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''The Bouncer'' (Original title: ''Lukas'') is a 2018 French-Belgian
action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...
directed by Julien Leclercq, 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 ...
, Sveva Alviti and Sami Bouajila.


Background

A film noir, cheerless and violent. The protagonist is an antihero, struggling through life to nurture his eight-year-old daughter, and working in nightclubs as a bouncer to provide his income. When he gets involved in a fight, he ends up about to face jail, and losing his daughter to the social services. He is then asked by the police to spy on a criminal organization. In return, he would erase his problems with justice.


Plot

Lukas was forced to flee South Africa after the death of his wife. He now lives with his daughter in his home country, Belgium, and works as a bouncer at a nightclub. One night, Lukas is forced to restrain a patron, who subsequently badly injures himself attempting to attack Lukas. Lukas is fired from his job as a result. Due to the injured nightclub patron's status as the son of a member of the European Parliament, Lukas is investigated by the authorities, led by the mysterious Maxim, regarding the fight. He is pressed into going undercover at a strip club to spy on its owner, Jan, an organized crime figure, or else face imprisonment for the incident at the nightclub. His first assignment is driving an Italian woman, Lisa, back to her hotel. He discovers that she was indicted for forgery some years ago. His bosses force him to drive to an associate, where he listens in on a conversation detailing Jan's attempt at moving counterfeit banknotes. Lukas is asked to pick up Lisa from her hotel and drives her to a meeting with Jan and Geert. Lukas' daughter is driven away, and Lukas is forced to participate in a new assignment, the kidnapping of a crack cocaine cook. Lukas successfully infiltrates the cook's hideout and apprehends the target, escaping with Geert. Lukas has had enough of the undercover work, but Maxim informs him that he knows about Lukas' past life in South Africa, and if Lukas refuses to cooperate, he will be sent back there to face punishment for an unknown crime. Lukas agrees to remain undercover, and meets with Jan at the strip club, asking for more work. Jan intends to trade the cook to the Dutch gangsters in return for watermarked paper for counterfeit banknotes, and tasks Lukas, Geert, and Lisa to the task. At the trade, the Dutch gangsters betray and attack Lukas, Geert, and Lisa. Lukas manages to incapacitate the Dutch gangsters in a car chase, but Geert is shot and killed. Jan, however, is satisfied that Lukas and Lisa escaped with the watermarked paper, and burns the getaway car with Geert's body inside to destroy the evidence. Lukas sends his daughter into hiding with his bouncer friend Omar while he finishes his assignment for Jan and the authorities. Meeting with Lisa at her hotel room, she recounts to him her past life as a money forger, and he reveals to her that his wife was killed in a botched carjacking. The South African police were unable to find his wife's killers, but he did, which is why he fled South African and now lives in Belgium under a new identity. Lukas drops Lisa off at a warehouse, and informs Maxim of this. Lisa is arrested and Maxim investigates the warehouse, but discovers nothing. Lukas tells Maxim that they can still get Jan, because Jan still needs to print the counterfeit money for his buyers. Lukas also asks Maxim to let him talk to Lisa, and Lukas convinces her to cooperate with the authorities so she does not end up dead like Geert. She agrees to print the counterfeit money for Jan so the authorities have cause to arrest and prosecute him. Jan believes that a different associate ratted him out to the police and murders him in front of Lukas. Lukas, Jan, and Lisa proceed with forging the counterfeit banknotes at a farm. In the morning, the authorities led by Maxim raid the farm and Lukas reveals his deception to Jan, who shoots him in the chest in front of the police. Maxim then murders Jan and Lisa, and he and his unit steal the counterfeit money. After Maxim realizes Lukas is still alive, he moves in to finish him but Lukas disarms Maxim and beats him to death. Lukas then kills the other members of Maxim's unit. Badly wounded, Lukas calls his daughter.


Cast

*
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 ...
as Lukas * Sveva Alviti as Lisa Zaccherini *
Sami Bouajila Sami Bouajila (born 26 May 1966) is a French actor who has won two César Awards. Bouajila has worked and acted in two Oscar nominated films ('' Days of Glory'' and '' Outside the Law''), both directed by director Rachid Bouchareb. Early life Bo ...
as Maxim Zeroual *Alice Verset as Sarah *
Sam Louwyck Sam Louwyck (born 1966) is a Belgian actor and singer. Filmography Theatre External links * 1966 births Living people Entertainers from Bruges 20th-century Belgian male actors 21st-century Belgian male actors Belgian male fil ...
as Jan Dekkers * Kevin Janssens as Geert *
Kaaris Okou Gnakouri Armand Olivier (; born 30 January 1980), better known by his stage name Kaaris (, ; stylized as KΛΛRIS), is a Ivorian-born French rapper, record producer, composer and actor. '' Or Noir'', his major album on Therapy Music / AZ / ...
as Omar


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bouncer 2018 films French action thriller films 2018 action thriller films Films directed by Julien Leclercq Films about organized crime in Belgium Counterfeit money in film Films about striptease 2010s French films