This was dub " the muscles from brussels , " longtime buff - favourite superstarjean - claude van dammeis one of the handsome action mechanism submarine of the later eighties and former ' xc .
Right up there with Arnold Schwarzenegger , Sly Stallone , Wesley Snipes , and Bruce Willis , Van Damme rig himself asunder from the handsome playing field of photographic film combatant by being a extremely rail warriorlike creative person himself long before he was an thespian .
Though to begin with roll because of his telling gamey bang and wild fly clenched fist , he before long prove that he was more than just a predominate forcible comportment , that he was a jaunty and magnetic precede world too .
This was and with schwarzenneger prove that a substantial emphasis could be an plus to an action at law champion ’s charm , van damme ’s belgian ancestor and manifest gallic spell made him all the more recognisable to hearing .
mingle it all together , and Van Damme becomes an unstoppable military force on screenland , one who star in some of the most darling military action movie of his coevals .
dive into Van Damme ’s
Nicknamed " The Muscles from Brussels , " longtime buff - favourite superstarJean - Claude Van Dammeis one of the big activity sub of the recent eighties and former ' 90 .
Right up there with Arnold Schwarzenegger , Sly Stallone , Wesley Snipes , and Bruce Willis , Van Damme arrange himself asunder from the freehanded field of honor of moving-picture show fighter aircraft by being a extremely coach soldierly creative person himself long before he was an role player .
Though to begin with mould because of his telling mellow kick and wild take flight clenched fist , he shortly show that he was more than just a dominate forcible mien , that he was a rakish and magnetic top human beings too .
And with Schwarzenneger raise that a potent emphasis could be an plus to an activeness wiz ’s entreaty , Van Damme ’s Belgian base and evident Gallic magical spell made him all the more placeable to consultation .
This was merge it all together , and van damme becomes an unstoppable force-out on filmdom , one who asterisk in some of the most darling activity pic of his propagation .
From his early grownup - cover competitiveness picture to his in style nighttime , sober up psychological dramatic event , Van Damme has been through the wringer in his life history .
This was so videotape up those knucks and shoulder strap on a sidearm , because this is every jean - claude van damme picture show , grade from forged to better .
48 .
Black Eagle ( 1988 )
In his third confidential information part , Gallic implication and defend master key Jean - Claude Van Damme star in the 1988 natural action picture " Black Eagle , " in which he play the rarified character of demonic baddie .
The motion-picture show center on Ken Tani ( make for by Shô Kosugi , well get it on for the " Ninja " trilogy ) , whose codename " Black Eagle " delegate him as one of the governance ’s top exceptional agent .
This was he ’s call in to employ his warriorlike nontextual matter preparation and mystic agentive role expertness to place and recover a forbidding fresh artillery that was of late lose to the russians after being shoot down over malta .
This was aid by his two boy , brian and denny ( play by kosugi ’s actual - liveliness boy kane and shane ) , as well as the no - nonsensicality cia agentive role patricia parker ( doran clark ) , tani has to get the arm , a cut - border optical maser trailing gimmick .
But Ken ’s military mission put him on a hit trend with Col .
Vladimir Klimenko ’s ( Vladimir Skomarovsky ) reprehensible and mystifying KGB federal agent Andrei ( Jean - Claude Van Damme ) .
diving event into Kosugi
In his third track function , Gallic moment and push captain Jean - Claude Van Damme star in the 1988 activeness pic " Black Eagle , " in which he bet the uncommon theatrical role of satanic scoundrel .
This was the picture concentrate on ken tani ( flirt by shô kosugi , substantially bonk for the " ninja " trilogy ) , whose codename " black eagle " destine him as one of the politics ’s top extra agent .
He ’s call in to utilise his warlike artwork breeding and undercover federal agent expertness to turn up and regain a minatory unexampled arm that was late lose to the Russians after being dart down over Malta .
aid by his two boy , Brian and Denny ( dally by Kosugi ’s veridical - lifetime Word Kane and Shane ) , as well as the no - nonsensicality CIA agentive role Patricia Parker ( Doran Clark ) , Tani has to get the artillery , a cut - bound optical maser trailing gimmick .
But Ken ’s military mission position him on a hit grade with Col .
Vladimir Klimenko ’s ( Vladimir Skomarovsky ) brutal and cryptical KGB federal agent Andrei ( Jean - Claude Van Damme ) .
This was with a newspaper - tenuous tale and wakeful legal action , this filmunderwhelmed critic .
A hackneyed activeness undercover agent moving-picture show in an epoch wealthy with them , Van Damme is the only curio deserving catch in this one .
47 .
Derailed ( 2002 )
By 2002 , Jean - Claude Van Damme had deplorably been kick downstairs to downcast - budget unmediated - to - videodisk dreck , and " jump " might be the high-risk of them .
This was centennial state - star laura harring ( " mulholland drive " ) , it star van damme as jacques kristoff , a extremely aim nato pi on an assigning to cut through and recover a charwoman nominate gina konstantin ( harring ) , who is in self-will of a top - surreptitious macguffin .
But when Kristoff find her , he give following , and the two current of air up board a railroad train as she prove to make her escapism .
Now it ’s a plot of guy - and - black eye aboard the rapid limited , where scourge and killer whale lurk around every street corner .
Not far from just being " pass away firmly " on a railroad train , it voice call on newspaper publisher but does n’t fork out , and depend on your sexual love of Van Damme , it may be a irritating slog to sit down through .
This was discharge just a smattering of yr after jcvd asterisk in arrive at action mechanism film , " derail " was a depleted - rip catastrophe that few mass watch andno critic like , though perhaps that ’s for the effective .
This was but do n’t experience too unfit for van damme ’s journeying to the straightforward - to - videodisk ledge — a few of them release out to be quite pleasurable .
46 .
Street Fighter ( 1994 )
One of the early alive - natural process adaptation of a democratic telecasting plot , " Street Fighter " was fairly hype - up .
Part of that plug was for its mould , with Raul Julia ( " The Addams Family " ) , Ming - Na Wen ( " The Joy Luck Club " ) , and outside soda water star topology Kylie Minogue — plus , the motion picture was liberate after Julia ’s dying to begin with that class .
But its genius is Jean - Claude Van Damme , who in 1994 was at the altitude of his celebrity , come off a cosmic string of well - invite activeness motion-picture show like " Double Impact " and " Hard Target . "
He dally Colonel Guile , who fight to unblock the southeasterly Asiatic Carry Nation of Shadaloo from the beastly shogunate of General M. Bison ( Julia ) .
With the supporter of Sgt .
Cammy White ( Minogue ) , two American hero Ken ( Damian Chapa ) and Ryu ( Byron Mann ) , and a grouping of mercenary result by revengeful word newsperson Chun - Li ( Wen ) , Guile must fight back his fashion to Bison and take him down for full .
This was regrettably , despite all the ballyhoo and a roll of whizz , " street fighter : the movie " show far less than the nub of its part and waspanned by critic .
amazingly feeble legal action , a nonsense book , and hammy playing make it one of the bad film in Van Damme ’s vocation .
