Lionheart (film)



Lionheart, also known as Wrong Bet, A.W.O.L. and Full Contact, is a martial arts action film from 1990.

Starring Jean Claude Van Damme as Lyon Gaulier, the movie begins in Los Angeles with a drug deal gone wrong as Lyon's brother Francois tries to hustle some street thugs with sugar as cocaine and ends up with a gasoline bath followed by a matchstick. His wife Hélène writes about this to Lyon, and Lyon promptly deserts from his position in The Foreign Legion and escapes to the USA, managing to get into New York City. Penniless, he participates in illegal streetfights in order to raise money so he get into LA and to his brother. While doing this he meets Joshua, who promptly appoints himself Lyon's manager/trainer and Cynthia, a rich and influential player in the streetfights who quickly develops a financial interest in Lyon's fighting prowess.

When Lyon finally reaches LA, he is unfortunately too late as Francois is dead. Initially unwilling to continue fighting after reaching LA, he is soon persuaded by Cynthia to continue getting into increasingly dangerous bouts so that he can help support Francois' widow and young daughter. Unfortunately someone like Cynthia doesn't help people for no reason, and the investigators sent by the Legion to bring him back are relentlessly closing in on Lyon...

As with the other Jean-Claude's films in the early 90's, it recycles the plot from his older film, this time from Bloodsport.

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This movie contains the examples of:

 * Black Best Friend: Joshua all the way
 * Curb Stomp Battle: Lyon ends his fight with Sonny by giving him a swift punch into his balls.
 * Drama Preserving Handicap: Lyon's broken rib in the fight against Attila.
 * Dramatic Shattering
 * Fight Clubbing
 * Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: Attila points at Lyon menacingly before getting the crap beaten out of him.
 * Gratuitous French
 * Groin Attack
 * Heroic Willpower
 * Hope Spot: Attila likes to give these to his opponents.
 * Hotblooded Sideburns: Attila.
 * Legion of Lost Souls
 * Man On Fire: Francois in the opening.
 * N Word Privileges: Amidst all the F-bombs there is only one N-word. Said by an evil black gang leader.
 * Rich Bitch: Cynthia.
 * Right Hand Cat: Attila is shown holding a white cat when he arrives in LA.
 * Salt and Pepper: Lyon and Joshua.
 * Shirtless Scene
 * Those Two Guys: The two Foreign Legionaires who are sent to get Lyon back.
 * Translation Convention: Everyone in Foreign Legion speaks English.
 * Violent Glaswegian: One of the Lyon's opponents is a kilt-wearing Scotsman who prefers Good Old Fisticuffs.
 * Window Pain: Lyon strikes his fourth opponent through a window.