''Second in Command'' is a 2006 American

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include l ...

starring

Jean-Claude Van Damme Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the ag ...

and directed by

Simon Fellows Simon Fellows is a British people, British film director. Filmography *''Jump'' (2000) *''Blessed (2004 film), Blessed'' (2004) *''7 Seconds (film), 7 Seconds'' (2005) *''Second in Command'' (2006) *''Until Death'' (2007) *''Malice in Wonderl ...

. The film was released

direct-to-DVD Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

in the United States on May 2, 2006.

Plot

Commander Sam Keenan (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a decorated US Navy SEAL, is sent to the

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

an nation of

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

to become the new security attaché at the US Embassy. When he arrives, Keenan learns that Moldavia is in the middle of a civil war. At the embassy, Keenan meets with Ambassador George Norland (Colin Stinton), who designates Keenan as his "second in command" despite the traditional diplomatic hierarchy, which is contested by others afterward. Recently, the US installed a new government in Moldavia, which is led by Moldavia's newly elected president Yuri Amirev (Serban Celea). Amirev wants the nation to be run as a

democratic republic A democratic republic is a form of government operating on principles adopted from a republic and a democracy. As a cross between two exceedingly similar systems, democratic republics may function on principles shared by both republics and democr ...

, but under the command of Anton Tavarov (Velibor Topić),

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

insurgents have caused a riot at the presidential palace, threatening the fragile stability of the country. The insurgents are loyal to Alexei Kirilov (Costel Lupea), the former brutal communist dictator of Moldavia. When the palace guards start firing on the insurgents without Amirev's authorization, the insurgents storm the palace, demanding Amirev's head. Keenan volunteers to bring Amirev to the embassy. But events reach critical mass, and the insurgents open fire. Keenan barely makes it back with Amirev, but the fight isn't over yet. Fifty Americans are holed up in the embassy, and Tavarov and his massive army have arrived at the gates, with plans to crash the building and drag Amirev out by any means necessary. To add to Keenan's problems, Norland is killed by a rocket that was launched by one of Tavarov's men. To defend the embassy, Keenan has only 15

Marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

bureaucrat Frank Gaines (William Tapley), limited ammunition, and his martial arts skills to hold Tavarov's army off until American reinforcements arrive. To make matters worse, Keenan's girlfriend, reporter Michelle Whitman (Julie Cox), is one of the hostages. With Tavarov's crew getting in position for attack, a power struggle takes place between Keenan and Gaines; with help hours away, it will be up to Keenan to rescue the hostages. When the supposedly loyal General Borgov (a personal CIA "asset" claimed by Gaines) arrives, he turns out to side with the insurgents but Keenan rescues the surviving personnel with help from arriving American military reinforcements.

Cast

as Commander Sam Keenan * Julie Cox as Michelle Whitman * Alan McKenna as Captain John Baldwin * William Tapley as CIA Agent Frank Gaines *

Raz Adoti Razaaq Adoti (born 27 June 1973) is a British actor, producer and screenwriter. Early life Adoti was born in Forest Gate, London of Nigerian descent ( Nigerian British). He landed his first professional screen role on the British television sh ...

as Gunnery Sergeant Earl Darnell *

Velibor Topić Velibor Topić (born 24 July 1970 in Mostar, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Bosnian-British actor. He is known for his roles in '' Snatch'' (2000), '' Kingdom of Heaven'' (2005), ''Robin Hood'' (2010), '' The Counselor'' (2013 ...

as Anton Tavarov * Warren Derosa as Mike Shustec * Ian Virgo as Corporal Will Butler * Serban Celea as President Yuri Amirev * Vlad Ivanov as Regional Security Officer John Lydon * Emanuel Parvu as Corporal Chevantón * Razvan Oprea as Private First Class Devereaux * Mihai Bisericanu as Marshall Geller * Elizabeth Barondes as Jennifer Lennard * Colin Stinton as Ambassador George Norland * Dan Radulescu as Private First Class Pazzini * Catalin Paraschiv as Private First Class Burke * Eugen Cristea as General Borgov * Costel Lupea as President Alexei Kirilov

Production

It is set and filmed in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

in 50 days on June 7 and July 27, 2005.

Reception

The film opened in the 24th place with $1.04 million in the rentals chart. David Nusair of Reel Film Reviews gave it 1.5 out of 4. He said that after Van Damme's surprisingly decent previous film Wake of Death it was hard not to be disappointed and criticized the "astonishingly inept directorial choices".

Home media

DVD was released in Region 1 in the United States on May 2, 2006. It was released in Region 2 in the United Kingdom on 15 May 2006. It was distributed by

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures l ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Second In Command 2006 films 2006 action thriller films 2006 direct-to-video films American action thriller films American political thriller films Films about the United States Marine Corps Films about United States Navy SEALs Films produced by Donald Kushner Films set in Europe Films set in a fictional country Films shot in Bucharest Films shot in Romania Political action films Sony Pictures direct-to-video films 2000s English-language films Films directed by Simon Fellows 2000s American films