"Damage" is a remake of a Charles Bronson flick, "Hard Times," which in turn was remade some years later with J.C. Van Damme. Steve Austin plays an ex-con who gets involved in the murky and illegal world of bare knuckle fighting. A hokey subplot has our hero trying to raise enough money to obtain a new heart for the daughter of a late acquaintance. Walter Goggins plays Austin's sleazy but likable manager and the very pretty Laura Van DerVoot is Goggins' partner. Several veteran actors were cast as well, including Donnelly Rhodes, to support Austin, who in fact isn't all that bad as the soft-spoken, hard-hitting tough guy. Casting several veterans in a film like this is nothing new; it has been used with folks like Chuck Norris, Ah-nuld and Steven Segal, none of whom started out as actors. The fights are clumsily staged, which in a strange way befits an ex-pro wrestler. "Damage" doesn't begin to touch the Bronson version, but it is watchable, especially for Goggins, who reminds me of a young Tom Cruise.

"Do you mind if we finish this?"...is the line Steve Austin uses before he knocks out his last opponent in Damage. Steve Austin wasted too many good years in the wrestling ring when he could have been honing his acting chops in action films like this one. Austin plays an ex-con named John Brickner, who is enticed in to the underground fight world with the promise of a six figure pay cheque by a bar maid named Frankie played by Laura Vandervoort and her questionable crony friend Reno Paulsaint played by Walton Goggins.

Okay, so the story line has been done hundreds of times before. In this action film John Brickner agrees to enter the underground cage fight scene in an effort to raise $250K to pay for a new heart for the pre- teen daughter of the man Brickner strangled to death years earlier. I like Steve Austin as the ass kicking hero with a big heart in Damage. His fight scenes are better than most action stars, and his acting character that he portrays is humble and realistic.

If you like the action and fight scene genre than you should enjoy this film better than the other average cage fight movies. Steve Austin should go on to make many more action movies based on the quality of his acting skills, large physique, calm cool collected mannerisms, and his natural All American hero image.