been watching quite a few of his movies lately. wouldn't say I'm a big 'fan' of this guy but he definitely had a career that was more than just a flash in the pan...
he's probably the most dextrous and had the best fighting technique of the big action guys from that era, but acting-wise he seems to phone it in too often. less charisma than Seagal, nevermind Arnie or Sly
if I had to pick one film it wouldn't be one of his signature flicks like BLOODSPORT / KICKBOXER / HARD TARGET, it would be 1999's INFERNO, because it's so ridiculous. almost like his attempt to do a ROADHOUSE
Quote from: zombie no.one on January 27, 2025, 02:54:04 PMbeen watching quite a few of his movies lately. wouldn't say I'm a big 'fan' of this guy but he definitely had a career that was more than just a flash in the pan...
he's probably the most dextrous and had the best fighting technique of the big action guys from that era, but acting-wise he seems to phone it in too often. less charisma than Seagal, nevermind Arnie or Sly
if I had to pick one film it wouldn't be one of his signature flicks like BLOODSPORT / KICKBOXER / HARD TARGET, it would be 1999's INFERNO, because it's so ridiculous. almost like his attempt to do a ROADHOUSE
He made a movie in South Africa called WAKE OF DEATH where the production allegedly went through three directors before it even reached mid production 😳😳
hah, always a good sign :teddyr:
haven't seen that one....
I watched Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning recently and was very surprised by it. There's a surreal feel to a lot of the scenes and it was more of a horror movie than I expected. Van Damme gave a menacing performance. I enjoyed it overall but the Apocalypse Now! influence got too much towards the end. Definitely worth a watch and also had a David Lynch feel to it.
interesting... have seen the dvd it in my local hmv, might have check it out.
watched the first 2. the second one is quite goofy... (apparently there's two more non-JCVD sequels in between?)
another one I enjoy is THE HARD CORPS (2006)... kind of lightweight but has a fun, almost campy atmosphere - that may be partly down to the bad acting.
I absolutely love my cheesy Jean-Claude Van Damme movies LOL
I recommend Lionheart, death warrant, double impact, cyborg and No retreat no surrender!
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He has his moments. I like some of the movies he made in hisheyday, such as "Double Impact" and "Hard Target". But I prefer his early decadence, "Double Team" and "Knock Off" are insanely funny. And "replicant" has to be one of the best bad movies ever made.
I don't like his later movies. Other than the low budget and his bad acting, my mine gripe is that they are too grim.
All the van Damme's I've seen ranked & rated
1. Bloodsport (1988) 3.5 (Very Good)
2. Kickboxer (1989) 3.0 (Good)
3. Hard Target (1993) 3.0 (Good)
4. Lionheart (1990) 3.0 (Good)
5. Universal Soldier (1992) 3.0 (Good)
6. Timecop (1994) 2.5 (Flawed but Worthy)
7. Nowhere to Run (1993) 2.5 (Flawed but Worthy)
8. Death Warrant (1990) 2.5 (Flawed but Worthy)
9. Double Impact (1991) 2.5 (Flawed but Worthy)
10. No Retreat, No Surrender (1985) 2.5 (Flawed but Worthy)
11. Maximum Risk (1996) 2.5 (Flawed but Worthy)
12. The Quest (1996) 2.5 (Flawed but Worthy)
13. Legionnaire (1998) 2.0 (Fair)
14. The Shepherd (2008) 2.0 (Fair)
15. Pound of Flesh (2015) 2.0 (Fair)
16. Cyborg (1989) 1.5 (Barely Sufficient)
17. Kickboxer: Retaliation (2018) 1.5 (Barely Sufficient)
18. Kickboxer: Vengeance (2016) 1.5 (Barely Sufficient)
19. Double Team (1997) 1.5 (Barely Sufficient)
20. Kill 'Em All (2017) 1.0 (Poor)
21. Universal Soldier: The Return (1999) 1.0 (Poor)
22. Street Fighter (1994) 1.0 (Poor)
23. Black Eagle (1988) 0.5 (Very Poor)
No Retreat, No Surrender (1985) is highly recommended for the cheese. Fanboys on Internet forums love and always defend Street Fighter (1994).
I always thought Cyborg (1989) was overrated, even as a bad movie.
yeah STREET FIGHTER was awful. I know it has its fans though. CYBORG wasn't good either, agreed. I saw NO SURRENDER NO RETREAT recently. good bad movie, don't think he speaks in it? maybe one line?
Quote from: VenomX73 on January 27, 2025, 10:07:11 PMI absolutely love my cheesy Jean-Claude Van Damme movies LOL
I recommend Lionheart, death warrant, double impact, cyborg and No retreat no surrender!
