Overview
Blackjack (also known as John Woo's Blackjack) is a 1998 Canadian-American made-for-television action film and an unsuccessful pilot directed by John Woo and starring Dolph Lundgren as a leukophobic former United States Marshal turned bodyguard who hunts down an assassin.
Plot
After crime boss Kamenev (Géza Kovács) threatens his daughter Casey (Padraigin Murphy), casino owner Bobby Stern (Peter Keleghan) calls in his friend, retired U.S. Marshal Jack Devlin (Dolph Lundgren), to protect her. Devlin fends off a squadron of Kamenev's henchmen sent to abduct Casey from the Stern mansion, but is temporarily blinded by a flashbang grenade in the process; he also gets shot in the leg. While Jack and Casey survive, Devlin develops a debilitating phobia of the color white (leukophobia) due to the traumatic experience of being blinded while fighting for his life (although Casey acted as his eyes).
Some time later, back home in New York City with his roommate/sidekick Thomas (Saul Rubinek), Jack is receiving treatment for his phobia from psychiatrist Dr. Rachel Stein (Kate Vernon). A lawyer arrives at Devlin's apartment, telling him that Bobby Stern and his wife have died in an accident, and that Jack is now Casey's legal guardian. Shortly after this, Jack's old friend, fellow retired U.S. Marshal Tim Hastings (Fred Williamson), is badly wounded while protecting a rising-star fashion model, Cinder James (Kam Heskin) from an insane, obsessive killer (Phillip MacKenzie), and left comatose in the hospital. Jack takes on Tim's job as bodyguard out of loyalty to his friend. Jack now has to juggle his duty as father figure to Casey, coping with his leukophobia, his difficult personal relationship with Cinder, and his rivalry with fellow bodyguard Don Tragle (Andrew Jackson), all while protecting Cinder from further assassination attempts.
Jack discovers that the killer is, in fact, Cinder's deranged, abusive ex-husband, Rory Gaines, a failed actor. Jack and Thomas manage to track Gaines to an abandoned distillery but, forewarned of their arrival, Gaines manages to incapacitate both of them and tie them up. Gaines comes close to murdering Thomas, but Jack manages to cut through his bonds in time to save him. Gaines exploits Jack's leukophobia to escape once more. Tragle conspires with Cinder's manager, Derek Smythe (Albert Schultz), to seize control of the bodyguard agency, forcing Jack out of his job, and leaving Cinder dangerously exposed at a big fashion show.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