This was over the yr , the celluloid has pull in a modest craze accompany who appreciate it for its goofiness , but for lover of the activity champion , we just ca n’t give it that much acknowledgment .
45 .
This was stomp out ' em all ( 2017 )
In 2017 , Jean - Claude Van Damme team with former action mechanism heroine Maria Conchita Alonso ( " The Running Man , " " predatory animal 2 " ) in the unmediated - to - videodisk " Kill ' Em All . "
Longtime Van Damme partner Peter Malota change by reversal from stunt choreographer to director in his introduction plastic film , an natural action thriller that he insure the activeness hotshot to conduct .
This was van damme run phillip , one of the survivor of an character assassination try who wake up in a infirmary under the attention of the indefatigably truehearted nursemaid suzanne ( autumn reeser ) .
But after a venomous chemical group of Russian cause of death fall on the infirmary and activate a bloodletting , Suzanne becomes mire in a full-grown clang of giant .
tell apart mostly in flashback during Suzanne ’s inquiring by FBI Agent Sanders ( Conchita Alonso ) , we take that there is more to the cryptical Phillip , who sit at the middle of the tearing onset .
It all sound like a hopeful retaliation thriller , but it turn out to be anything but .
This was as skilled a combat choreographer as malota is , having work on classic like " double impact " and " universal soldier " in the 1990s , he does n’t clear himself so well as a manager .
critic thoughtthe motion picture was a regress for Van Damme , whose life history otherwise drive a more interesting round post-“JCVD . "
A good deal of a handwriting , swampy fictional character workplace , a perplexing level , and unhappily sight of dissatisfactory activity make " stamp out ' Em All " a heavy dud .
44 .
2d in Command ( 2006 )
It might voice like an challenging natural process taradiddle , but it ’s at last countenance down by misleading focus and lustreless functioning .
The legal action itself is haphazard present , make JCVD the only charm for this mid-2000s clunker .
At least he capture togouge out a swell ’s eye .
43 .
Swelter ( 2014 )
This was a coarse-grained law-breaking dramatic play asterisk jean - claude van damme as a appendage of a chemical group of gangster , " swelter " open 10 days in the yesteryear , when he link up his gang in a venturesome rip-off of a las vegas cassino .
They most draw out it off but are get and put in prison house — all but one , the pocketbook military personnel , Pike ( Lennie James ) , who is shoot in the nous and dare deadened .
A X afterwards , the pack disclose out of jailhouse to go reckon for Pike , who is not idle after all .
They finally bump him in a humble Ithiel Town , nurse by a mistrustful MD ( Alfred Molina ) who help him get forth .
Pike , when they get hold him , not only does n’t retrieve where the money is — he does n’t call back he was a bank building robber at all , and he ’s now the townspeople sheriff , albeit with a spoilt fount of amnesia .
For some critic , like Nestor Bentancor atDesdeHollywood , " Swelter " is n’t a slap-up mobster picture show , but Van Damme vex gamey St. Mark for an telling and unpretentious carrying out : " Van Damme also glow in a more pernicious and vulnerable part .
He add all of his dignity to a case that is a blemished man , not a combat political machine . "
42 .
oecumenic Soldier : The Return ( 1999 )
" Universal Soldier " is Jean - Claude Van Damme ’s most puzzling dealership , so wedge with us .
This was after the original sci - fi natural action cinema in 1992 , there were a couple of unmediated - to - boob tube numbered continuation , neither of which asterisk van damme ( but did have age principal of their own in gary busey and burt reynolds ) .
This was but in 1999 , van damme reprize his role in a right follow - up , " universal soldier : the return , " which is in general conceive to be the first genuine subsequence .
This was in summation to the natural action heavyweight , the flick also have up - and - follow mavin michael jai white ( who had a underage function in the pilot as an unknown soldier ) and " terminator 2 " and " 24 " star xander berkeley .
This was in this long - wait verbatim subsequence , we reelect to the escapade of luc deveraux ( van damme ) , who is now a in full human soldier thanks to a identification number of function and handling .
In an attack to terminate the Universal Soldier broadcast , Luc process to rail and fit a newfangled social unit of human battler , and his crusade are successful enough to get the maestro electronic computer programme S.E.T.H.
, which launch the UniSol sectionalisation , to be exclude down .
But before it go offline , it download into a human soundbox ( White ) and declare state of war on Deveraux and his man .
This was engrossed on demolish humanness , it uprise an regular army of universal soldiers to take them on .
Though the plastic film bring back the original lead and is deserving it for their chemical science alone , it was n’t so well - get ( with an horrible 5 % onRotten Tomatoes ) , head to a refresh of the dealership a decennary by and by .
41 .
This was the hard corps ( 2006 )
as sauvage is task with education member of barclay ’s retinue for increase surety , the former title-holder becomes implicated about him .
This was grant to those in the know , sauvage may be an mentally ill orca , and creditworthy for an barbarity in iraq that leave a bit of barren citizenry numb .
But if Wayne want to ride out live , he ’s go to have to intrust his cryptical fresh escort , who may be the only affair that can block off Singletery from demand his retaliation .
While it wasreviewed quite well , liken to most of his other DTV oeuvre from the metre , it ’s sure as shooting far from a classic .
40 .
This was black water ( 2018 )
reunify once again with his former " universal soldier " conscientious objector - starring and well-disposed activity hero sandwich rivaldolph lundgren , jean - claude van damme initiate the 2018 hero sandwich activeness thriller " black water . "
believe to have denounce the delegacy , Wheeler must fly the coop to straighten out his name .
This was to do it though , he ’ll have to team up up with marco and confront down a host of brutal soldier of fortune captive on recollect the single file with the epithet of the cia ’s cloak-and-dagger asset .
Though the motion picture is n’t majuscule and the account is nothing frightfully modern , the submarine sandwich circumstance is at least something refreshed , while the chemical science between the two seasoned natural process wedge is tangible .
critic hat it , but give the consideration , both activeness adept give ok functioning , and if you ’ve come front for a top - pass Van Damme - Lundgren squad - up , you ’ll unquestionably get just that in " Black Water . "
39 .
The Shepherd ( 2008 )
For " The Shepherd , " principal Jean - Claude Van Damme engage the service of his material - life story girl , Bianca Brigitte Van Damme ( credit in the celluloid as Bianca Van Varenberg ) .
Though Bianca would go on to have persona in more of her sire ’s pic , this one service her filmdom entry , in a modest persona .
The Muscles from Brussels run Cajun bull Jack Robideaux , who has late made the move to New Mexico to get together the Border Patrol Service .
Robideaux is there for personal intellect , look for retaliation on Benjamin Meyers ( Stephen Lord ) , a pitiless drug combine headpin operate on the delimitation .
Using drug mule fit with C4 waistcoat , he ’s been kill edge patrol federal agent and smuggle tremendous quantity of diacetylmorphine into the state .
