Lionheart: Did Lyon Actually Want the Money?

Okay, so the other night the kids were finally in bed, and I stumbled upon "Lionheart" (1990) on some random channel. It's got Jean-Claude Van Damme, which is a throwback for this mama, let me tell you! Anyway, the premise is straightforward: Lyon deserts the Foreign Legion to help his brother's family after he gets burned badly. He needs money for the hospital. He's gotta fight... you know the drill! But the whole time, something kept bugging me. It's about Lyon's motivations. Sure, he says he's doing it all for his sister-in-law and niece. But I'm thinking maybe, just maybe, it wasn't just about the money. There's this underlying thread of guilt throughout the movie. He left, he wasn't there. He knows he messed up. Maybe, just maybe, the fighting was a way to punish himself, or to somehow earn redemption in his own eyes. Like, yeah, he needed the cash, but that wasn't the whole story. Remember that brutal scene where he just keeps taking blow after blow without defending himself at first? That wasn't just good fight choreography, I think it was showing something deeper. He needed that beating. And here's another thing: he could have run off with the money so many times! He had plenty of opportunities to just disappear. But he didn't. He always went back. He always made sure the money got to Helene. So, I'm throwing it out there: I think he was fighting his own demons as much as he was fighting for his family. He was working out some VERY complicated stuff. What do you guys think? Am I overthinking a Van Damme movie from the 90s? Probably! But hey, that's half the fun, right? 😂