Jean-Claude Van Damme (“Hard Target”, “Bloodsport”) stars in “Death Warrant”, a reasonably satisfying prison action movie. It’s not going to win any awards but it keeps things simple and entertaining for the most part.

Van Damme stars as Louis Burke, a French-Canadian cop that is sent undercover in a hellish American prison to find out why so many inmates are dying. With the help of Amanda Beckett (Cynthia Gibb “Salvador”), he must discover the truth about the corruption at the facility to save not only the other inmates but himself as well. However, things get even more dangerous when an old foe (Patrick Kilpatrick “Minority Report”) is transferred to the prison.

Van Damme pulls off some very impressive kicks throughout the movie. He doesn’t give a good performance but he doesn’t really need to. I liked Cynthia Gibb as Amanda. I also like the teen computer hacker she has to use. He keeps trying to charm her despite the age difference. Probably the best character in the whole movie is the sadistic warden (Art LaFleur “Cobra”, “The Sandlot Kids”). I disliked the weird transvestite prostitute characters. They felt incredibly unnecessary and could have been removed quite easily without affecting anything.

If you’ve seen some of Van Damme’s other films such as “Bloodsport” and “A.W.O.L.: Absent Without Leave” then you’ll pretty much know what to expect. This movie definitely has its fair share of goofy moments but it’s also pretty harsh and violent at times too. The fight sequences are not the best but they are good enough for the film to get a recommendation from me. In comparison to other prison movies, just don’t expect “Escape From Alcatraz” with Clint Eastwood, expect something more like “Island Of Fire” with Jackie Chan. If you don’t like Van Damme or prison movies then this isn’t going to win you over.