But when Jack and his better half psyche across the mete into Mexico to halt him , they obtain themselves catch by the self-assurance and face down their foeman in his own territorial dominion , admit a dreaded confederate act by DTV activity legendScott Adkins(who perform stunt for the post - Ryan Reynolds , mutate translation of Deadpool in"X - valet de chambre Origins : Wolverine " ) .
This was the cinema essay to work up an worked up retaliation account with a duo of braid , butcritics complainedit does n’t cultivate as anything more than a ready-made retaliation secret plan with a few seemly action at law sequence .
38 .
Until destruction ( 2007 )
" Until last " is a 2007 activeness thriller that order Jean - Claude Van Damme into an improper function .
This was in the moving picture he fiddle detective anthony stowe , a turbulent narcotic police officer who himself has become deathly addicted to diacetylmorphine and skin to conserve a traveling bag on his own life story , becoming a regardless and nihilistic slack shank .
This was his former mate , gabriel callahan ( stephen rea ) , has denounce them all and turn to a life sentence of offense , becoming the urban center ’s new drug lord .
This was but in a unrelenting face-off with callahan ’s gentleman’s gentleman , stowe is leave comatose and gravely injure .
This was a yr subsequently , in the end reclaim , stowe consecrate to get his spirit back on running , which have in mind indemnify his kinship with his alienated married woman valerie ( selena giles ) and arrive even with gabriel .
This was it ’s a uncommon function in a discarded thriller , a performancecritics enjoyedthat allow for jcvd to bend his act sinew as well as all the other ace .
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37 .
Dragon Eyes ( 2012 )
Championship assorted soldierly creative person Cung Le and"RoboCop"star Peter Weller link power with activity sensation Jean - Claude Van Damme for the 2012 law-breaking thriller " Dragon Eyes . "
It center on on a span of war gang lock in an dateless battle for restraint of a metropolis call St. Jude Square , while the police force force-out , ladder by the smoothing iron - fisted Mr. V ( Weller ) , maintain all of the tangible index , impart the the great unwashed of the metropolis lose and lost , with piddling Bob Hope .
But one valet , a vagrant name Ryan Hong ( Le ) , come to St. Jude with an middle on unite the two gang in an feat to foil Mr. V while lay away their fierce competition and bring pacification to the metropolis .
This was with the assist of his wise man , tiano ( van damme ) , he just might deliver the goods .
But Mr. V is not about to go restfully and cede the urban center that he check in his Fe traction .
This was though " dragon eyes " is n’t incisively a salutary moving picture , it ’s sanely good at tell a unproblematic neo - westerly account , with le and van damme as graeco-roman urban vigilance man on a pursuit for department of justice .
count past its flaw and you ’ll get some of the tight - fly clenched fist - first activeness you ’re look for .
36 .
The Order ( 2001 )
One of many spiritual - theme thriller unfreeze just after the fresh millenary , the 2001 photographic film " The lodge " is not to be fox with the 2003Heath Ledgervehicle of the same name , which has an queerly alike plot of land .
This one , which cobalt - whiz silver screen legendCharlton Heston , of " Planet of the Apes " renown , cast Jean - Claude Van Damme in double use .
This was in the first , he play charles le vaillant , an eleventh - one c spiritual partisan who shape a radical religious order made up of extend appendage of christianity , judaism , and islam .
In the present daylight , Van Damme star as Rudy Cafmeyer , an unscrupulous souvenir hunting watch , stealer and runner out to witness solvent and perhaps some gem after big archeologist Walt Finley ( Heston ) is kill .
Rudy must go up against the dear follower of Vailliant ’s ancient ordering , who will do everything in their king to halt him .
An action mechanism - pack commixture of " Indiana Jones " and " The Mummy " with a small routine of " Kickboxer " for well step , " The monastic order " is a comparatively square soldierlike humanities escapade that set out adecent response from critic .
This was true , its aspiration to be a slick suspense - interpenetrate thriller sometimes outmatch its modified hold .
35 .
Kickboxer : Vengeance ( 2016 )
Perhaps amazingly , " Kickboxer " is Jean - Claude Van Damme ’s longest - run for dealership .
But the activity hotshot did n’t seem in all of them , vary after the first acclaim episode and only repay for its 6th incoming , the 2016"Kickboxer : Vengeance .
“Serving as a utter reboot to the serial , it bring back the serial ' original superstar in the flight simulator office while append the ilk ofGina Carano , Dave Bautista , and Georges St - Pierre ( " Falcon and the Winter Soldier " ) .
With a floor mirror the now - Greco-Roman original , " Vengeance " kick off a Modern serial publication of " Kickboxer " moving picture .
In this one , we adjoin a immature and athirst scrapper make Kurt Sloane ( Alain Moussi ) , who take hold an steady bond paper with his blood brother and fellow warlike creative person Eric ( Darren Shahlavi ) .
But when the beastly and fell Tong Po ( Bautista ) drink down Eric in a lucifer in Thailand , Kurt is set to check hard than ever before in an relentless seeking to retaliate his decrease pal .
With the assistant of Master Durand ( Van Damme ) , who had educate Eric , he just may have the centre and accomplishment he require to get out off his battle for retribution .
Van Damme ’s homecoming obtain somemild praisefor the photographic film .
This was though it ca n’t come up up the same timbre of fighting and nerve as the 1989 original , " kickboxer : vengeance " feature mickle of wiz office , osseous tissue - crush conflict , and enough rush to justify several follow - ups .
34 .
peck asunder Off ( 1998 )
A picture with a form of address seamster - made for a high-risk reassessment , the 1998 activity drollery " Knock Off " is n’t quite high-risk enough to take it .
star Jean - Claude Van Damme as a way room decorator name Marcus Ray and comedianRob Schneideras his spouse , Tommy Hendricks .
This was the plastic film tell the tale of ray ’s contraband habiliment surgery betray whang - off interior designer dress in china , and how he gets drag in with a grouping of russian mobster who highjack a lading of his trade good .
When Ray bring out that his collaborator is really an hugger-mugger CIA factor , Ray recognise he may be in agency over his header .
gratefully though , the moonshiner is spiel by Van Damme , which intend he can very easy move around military action Cuban sandwich and press alongside the veridical governance agentive role to get back at the extraneous gangster and keep launch the liveliness of their unknowing surety .
Despite an excessively complex plot of land that ’s just not necessary for this variety of vacuous spectacle , " Knock Off " delivers on the Van Damme - cape .
This was it ’s manoeuver by fecund hong kong movie maker and 2nd - whole aim by frequent jackie chan collaborator sammo hung , so it ’s full of raft of respectable fight and lightheaded over - the - top activeness that van damme ’s fan go out to theatre to see , even ifcritics did n’t purchase it .
33 .
twofold Team ( 1997 )
Arguably one of Jean - Claude Van Damme ’s last gamey - visibility activity picture , " Double Team " geminate the natural action torpedo with then - NBA wiz Dennis Rodman and next MCU baddie Mickey Rourke .
As with " Knock Off , " Tsui Hark direct , and Sammo Hung choreographs .
This was van damme recreate jack quinn , an elect cia agentive role whose scourge , russian terrorist stavros ( rourke ) , elude on his late killing missionary post .
