“Replicant” is a surprisingly good sci-fi/action flick starring Jean-Claude Van Damme (“Bloodsport”, “Hard Target”) in dual roles. Van Damme is no stranger to the sci-fi genre and this is not the first time he’s played dual roles either. The script here is not without its ridiculous moments but it undeniably fun and engaging.

Jake Riley (Michael Rooker “Days Of Thunder”) is a cop on the hunt for an elusive serial killer (Van Damme). Riley gets approached by government agents that want to test their cloning technology to catch terrorists by providing him with a telepathic clone of the killer. Will this be the breakthrough that Riley needs or will this clone prove to be as dangerous as the original?

There’s no getting away from the fact that Van Damme is not a great actor but his physical performance here is great. Some of the moves he pulls off are incredibly impressive. As I mentioned, he’s done the whole dual role thing in other films such as “Double Impact”. I think the killer is the more interesting character than the clone and I think Van Damme is often better in a villainous role than a heroic one. Michael Rooker is also really good here as the cop character.

“Replicant” has plenty of cheesy moments but it also some intelligent ones. The action scenes are really exciting and enjoyable and that’s really the most important thing. This is one of Van Damme’s better movies and it’s unfortunately really underrated. I guess this just came out at time when most people were no longer looking to Van Damme for their martial arts thrills. Van Damme often gets lumped together with Steven Seagal (“Hard To Kill”) and while both have made plenty of bad films, Van Damme always looks like he at least cares about what’s going on.