Earlier this year, Jean-Claude Van Damme released his first post-stardom direct-to-video movie, Legionnaire, a project that garnered some attention for its unusual marketing strategy. Perhaps it was a case of denial on the part of the late-'80s/early-'90s sensation, but it was announced that Legionnaire would premiere on video before receiving a theatrical release later. Here's a shock: Those plans never materialized. Making no such relatively lofty claims is Desert Heat, a direct-to-video movie from top to toe, and not a very good one at that. Van Damme plays a suicidal motorcyclist who drifts into a small Southwestern town to kill himself. Soon, however, he finds his murderous energies better directed against a group of woman-abusing drug dealers (a strange touch considering Van Damme's own off-screen antics) who leave him for dead in the desert. Though it cheekily references Yojimbo at times, there's not a bit of real cleverness in Desert Heat; its attempts at broad humor clash with its mystical Native American sub-plot while making the film's violence seem in even poorer taste. What's worse, even the violence is unsatisfying by Van Damme standards. Looking a bit spent, the pugilistic Belgian barely moves, instead falling back on gunplay, the aging martial-arts star's best friend. For anyone looking to see how the mighty have fallen, Desert Heat should be required viewing. But before weeping for Van Damme, pause for a moment to consider two other career nadirs: Pat Morita's mugging turn as a dotty handyman and the decidedly European-looking Vincent Schiavelli's appearance as an Indian café owner. And then consider one more. Though credited to "Danny Mulroon," Desert Heat is actually the work of John G. Avildsen, director of Rocky and The Karate Kid. Instead of one man's personal triumph through hard work and determination, Avildsen has created the story of one man's triumph through killing a lot of people, and done it badly. Maybe all concerned should take a lesson from his previous work and start training to work their way out of the direct-to-video ghetto.