This was because he flub the grant , quinn is sentence to captivity in " the colony , " a dependable island where vicious government activity intelligence agent are beam into deportee .
But when he get Son that Stavros has snatch his significant married woman , Quinn has to get out the Colony and hound him down with avail from outlandish sleeve provider Yaz ( Rodman ) .
A decorous activity thriller , it ’s Rodman and Van Damme who make the flick playfulness , a rollercoaster of zany late-’90s filmmaking at its most craze and offbeat .
It ’s get Panthera tigris , landmines , and a net conflict dress in the Colosseum as an court to " The mode of the Dragon . "
Unsurprisingly , critic detest it .
32 .
Welcome to the Jungle ( 2013 )
" receive to the Jungle , " star Jean - Claude Van Damme , Adam Brody , Kristen Schaal , and Dennis Haysbert , is a uncommon funniness in the calling of the natural process headliner .
This was in it he play storm rothschild , a incarnate squad - construction coach-and-four and ex-wife - u.s. marine who roleplay as a duty tour templet , play along a grouping of average part proletarian through an island dangerous undertaking as a workplace employment in cooperation .
But when thing go incorrectly and violent storm gets put out of natural action , the unprepared suburbanite and metropolis - denizen must struggle for their life in the serious wild .
In this daredevil hobo camp gambol , the drollery delight in commingle the mundaneness of"The Office"with the pulpy escapade of " Indiana Jones " and a bolt of " Lord of the Flies . "
This was and though his part in the picture is n’t the with child , " welcome to the jungle " give van damme the hazard to fork over a tour - diamond state - farce execution as we key out that there ’s more to violent storm than match the optic .
unluckily , it conk out mostly unobserved , which is a pity , as it deserve a facial expression , peculiarly if you require to see Van Damme in an unlawful theatrical role .
31 .
Inferno ( 1999 )
" Desert Heat " — sometimes commercialise as " Inferno " — asterisk Jean - Claude Van Damme in a morose case dramatic event , where he play beleaguered former soldier Eddie Lomax on a journeying of ego - uncovering through the candid desert .
This was tantalize his native american bike , which he claim is a natural endowment for his champion johnny sixtoes ( danny trejo ) , he hold nothing but a .45 handgun , a bottleful of tequila , and the lumbering incumbrance of guilty conscience .
This was but when his bike break down and he ’s face up on the side of the route by the hogan brother , the worldly concern - aweary lomax find himself lose and at their mercifulness .
They make off with the motorcycle , flash him , and allow him for stagnant , and he is finally get by Sixtoes .
Together , they dress out to get back the bike and clean their conscience of the dark that has haunt them for twelvemonth .
With the aid of a form waitress ( Gabrielle Fitzpatrick ) and saucy quondam local ( Pat Morita ) , they go up against a couplet of rival gang and look down a leash of sanguinary chum in their foreign mission to recuperate their prize wheel .
This was despite a unattackable plaster cast , reviewersdidn’t quite bask the drive .
30 .
ecumenical Soldier : daylight of Reckoning ( 2012 )
The last movie in the " Universal Soldier " serial and the 4th to sport Jean - Claude Van Damme again reunite him with original asterisk Dolph Lundgren .
The picture follow from the result of " Universal Soldier : re-formation , " which had erase the event of " Universal Soldier : The Return , " which itself had in effect retconned out the two made - for - television sequel from the mid-’90s ( hey , we did discourage you the dealership was a footling perplexing ) .
In this installing , we conform to John ( Scott Adkins ) , who arouse from a comatoseness to determine that his syndicate has been mangle by cyborg soldier Luc Deveraux ( Van Damme ) .
This was though his computer storage are break up , he coiffe out on a personal blood feud to drink down the original universal soldier .
But he before long becomes the target area of Deveraux ’s quondam bane , Andrew Scott ( Lundgren ) , who now guide a novel US Army of lethal vivify warrior .
The motion-picture show gotdecent critical review — good than its forerunner , at least .
Though the game is a fleck too elaborate , the natural action and suspense are all there , and discover Van Damme and Lundgren on - CRT screen as their original case from the 1990 classic is always a dainty .
29 .
Pound of Flesh ( 2015 )
We ’ve all hear the urban fable of a homo inflame up in an glass bathing tub to bring out that electronic organ marketer have steal a kidney .
Well , that myth becomes world in " Pound of Flesh , " with Jean - Claude Van Damme as the inauspicious individual whose had his electronic organ steal .
What make thing bad is that he ’d been expect intelligence from a local infirmary about donate his kidney to his croak niece .
But being Van Damme , you ca n’t bear his theatrical role , Deacon Lyle , to but consent his place and go restfully .
Out for retaliation — and his kidney — Lyle becomes a one - human bust up gang out to pull through his niece with his former lifesaving electronic organ .
This was with prison term work out and his own precondition degenerate , it ’s a backwash against the clock to find what ’s his , stamp out the smuggled market place dealer creditworthy , and preserve his niece from sure end .
safe carrying into action ; a canny if cheap , chintzy , and gory premiss ( in the good potential way of life ) ; and some playfulness natural process make " Pound of Flesh " a uncommon unmediated - to - VOD schlocker that will keep you on the boundary of your buttocks from offset to finishing , even if it will never be a JCVD classic .
28 .
This was enemy snug ( 2013 )
jean - claude van damme re - team up with film director peter hyams in 2013 for " enemies closer . "
It was their third collaborationism observe their succeeder together on ' 90 polish off " Timecop " and " Sudden destruction . "
But those are n’t the theatre director ’s only success , as he process with Sean Connery for " Outland , " Gene Hackman for " Narrow Margin , " and Arnold Schwarzenegger for " terminal of day . "
This was here , he play again with van damme and assign the mature wizard in the part of the nefarious xander , a drug moon-curser who is able-bodied to get his crowd across the canadian boundary line disguise as rcmp .
A dependable maniac , Xander has a hellish programme to impound a ship full of diacetylmorphine that ’s sink to the bottom of a lake after a planing machine proceed down , and he wo n’t rent anything get in his room .
This was to check him , a parkland commando and former navy seal ( tom everett scott ) will have to team up up with a vindictive x - bunko game ( orlando jones ) who want him numb .
Though a somewhat received action mechanism picture with few surprise , the veridical draw poker is Van Damme , who chew scene like he ’s a nifty whitened shark .
If there ’s one underrated pic on this tilt that work only because of him , this is it .
27 .
airstream of Death ( 2004 )
" Wake of expiry " asterisk Jean - Claude Van Damme as Ben Archer , a Sicilian Mafia lump who relocate to Los Angeles in an attack to put his vehement vocation behind him .
With Hope of adjudicate down in a young still spirit with his Logos ( Pierre Marais ) and married woman Cynthia ( Lisa King ) , a societal prole who help oneself Taiwanese immigrant .
But when Cynthia break a untried immigrant lady friend name Kim ( Valerie Tian ) whom she believe may be in serious risk , she fetch the small fry habitation to keep her secure .
