I keep telling folks that it is not a good idea to remake Japanese movies. This is an attempt to do the 1962 film YOJIMBO again. It doesn't work, but that doesn't mean it not worth your time.

OK, so some very stupid yahoos decide to kick Van Damme around when he is severely depressed and suicidal and steal his gun and motorcycle. These boys are the local counterfeiters/drug dealers/village thugs. You can guess what comes next.

What sets this film apart is the inclusion of Pat Morita (154 films!),Danny Trejo (139 films, including the upcoming Grindhouse),and Trailer-Trash Queen Jaime Pressly.

It's really a very funny Van Damme movie and worth checking out. At least some passionate action returns.

I originally didn't really have any intentions of watching Dessert Heat. As much as I love a Van Damme film, the fact this is one of his released straight to DVD films did put me off. I only ended up purchasing it because I happened to come across it in the 50 Pence section of a DVD and Games store we have in the UK. I thought for 50p why not. And to be fair, I really enjoyed it.

If you can prepare to watch a movie and not take it too seriously then it's worth a watch to let the time pass and entertain you. Don't get me wrong, it's not Universal Soldier or Sudden Death. But Van Damme kicks ass in this.

Van Damme's spiral into straight-to-video obscurity continues with this cheap, trashy amalgamation of a HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER-style western and a typical blow-'em-up action flick. What starts off with an interesting opening soon loses it with an awful middle and only partially redeems itself with the ending. And it's a shame, as by all accounts this could have and should have been a whole lot better.

There are plenty of interesting characters and offbeat situations in this film to enjoy, but for the most part it's a clichéd mess. Sometimes the dialogue is inaudible, and when we do get to hear the speaking it's generally full of swearing and unwanted crudity, especially in the case of the bad guys. Van Damme reaches a new low when the film takes on a pornographic slant to show an energetic sexual situation between Van Damme and a bimbo he's taken off the street ("No, wait..." he says to the woman's sister, "you're next!). Van Damme certainly looks the part with his Stetson hat and white vest, but his acting skills haven't improved over the years and the moments which call for him to display grief and suicidal thoughts are unimpressive.

His supporting actors aren't much better, being as they are a supremely untalented and uncharismatic group of unpleasant people. A few familiar faces pop up (Danny Trejo shows up as Van Damme's friend) and it's inevitably the old-timers who we like the most. Pat Morita is especially good as a white-suited little man with a fine line in body disposal (he wraps 'em in cling film and dumps them in a quarry). The familiar face of Vincent Schiavelli also appears, in what amounts to little more than a racist cameo. Fans of DARKMAN baddie Larry Drake be warned: he is on screen for only five minutes.

For an action film, this contains little in the way of action: there's too much talking and inactivity for it to be exciting. A distinctly past-it looking Van Damme kicks his way through a few bad guys but he's a long way from his early prime (and let's face it, those twelve years of drink and drugs have taken their toll). There are the requisite loud explosions, motorbikes for the boys, and inappropriate music, and a few nice touches here and there. Otherwise this is strictly by the numbers fare.