Legionnaire

Set in the 1920s, Legionnaire follows Alain Lefevre, a professional boxer in Marseille who is paid by local gangster Lucien Galgani to lose a fight on purpose. Alain wins instead, then tries to flee with Galgani's girlfriend, Katarina. The escape collapses, and with Galgani's men pursuing him, Alain enlists in the French Foreign Legion, hoping the army will put him beyond reach. His troubles follow him: the training is brutal under the sadistic Sergeant Steinkampf, and the unit is eventually sent to Morocco, where a Berber uprising turns the desert posting into a war zone.

Peter MacDonald directed the film, his fourth feature after Rambo III, Mo' Money and The NeverEnding Story III. Jean-Claude Van Damme plays Alain, heading a cast that includes Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Steven Berkoff, Nicholas Farrell, Jim Carter and Ana Sofrenović, with Sheldon Lettich and Rebecca Morrison writing. It was produced by Samuel Hadida, Roberto Malerba and Christian Halsey Solomon.

Released in December 1998, the film cost about 20 million dollars and took roughly 68 million worldwide, a solid return against its budget. Audience response has been mild: on IMDb it holds 5.5 out of 10 from about 27,000 votes, and on TMDB 5.9 out of 10 from around 634 votes. A small group of critics rated it 4 out of 10, below the audience scores.