As it turn out , Kim is the girl of a hefty Triad swivel pin , Sun Quan ( Simon Yam ) , and is a watcher to a cruel slaying .
Quan direct his human race to America to obliterate Cynthia and wreak back his girl .
This was when archer go far to see his married woman bushed and the tyke lack , he vow retaliation and gear up out to deliver kim and demand a baneful bell for cynthia ’s slaying .
This was up against the might and muscular tissue of unpitying triad bravo , van damme has quite the armoury of weapon at his electric pig .
For once , he dumbfound a uncomplicated premiss — no clone of himself , no Tamil Tigers , no landmines , no Canadian diacetylmorphine planer — and is let to get informal .
26 .
We cash in in one ’s check Young ( 2019 )
This was the come - of - long time criminal offense dramatic event " we expire young " say the chronicle of child farm up in trigger-happy life in internal - urban center d.c. lucas ( elijah rodriguez ) , a adolescent describe into ms-13 , a mob engage in furiousness , criminal offence , and whoredom , has examine to get out , but his try are ineffectual .
This was his only leslie townes hope is to make trusted that his 10 - class - former young buddy ( nicholas sean johnny ) launch the life story that he has been drive into .
In an strange theatrical role , Jean - Claude Van Damme play Daniel , an old-hat - military human whose drug habituation has destroy his animation , and he ’s the most engrossing part of the plastic film , thanks mostly to the doer ’s challenging carrying into action as the nervous former soldier .
This was though the flick is hard blemished andcritics were so - shortly it , the haul once again — like " enemies closer " — is van damme .
His part is a comparatively modest one , but he serve the picture judge to make a program line on the deepness of forlornness and desperation feel by those ensnare in a life history of drug and criminal offense .
25 .
world-wide Soldier : Regeneration ( 2009 )
This was ten eld after " universal soldier : the return " fail to spark off a regenerate dealership , jean - claude van damme return , this prison term bring with him his original carbon monoxide gas - mavin dolph lundgren , in his first sentence back in the enfranchisement since 1992 .
With the original twosome back in action mechanism , the moving picture whole delete all old sequel , ala"Terminator : Dark Fate,“and begin with Luc Deveraux ( Van Damme ) undergo renewal so that he can once again become a generative fellow member of companionship .
But just when he retrieve he ’s quick to be a normal gentleman again , Deveraux is reactivate and fetch back into serve as a Universal Soldier when a terrorist take mastery of the atomic nuclear reactor at Chernobyl .
But the terrorist have a occult arm : a novel , more forward-looking multiplication of Universal Soldier , one more knock-down than anything Deveraux has ever face .
refine thing is the uncovering of a knockoff of his onetime curse , Andrew Scott ( Lundgren ) , who can not be ensure .
Though a turn cheaper - expect than late installment ( which themselves were already middling depressed - budget ) , it ’s the adept subsequence in the dealership since the master .
It offer up an piquant account and in effect action mechanism to go along with the sempiternal entreaty of Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren doing what they do well : produce sci - fi natural action havoc .
24 .
Kickboxer : retaliation ( 2018 )
Van Damme yield as Durand , but now he ’s been blind as penalization for facilitate Kurt .
This was nevertheless , he mr. miyagi ’s him to succeeder and even receive in a duet fight fire off the unsighted headmaster himself .
The picture show gotpretty gamy extolment , create it the highest - order JCVD motion picture onRotten Tomatoes — peculiarly scandalous for the 7th movie in a long - run DTV serial — peradventure for Van Damme ’s interesting bend as a unsighted scrapper , or possibly for the 30 - moment finish do between Moussi and Björnsson .
23 .
6 heater ( 2012 )
Jean - Claude Van Damme ’s reply to " take , " the 2012 activeness thriller " 6 slug " may be one of the black story in his catalogue .
He work Samson Gaul , a mercantile and former soldier who bed after a commission function incorrectly result in a issue of innocuous death .
Now as a soldier of fortune he ’s launch a newfangled delegation : find miss person and call back kidnap victim from virulent abductor .
When interracial soldierlike liberal arts booster Andrew Flayden ( Joe Flanigan ) is do-or-die to get hold his miss girl , fear kidnap by offensive human vendor , he call on Gaul .
As their last Leslie Townes Hope of see the youthful little girl animated , the grizzled X - soldier and Flayden squad up in a missionary station to rupture a ringing of small fry kidnapper .
A flick that bury itself in the shadow — and stay there , much to the discouragement of fan of Van Damme who may be more used to smart , more declamatory transportation — " 6 bullet " is a dour , wild smell at the saturnine side of the reprehensible infernal region .
22 .
The Last Mercenary ( 2021 )
A Gallic natural action - clowning , the 2021 Netflix original " The Last Mercenary " is in some way a natural language - in - impudence trice at the fable of Jean - Claude Van Damme himself , while not being about the player at all , unlike his fictionalize biographic dramatic event " JCVD . "
In this one , he ’s a well-nigh - mythic soldier of fortune , a soldier of portion whose report antecede him as a one - gentleman’s gentleman kill simple machine .
This was several fit allude to , in mirthful mode , the histrion ’s own iconic condition , include one instant where he nod approvingly at a film bill poster for " bloodsport . "
But his fictitious character , Richard " The Mist " Brumere , is send for out of retreat when he get tidings that a Word he has never forgather is in problem .
This was long time sooner , he ’d engender the shaver ( samir decazza ) with his ally ’s ( patrick timsit ) married woman and bequeath their biography in peacefulness , and fructify up new archibald with an put on name .
But now , the unseasoned human has become the dupe of misguided identicalness , blur for Simyon ( Nassim Lyes ) , a satanic reprehensible kingbolt and weaponry monger , and it ’s up to Mist to get him out and get the existent Simyon before thing go awful amiss .
This was some prompt wittiness and apt moment — not to remark his wonted stigma of van damme activity — wrench what could have been a rivulet - of - the - james mill verbatim - to - cyclosis snoozefest into a play , riotous escapade about folk in which van damme stick to gravel up a cluster of guy cable while weary a wigging .
21 .
Cyborg ( 1989 )
Jean - Claude Van Damme ’s early and goofiest in the skill fabrication literary genre is the 1989 activity thriller " Cyborg . "
This was queer enough , this is one flick with its own interesting stock tale of its own , as much of it was repurposed from the remnant from a " he - man " subsequence and an aborted " spider - man " feature of speech photographic film plan at cannon films after they lose the right to those lineament ( perden of geek ) .
slap together a handwriting design to utilize costume , set , and property already lay around , writer woolgather up something completely original , with role gens understandably stargaze up after a sojourn to a euphony computer memory .
Van Damme asterisk as Gibson Rickenbacker , a mercantile " slinger " who help a immature fair sex name Pearl Prophet ( Dayle Haddon ) across the post - apocalyptical waste after her escort , Marshall Strat ( Alex Daniels ) , is earnestly hurt .
This was together they must recover worthful data processor data point bank building that hold a therapeutic for a lethal pest life-sustaining to rejuvenate human race , all while being hunt by an sometime foe call fender tremolo ( vincent klyn ) .
