless criminal, played by Van Damme. It is Hyams' third directorial collaboration with Van Damme, following 1994's Timecop and 1995's Sudden Death, and the first to feature him in a villainous role.[3][4][5][6]

Enemies Closer
Theatrical poster
Directed byPeter Hyams
Produced byMoshe Diamant
Courtney Solomon
Orlando Jones
Written byEric Bromberg
James Bromberg
StarringJean-Claude Van Damme
Tom Everett Scott
Orlando Jones
Music byTony Morales
CinematographyPeter Hyams
Edited byJohn Hyams
Production
company
After Dark Films
Signature Entertainment
Distributed byLionsgate
Release date
  • December 4, 2013 (2013-12-04) (France)
  • January 24, 2014 (2014-01-24) (United States)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryCanada
United States[1]
LanguageEnglish
French
Budget$5 million[2]

Plot

A plane carrying 50 pounds of pure heroin in sealed packets crashes near the US-Canada border. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers prepare to search for the plane, but a group of criminals led by the unstable Xander (Van Damme) kill them and take the coordinates for the crash: a lake just off King's Island.

On the island, Ex-Navy SEAL Henry Taylor (Scott) works as a forest ranger. The only other permanent resident is Sanderson, an elderly hermit. While patrolling, Henry helps a woman named Kayla (Cocker), who invites him to dinner that night.

That evening, a man named Clay (Jones) knocks on Henry's door, claiming to have lost his boat. Henry lets him in, but Clay pulls a gun on him. Clay's younger brother was Decker, a SEAL who was killed in action under Henry's command. Clay plans to kill Henry because he believes Henry abandoned Decker. Henry explains that he if he hadn't withdrawn the squad, all his men would have died, but Clay is unmoved. Clay bring Henry to a field and, holding him at gunpoint, gives him a pistol. Clay orders Henry to commit suicide. Henry refuses, explaining that he was suicidal for years after Decker's death, but with time he has accepted that it wasn't his fault.

Clay prepares to kill Henry, but Xander and his men appear, posing as ICE agents. Henry sees through the ruse, warns Clay, and runs as Xander's men fire. Clay's return fire incapacitates the criminal team's diver. When Xander determines the diver can't dive, he kills him. Xander plans to force Henry, whom he knows from earlier research is a diver, to retrieve the sunken heroin.

Clay agrees to work with Henry to escape. Because Henry's home phone was shot, they go to Sanderson's house but find no functioning phone there. The surprised Sanderson fires a warning shot when they enter, alerting the criminals. As Xander and his men surround the house, Sanderson begs Henry and Clay to escape while he holds them off. Henry refuses to leave Sanderson behind, to Clay's surprise. Sanderson nevertheless sacrifices himself to let the two escape.

Henry, convinced that Xander will kill them both after getting the drugs, lays traps for Xander's men in the forest. Working together, Henry and Clay take out all of Xander's crew.

Meanwhile, Kayla returns after Henry neglects to meet her again. Xander radios Henry and Clay, who have taken a walkie-talkie from one of the criminals, and tells them that he is now holding Kayla hostage. She is revealed to have used her capture as a ploy to lure Henry, who surrenders himself to save her. Kayla is kept tied up, and also gagged with duct tape. Once Xander and Henry are on the water, Clay tries to save Kayla and is able to untie her and takes the duct tape off her mouth, only that she pulls a gun on him. She has been working with Xander as a honeypot. Clay turns the tables on Kayla and subdues her in a fight. Kayla later awakens and while Clay also pulls the gun at her that time, Xander tells her over the transceiver to meet him and retrieve the heroin, and in return, she falsely convinces him that she has rid herself of Clay.

Henry dives and retrieves the bag of heroin, but he also finds a Magpul ACR, a rifle that functions after being submerged. Henry brings Xander to shore at gunpoint and is confused to see Clay holding Kayla captive. Kayla cries for help; Clay warns Henry in vain of her duplicity and a battle follows. Xander takes advantage and knocks Henry's gun away. Kayla joins the fight to choke Henry but is no match for him, making a mortal mistake.

In the ensuing scuffle, Xander stabs Clay in the leg and, frustrated by Kayla's ineffectiveness, snaps her neck. Xander and Henry eventually end up fighting on Xander's boat. During the fight the fuel tank springs a leak. Xander knocks Henry overboard, but Henry manages to grab a flare. On the water, he ignites the trail of gasoline, causing the boat to explode and killing Xander. Clay helps the exhausted Henry back to the shore.

Cast

Release

Enemies Closer was released in the UK on DVD and Blu-ray on July 21, 2014 by Anchor Bay Entertainment.

Reception

The film received mostly positive reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a "fresh" score of 79% based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 5.71/10 with no consensus as of yet.[7] Metacritic gave the film a weighted average metascore of 49/100, based on 9 reviews, indicating mixed or average reviews.[5]

References
  1. "Detail view of Movies Page". Afi.com. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 31, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Exclusive poster: Enemies Closer" Archived September 13, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. CraveOnline. November 20, 2013.
  4. "Enemies Closer (2013)". Nytimes.com. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  5. "Enemies Closer". Metacritic.com. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  6. "Review: Enemies Closer (2013)". Manlymovie.com. Retrieved December 14, 2013.
  7. "Enemies Closer". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 16, 2015.
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