Jean Claude Van Damme

[zombie no.one]

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

[Trevor]

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

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 😳😳

[zombie no.one]

hah, always a good sign 
 haven't seen that one....

[LordGraal]

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.

[zombie no.one]

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?)

[zombie no.one]

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.

[VenomX73]

I absolutely love my cheesy Jean-Claude Van Damme movies LOL

I recommend Lionheart, death warrant, double impact, cyborg and No retreat no surrender!

[Neville]

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.

[claws]

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.

[zombie no.one]

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?

I absolutely love my cheesy Jean-Claude Van Damme movies LOL

I recommend Lionheart, death warrant, double impact, cyborg and No retreat no surrender!

yeah I was watching LIONHEART (actually called AWOL here) yesterday before I made the thread... solid entry.   

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.

enjoyed REPLICANT... but I'll be honest KNOCK OFF was a bit over the top silly for me. not seen DOUBLE TEAM

[chainsaw midget]

yeah 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. 

[zombie no.one]

fair enough... well at least, as a fan of 90s rap, I enjoy the official soundtrack 

[RCMerchant]

I've not seen ANY of his films. Not a one. I don't know why. Never had the urge to.

[zombie no.one]

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

[LordGraal]

interesting...  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.