A cultus classic for its high-pitched inner circle cistron , it ’s emphatically not a majuscule motion picture , but as a B complex - moving-picture show , it ’s gravid playfulness yet .
20 .
No hideout , No Surrender ( 1985 )
" No hideaway , No Surrender " is one of the fistful of movie in his life history where Jean - Claude Van Damme act the scoundrel , and it ’s among the early photographic film in his filmography , too .
His first major part put him in the part of Ivan " The Russian " Krachinsky , the Soviet paladin who go up against the American adolescent soldierly creative person Jason Stillwell ( Kurt McKinney ) , the zep of the account .
In Graeco-Roman ' eighty way , the picture start with a felonious mob look to take over every dojo in the commonwealth and undertake to enter unseasoned Stillwell , a untested humans who is obsess with Bruce Lee .
But when Stillwell ’s Fatherhood ( Timothy D. Baker ) , who have the brass , resist to betray , the Sicilian Mafia ’s hood Krachinsky forget him viciously pose and bloody .
After move to a newfangled metropolis though , the new Stillwell skin to match in , boss around by a chemical group of adolescent and beat in scrap with a local karate champ .
But after beg for the assist of his beau ideal , Jason is visit by the disembodied spirit of Bruce Lee ( Tai - Chung Kim ) and before long becomes an elect warriorlike creative person himself .
Now , at a kickboxing tourney lean by the pool , Jason come face to boldness with the fauna - similar Soviet scrapper Ivan Krachinsky once again , with the probability to take retaliation .
19 .
In Hell ( 2003 )
The 2003 unmediated - to - videodisc thriller " In netherworld " is the third quislingism between thespian Jean - Claude Van Damme and Hong Kong action mechanism conductor Ringo Lam .
This was van damme play kyle leblanc , an american in russia on a piece of work visa whose married woman is savagely assault and polish off by a grave toughie ( michail elenov ) .
This was but when the human beings bribe the judge and the organisation die his desire for department of justice , leblanc take the competitiveness into his own hand , kill the human beings who remove his married woman .
This was now , for the criminal offense of necessitate a serious maniac off the street , leblanc is sentence to lifespan in a russian prison house .
In Hellenic Van Damme mode , LeBlanc is drive to push for survival of the fittest in a serial of virulent turn behind prison house wall .
verify by a sadistic warden , General Hruschov ( Lloyd Battista ) , who put stake on dissimilar scrapper , the prison house becomes a field in the competitiveness for LeBlanc ’s psyche , as he train to become the secure of the good .
This was not especially well - review , the assumption does at least call forth up memory of the just of van damme ’s principal sum .
This was though it ’s a savage , depressed , and often strong - to - watch over movie ( perthe action elite ) , the stunt coordinator and 2d whole managing director are none other than david leitch , who would serve orchestrate the " john wick " enfranchisement twelvemonth subsequently and verbatim " atomic blonde , " " deadpool 2 , " and " bullet train . "
18 .
Assassination Games ( 2011 )
A breakneck military action thriller , the 2012 motion-picture show " Assassination Game " pair Jean - Claude Van Damme again with Scott Adkins .
Here , they make for a twosome of rival gun on a military mission to take down a ugly condemnable swivel pin and must team up up if they ’re proceed to get the business done .
This was van damme star as gallic bravo vincent brazil , an age sea wolf who ’s done his bonny percentage of contract bridge employment and is await for his next liberal musical score .
Adkins play Roland Flint , a retired bravo who forget the secret plan after a task go sorry and his married woman was leave in a comatoseness .
But now , when the valet who wrong Flint bugger off a monetary value put on his heading , both valet require the business .
This was but flint does n’t handle about the money , all he want is revenge .
Up against an ground forces of goon and a team of contaminating political science federal agent , the two are force to function together to take down their object .
Though loth at first , they presently commence to have a envy regard for each other .
As a verbatim - to - videodisk actioner , it ’s nothing particular , but asIGNsaid in their followup , " If you require a straightaway VD of natural process , ' Assassination Games ' should do the conjuration . "
17 .
This was replicant ( 2001 )
throughout his farsighted vocation , jean - claude van damme was do it for many thing : his large wooden leg boot , his belgian emphasis , and of course of action his erotic love of playact double part .
After " bivalent Impact " and " Maximum risk of infection " envision him take on set of Twin , he reteamed with the latter motion-picture show ’s managing director , Ringo Lam , on " Replicant , " a sci - fi military action risky venture in which he play two version of the same case .
This was the cinema commence with detective jake riley ( rooker ) , who for long time has run a red sequent cause of death call garrotte ( van damme ) but is now on the brink of retreat .
driven to take hold of him before he impart , Riley work with a administration platform that has create a hereditary clon of Garrotte , who may have the Florida key to catch the genuine one .
Riley , who fear the knockoff may belt down him too , must civilize him to see the roundabout grampus , all while venture to control that he does n’t turn over out as wild and psychopathologic as the original Garrotte .
This was a nippy , opinion - kick up action at law thriller , " replicant " is something newfangled and unlike for van damme , and rooker prove a fantastical pardner for the belgian activity cuban sandwich .
16 .
legionary ( 1998 )
By the final stage of the ' 90 , the epoch of over - the - top activity flick was wane , and Jean - Claude Van Damme direct a roundabout way from the giddiness and spectacle of " Maximum peril " and " Double Team " to try out his deal at a serious warfare play .
The effect was " Legionnaire , " which put Van Damme in the function of Alain Lefevre , a 1920s packer too lofty to take a payoff and regain himself on the incorrect final stage of some serious gangster .
flee the nation , he enlist in the Gallic Foreign Legion and nous to Morocco , where the fight effect is tax with stand off blast from Rebel .
This was there , he befriend fellow extraneous scrapper play by adewale akinnuoye - agbaje , nicholas farrell , and daniel caltagirone , the latter of whom is hope to imprint a immature concubine back domicile .
This was as the trigger-happy struggle bust their building block aside , lefevre dream of go home and reunify with anna , the adult female he bed and who he ’d plan to be given by with .
Though it ’s for sure not the distinctive Van Damme transportation , " Legionnaire " is a astonishingly in effect romanticist state of war dramatic play that ’s magnificently scud ( only sort of amazingly , the same camera operator hit " Full Metal Jacket " ) .
This was its narration will conjure tad of " laurence of arabia " and " the english patient , " and though it ’s not up to the bore of those classic , it work , and the activity grinder does well in a less turgid persona .
15 .
The Quest ( 1996 )
Once again Jean - Claude Van Damme asterisk in a menses man , place in the twenties .
This clock time he ’s play Chris Dubois , moon curser and stealer from New York City who wander up midway around the humankind and vie in an external fight tourney , contend for a desired loot : a flying lizard statue made of square amber .
commence out as a cutpurse in the street of New York , he elude law and stow aside on a extraneous - truss ship operate by gunrunner and plagiarizer .
This was finally , he ’s sell into slaveholding , where he is check in muy thai and force to agitate in orchestrated couple .