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yeah I was watching LIONHEART (actually called AWOL here) yesterday before I made the thread... solid entry. :thumbup:
Quote from: Neville on January 28, 2025, 01:09:05 PMHe has his moments. I like some of the movies he made in hisheyday, such as "Double Impact" and "Hard Target". But I prefer his early decadence, "Double Team" and "Knock Off" are insanely funny. And "replicant" has to be one of the best bad movies ever made.
I don't like his later movies. Other than the low budget and his bad acting, my mine gripe is that they are too grim.
enjoyed REPLICANT... but I'll be honest KNOCK OFF was a bit over the top silly for me. not seen DOUBLE TEAM
Quoteyeah STREET FIGHTER was awful. I know it has its fans though.
I am one of them. I thought it was a really fun movie and it had a lot of really great lines in it.
fair enough... well at least, as a fan of 90s rap, I enjoy the official soundtrack :teddyr:
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0pR50bgxfpo/UFPv-5SGs8I/AAAAAAAAPQk/7OdICOEcLNk/s1600/Street+Fighter+Soundtrack.jpg)
I've not seen ANY of his films. Not a one. I don't know why. Never had the urge to.
I'm kind of surprised at that... I recommend you binge watch all his films in a row with no breaks, while taking notes. not really.
oh yeah I also watched his semi-autobiographical JCVD (2008) but couldn't get into it at all... sometimes it was in english, but half the film seemed to be in dutch with no subtitles
Quote from: zombie no.one on January 27, 2025, 03:50:25 PMinteresting... have seen the dvd it in my local hmv, might have check it out.
Definitely try Day of Reckoning. I've not seen any of the other Universal Soldier films but this caught my attention because of some YouTube clips. Not saying it's perfect but there are some very effective scenes and a weird vibe.
Sudden Death (1995).
I remember it being a pretty good Die Hard knock-off with Powers Boothe being a decent villian. Not seen it for years but maybe worth a try.
Quote from: LordGraal on January 28, 2025, 05:46:40 PMQuote from: zombie no.one on January 27, 2025, 03:50:25 PMinteresting... have seen the dvd it in my local hmv, might have check it out.
Definitely try Day of Reckoning. I've not seen any of the other Universal Soldier films but this caught my attention because of some YouTube clips. Not saying it's perfect but there are some very effective scenes and a weird vibe.
cool, will do... as a non-streaming, non-netflixing (etc etc) movie fan I'm always looking for recommendations of stuff I know I can get cheap-ish on physical
Quote from: LordGraal on January 28, 2025, 05:51:31 PMSudden Death (1995).
I remember it being a pretty good Die Hard knock-off with Powers Boothe being a decent villian. Not seen it for years but maybe worth a try.
yep another fairly recent watch... wasn't bad! (no film of that ilk can compete with DIE HARD obviously)
Quoteyeah STREET FIGHTER was awful. I know it has its fans though.
I do understand the appeal of Street Fighter though. Raul Julia's performance, Rap/Hip Hop Soundtrack and Kylie Minogue for the drool. But all this didn't save it, at least not for me.
What I don't understand is van Damme making a sequel to Kill 'Em All (2017) last year. Why?
Quote from: LordGraal on January 28, 2025, 05:51:31 PMSudden Death (1995).
I remember it being a pretty good Die Hard knock-off with Powers Boothe being a decent villian. Not seen it for years but maybe worth a try.
That's the film where JCVD fights a penguin 😳🐧🤣😅😂
Quote from: zombie no.one on January 28, 2025, 04:28:48 PMI'm kind of surprised at that... I recommend you binge watch all his films in a row with no breaks, while taking notes. not really.
oh yeah I also watched his semi-autobiographical JCVD (2008) but couldn't get into it at all... sometimes it was in english, but half the film seemed to be in dutch with no subtitles
Nope. My taste in action movies are more in the war or western genre. Gangster too.
I like Martial arts films, the Asian owns. But Otherwise... nah. Never got into Chuck Norris or Van Damme, or Cynthia Rothrock, or whatever. No interest in them at all. There was ONE Segal movie I liked even a little bit-and I can't even remember the name.
I TNT love JACKSON (1974) A grade z Philipino blaxploitation/kung fu flick!
(https://i.imgur.com/wjGSQ72.gif) (http://"https://lunapic.com")
Otherwise, give me Bruce Lee or a Godfrey Ho flick any day.
yeah I need to see more early 70s ones like that... enjoy the ones I have seen
it's only in the last couple of years that I actually checked out any Chuck Norris movies tbh... (as in ones where he's the main character). very much of a muchness as they say. he has the charisma of a cardboard cut out. INVASION USA was probably the best of an underwhelming bunch.