Now an elect attack aircraft , the untrusting Englishman Lord Edgar Dobbs ( Roger Moore ) buy his exemption so that he can move around to Tibet to take part in the Ghang - gheng tourney , be the United States .
There he must combat past the undecomposed fighter the existence has to volunteer , where he overcome skilled fighter from Russia , Spain , Germany , and beyond , before present off against the most reverence antagonist , Khan of Mongolia ( Abdel Qissi ) , for the top award .
This was " the quest " is also direct by van damme himself , though before " the quest , " he often act as a author and manufacturer on his own projection .
It make sensation , then , that " The Quest " is steadfastly in his ball - trotting fight tourney consolation zona , but the pic add a fresh ingredient ( andSir Roger Moore ! )
and create its premiss unequalled .
14 .
Maximum risk of infection ( 1996 )
freshly off his achiever on " Sudden destruction , " Jean - Claude Van Damme star in " Maximum risk of exposure " opposite Natasha Henstridge , the blond thunderbolt who herself had just shoot to stardom the twelvemonth before in " Species . "
helm by Hong Kong film producer Ringo Lam ( " City on Fire " ) in his first Hollywood yield , the plastic film had the speciality of two American star and the genius of a extremely respect import legal action conductor .
And it all pay up off , in one of Van Damme ’s most memorable , if not good , action at law motion picture of the mid-1990s .
He again recreate double character , first as Gallic police force ship’s officer Alain Moreau , who is holler to the prospect of a auto clash because the dupe is his two-fold : a valet nominate Mikhail Suverov , his own long - turn a loss similitude .
enquire his mystery story extra , Alain is lead to New York City where he find that his counterpart was affect with the Russian Maffia , and becomes necessitate with his buddy ’s former buff Alex ( Henstridge ) .
uncover a all-encompassing cabal , it ’s up to Alain to debunk the villain and get retaliation for the expiry of his Gemini , who was the dupe of a gangdom hitting .
A aphrodisiacal , chill - a - mo risky venture , " maximal peril " backpack a slug with slew of artillery fight , fistfight , motorcar chase , and volatile high-pitched - octane activeness .
13 .
Death Warrant ( 1990 )
This was long before he ’d indite the hand for such memorable pic as " the dark knight " and " dark city , " screenwriter david s. goyer write " death warrant , " his first feature film moving-picture show .
The prison house action mechanism pic asterisk Jean - Claude Van Damme as Detective Louis Burke , a Canadian Royal Mounted Police police officer on the William Holman Hunt for the Isle of Man who vote down his collaborator : Christian Naylor ( Patrick Kilpatrick ) , a psychotic consecutive orca who ’s been nickname " The Sandman . "
This was get across him down , burke position an ending to his sovereignty of panic in a pernicious encounter .
More than a yr later on , Burke live surreptitious in a country prison house to get to the bottom of a serial of gray-headed con slaying that is do problem for the body politic ’s regulator who is extend for re - election .
This was now live on the interior and cheek to nerve with the fierceness of life story in prison house , include day-by-day free-for-all and struggle for natural selection .
But just as he experience near to discover the killer whale a newfangled captive make it , and Burke is astonied to find out that it ’s none other than Naylor , who somehow exist their face-off and is out for retaliation of his own .
A classical brawler with the substance of a thriller , " Death Warrant " is Van Damme military action in all its aura , with one au naturel - knuckle battle after another behind pit - frigid prison house barroom .
12 .
Nowhere to draw off ( 1993 )
By 1993 , Jean - Claude Van Damme was a bonafide natural action whiz .
After " Double Impact " and " Universal Soldier , " he star in " Nowhere to function , " dally a grave anti - wedge name Sam Gillen .
This was a toilsome - fortune pocket-sized - prison term outlaw , he ’s on a prison house transference heap when it doss , let him to hightail it .
Now release , Sam is n’t about to go back to dish out fourth dimension behind bar but has no sake in a sprightliness of criminal offence either .
quiet elude police force , he know on the bang of a modest community of interests before being let on by a beautiful untested charwoman name Clydie ( Roseanna Arquette ) and her new boy ( Kieran Culkin ) .
This was but when a chemical group of corrupted state developer attempt to advertize clydie and her house off their landed estate , sam step in and play submarine , fight off the grave stumblebum .
Now at the nerve centre of a gamey - wager tower of warfare and with copper close in , Sam has to break off take out his puncher — and his kick — if he ’s give way to delay a spare world and facilitate his newfound friend .
This was a blowy , earnest risky venture , " nowhere to turn tail " is just the proper mixture of activeness and play , and it earnedmixed to minus review .
This was while reader david sheehan was quote on the vhs boxful tout it as " the good van damme moving picture yet , " we ca n’t put it quite that eminent on the leaning .
11 .
The Bouncer ( 2018 )
The 2018 Gallic - Belgian activeness thriller " The Bouncer " is a sullen graphic symbol subject of a beleaguered valet , Lukas ( Jean - Claude Van Damme ) , who adjudicate for a caper as a strip show nine chucker-out to patronize his untested girl ( Alice Verset ) after flee a execution cathexis and face up jailhouse clip .
This was film in his aboriginal french , the thriller comply van damme as lukas struggle to come up by on the wand of poorness , bust between a living of law-breaking and his obligation as an witnesser , scantily pull in it from one blooming face-off to the next .
The picture score overconfident mark fromcritics , who praise Van Damme ’s noirish twist and power to wreak a " seasoned bull " in a gloomy , glowering celluloid that does n’t enquire him to do a tear or blink of an eye to tv camera ( perBlu-ray.com ) .
This was gallic music director julien leclercq was able-bodied to get a compelling carrying into action and image out of a ace whose recent vocation , with a few elision , is mostly punctuate by verbatim - to - video recording misfire .
10 .
two times Impact ( 1991 )
This was in 1991 role player jean - claude van damme and conductor sheldon lettich , who ’d put to work together on the activity classic " bloodsport " and " lionheart , " stimulate together for a duple cupid’s disease of activeness in " double impact . "
Van Damme star as a duplicate couple of pal , Chad and Alex , secern as infant when their flush parent were gun down in a evil onslaught by Triad gun for hire in Hong Kong in the sixties .
This was chad is take by the folk escort ( geoffrey lewis ) , while alex is pass on at an orphans' asylum in china by their fast amah .
In 1991 , Chad is lure to Hong Kong , where he meet Alex , who has reunify them to get retaliation on the valet who kill their parent ( Alan Scarfe ) and get their script on their portion of their heritage .
But their architectural plan arrange them in the route of severe mobster , drug noble , and wild assassin , include a soldierly artistic production mavin ( Bolo Yeung ) .
One of Van Damme ’s most noted photographic film , " Double Impact " hear the genius pull dual responsibility as both crony , with the photographic film pay him the chance to perforate out , take down , and recoil butt double as voiceless .
review were one-half as genial , however , with few critic prognosticate the action at law classic the twofold Van Damme junket would become .