Quote from: Trevor on January 29, 2025, 12:02:03 AMQuote from: LordGraal on January 28, 2025, 05:51:31 PMSudden Death (1995).
I remember it being a pretty good Die Hard knock-off with Powers Boothe being a decent villian. Not seen it for years but maybe worth a try.
That's the film where JCVD fights a penguin 😳🐧🤣😅😂
never trust a giant penguin, I follow this simple rule.
can't find it now but I saw a real vid the other day of a mascot absolutely pummelling someone :buggedout: ...probably happens quite a lot, haha
Quote from: chainsaw midget on January 28, 2025, 03:39:23 PMQuoteyeah STREET FIGHTER was awful. I know it has its fans though.
I am one of them. I thought it was a really fun movie and it had a lot of really great lines in it.
[/quoteQuote from: chainsaw midget on January 28, 2025, 03:39:23 PMQuoteyeah STREET FIGHTER was awful. I know it has its fans though.
I am one of them. I thought it was a really fun movie and it had a lot of really great lines in it.
Seconded. Street Fighter had great moments. The Godzilla type fight with Honda.
Plus, Raul Julia was just perfect
Quote from: Trevor on January 29, 2025, 12:02:03 AMQuote from: LordGraal on January 28, 2025, 05:51:31 PMSudden Death (1995).
I remember it being a pretty good Die Hard knock-off with Powers Boothe being a decent villian. Not seen it for years but maybe worth a try.
That's the film where JCVD fights a penguin 😳🐧🤣😅😂
😂 I think something nasty happened to the penguin?
Quote from: zombie no.one on January 28, 2025, 06:45:33 PMQuote from: LordGraal on January 28, 2025, 05:46:40 PMQuote from: zombie no.one on January 27, 2025, 03:50:25 PMinteresting... have seen the dvd it in my local hmv, might have check it out.
Definitely try Day of Reckoning. I've not seen any of the other Universal Soldier films but this caught my attention because of some YouTube clips. Not saying it's perfect but there are some very effective scenes and a weird vibe.
cool, will do... as a non-streaming, non-netflixing (etc etc) movie fan I'm always looking for recommendations of stuff I know I can get cheap-ish on physical
Would be interested to hear what you think.
Quote from: LordGraal on January 29, 2025, 04:44:41 PMQuote from: Trevor on January 29, 2025, 12:02:03 AMQuote from: LordGraal on January 28, 2025, 05:51:31 PMSudden Death (1995).
I remember it being a pretty good Die Hard knock-off with Powers Boothe being a decent villian. Not seen it for years but maybe worth a try.
That's the film where JCVD fights a penguin 😳🐧🤣😅😂
😂 I think something nasty happened to the penguin?
The 🐧gets kicked into and roasted by an ultra hot dishwasher 😳😳🐧😆😀
Quote from: LordGraal on January 29, 2025, 04:52:52 PMWould be interested to hear what you think.
sod's law is alive and well... I have noticed DAY OF RECKONING on dvd in my local HMV every single time I've been in there in the last few months... I go in today and it's gone. :hatred: asked the staff too.
my new year's resolution was to stop buying stuff on amazon. not gonna break it for this tbh :bouncegiggle:
however because I basically have no recollection of the original UNIVERSAL SOLDIER from 1992 I picked that up on bluray instead. :thumbup:
Quote from: LordGraal on January 28, 2025, 05:51:31 PMSudden Death (1995).
I remember it being a pretty good Die Hard knock-off with Powers Boothe being a decent villian. Not seen it for years but maybe worth a try.
If it wasn't for those cringe scenes with his kids it would be a classic. Very underrated movie.
I try to watch DOUBLE IMPACT (1991) once a year I really enjoy it :thumbup:
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Quote from: zombie no.one on January 30, 2025, 10:30:55 AMQuote from: LordGraal on January 29, 2025, 04:52:52 PMWould be interested to hear what you think.
sod's law is alive and well... I have noticed DAY OF RECKONING on dvd in my local HMV every single time I've been in there in the last few months... I go in today and it's gone. :hatred: asked the staff too.
my new year's resolution was to stop buying stuff on amazon. not gonna break it for this tbh :bouncegiggle:
however because I basically have no recollection of the original UNIVERSAL SOLDIER from 1992 I picked that up on bluray instead. :thumbup:
How about Ebay or Cex?
never bought anything off ebay... and basically my new year resolution was to stop all online purchases, even mp3s. I was getting borderline addicted to it.
I expect the dvd will turn up somewhere soon