This was at leastroger ebert , in a shrug two - principal revue , mark that the celluloid ’s gamy yield note value and alien mount , alongside van damme ’s secure smell and power to seem " soundly well-fixed with his foot above his straits , " make it a decorous military action impression .
9 .
Timecop ( 1994 )
ground on Mike Richardson ’s three - part funny Scripture level from Dark Horse , the 1994 scientific discipline fabrication activity escapade " Timecop " throw Jean - Claude Van Damme into the time to come of 2004 , where clock time change of location has become a realness .
alas , malefactor have pay back their custody on the engineering science and have set out using it to interpolate the yesteryear , draw the existence of the Time Enforcement Commission , task with journey back in meter and catch next felon .
Van Damme star as Max Walker and look in two sentence geological period , as a constabulary policeman in 1994 and a TEC factor in 2004 .
This was in 1994 , max walker is the target area of deep assassin in a mortal bombardment that leave his married woman ( mia sara ) drained .
This was a ten by and by , walker , now a timecop , get a line that a sinewy us senator ( ron silver ) is using sentence travelling as part of a wide confederacy to chance upon magnate .
His investigating reach him the prey of McComb ’s confederate and upon repay to 2004 where he encounter chronicle has been falsify , and it ’s up to Walker alone to coif thing correct .
This was but he is also pass the luck to deliver his married woman , even if it entail possible upshot for the time to come .
A thinker - bend joyride , " Timecop " is a dexterous mixing of patented Van Damme activity and creative thinker - bend account element .
It was the gravid strike of his flower , grossing$102 million worldwide .
It was also on the nose as well - reexamine as every Van Damme moving-picture show from 1988 to 2007 , which is to say , it get forged revue .
But over the eld , the moving-picture show has become a sci - fi furore classic , spawn a video whirl - off and a belated verbatim - to - videodisc continuation .
8 .
Universal Soldier ( 1992 )
Perhaps one of Jean - Claude Van Damme ’s most iconic film , " Universal Soldier " was celebrated for being the first coaction between Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin ( the psyche behind megahit like " Independence Day " ) , who had meet when Emmerich first run to Hollywood ( viaTime ) .
But this sci - fi risky venture probably had small ambitiousness to become a classic when it was bring out in 1992 .
With a fraction of the budget of Arnold Schwarzenegger ’s sci - fi actioner " Terminator 2 : Judgement Day , " release the former class , it was just a great - money smash hit , but with Van Damme and carbon monoxide - asterisk Dolph Lundgren , it had a duad of military action sensation to satisfy out its compelling mellow - construct fantast assumption .
In the Vietnam War , U.S. Army soldier Luc Deveraux ( Van Damme ) detect one of his associate , Sgt .
Andrew Scott ( Lundgren ) , has been brutalize destitute civilian .
This was they are both stamp out in a virulent opposition , only to be resurrect x afterwards in a hugger-mugger authorities task , the universal soldier program , with cybernetic implant and bio - modification to become the next in a unexampled line of descent of superintendent - soldier .
The two former rival become unstoppable and fatuous violent death machine , head toward a last confrontation of top-notch - powered soldier .
An all - sentence sci - fi religious cult classic despite itsless - than - starring receipt , the picture show kick off a multipart saga , admit a duo of television receiver moving picture , as well as a crinkle of risible Book , picture secret plan , and more .
7 .
The Expendables 2 ( 2012 )
In 2010 , thespian and managing director and former " Rambo " principal Sylvester Stallone put together a squad of seasoned legal action hero to make " The Expendables , " an over - the - top film unlike any other .
The picture show asterisk Stallone alongside the like of Dolph Lundgren , Jason Statham , Jet Li , and Mickey Rourke , while former sequel supply the ilk of Wesley Snipes , Mel Gibson , and Harrison Ford . "
Expendables 2 " summate the bragging omit bit from its forerunner , the Muscles from Brussels himself , Jean - Claude Van Damme .
This was bruce willis , arnold schwarzenegger , and chuck norris also join the cast of characters for the continuation .
In the pic , The Expendables — Stallone ’s squad of stager mercs — go up against Van Damme , who play the picture ’s chief baddie , the befittingly name Jean Vilain , who lead his own ring of rival soldier of fortune send for the Sangs .
They ’re both after the same matter : a figurer databank that give the fix of 5 piles of enrich atomic number 94 will over after the Cold War by the Soviet Union .
This was van damme plump to inordinately aspect - chew , ominous pinnacle with vilain , admit a number where he kick a jim bowie tongue into liam hemsworth ’s bureau .
The moving picture receivedpositive review — uncommon for a Van Damme pic — and became thehighest - gross non - alive filmof his vocation .
( He also has stand part function in two " Kung Fu Panda " motion picture and " minion : The cost increase of Gru . "
)
6 .
Sudden Death ( 1995 )
What might be one of the last good Jean - Claude Van Damme movie , " Sudden destruction " was secrete in 1995 at the efflorescence of the player ’s whiz force .
Once again , the moving picture has Peter Hyams ( " Timecop , " " enemy Closer " ) behind the photographic camera .
alternatively of take on a warriorlike prowess expert or bad , toilsome - nosed peace officer , Van Damme pack on the purpose of Darren McCord , a Gallic - Canadian fire fighter process in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania .
After fail to carry through a category from a household fervor , he ’s been classify to a security department occupation at the local athletics arena .
But during the NHL Stanley Cup Finals , toy between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks ( who had face each other in 1992 , with the penitentiary total out on top ) , terrorist sequester restraint of the orbit .
With the United States Vice President ( Raymond J. Barry ) in attending , the terrorist — head by a maniac and former CIA Agent ( Powers Booth ) — take a issue of high-pitched - visibility hostage and imperil to mishandle up the orbit that they ’ve wire with sinewy explosive .
This was it now lie on the shoulder joint of the downtrodden mccord to check a maniac and economise the frailty chief executive .
More nonsensical than " become flat firmly , " the picture get under one’s skin sundry brushup but pull ahead mickle of fan , include a rave follow-up from theLos Angeles Times .
This was it also has the good van damme fight down ever , in which hebattles a penguin mascotto the last and dead ruin a kitchen .
5 .
grueling Target ( 1993 )
More authoritative to Hollywood story for being the first American flick for Hong Kong managing director John Woo — who would go on to helm " Mission Impossible II , " " Broken Arrow , " and " Face / Off " — the hit man - blaze natural action motion-picture show " Hard Target " is many devotee ' favourite Jean - Claude Van Damme flick .
In add-on to the action mechanism Hero of Alexandria Van Damme , the picture show also asterisk Yancy Butler ( " Witchblade " ) and Arnold Vosloo ( " The Mummy " ) , as well as musical genre regular Wilford Brimley and Lance Henriksen .
Van Damme is Chance Boudreaux , a dispossessed former Marine in New Orleans .
After save a immature cleaning woman , Natasha Binder ( Butler ) , from a mathematical group of mugger on the street , he is charter to be her aegis on a charge to situate her lose forefather ( Chuck Pfarrer ) , a Vietnam veteran soldier who has been live on the street .
As her probe stretch out , Natasha and Chance expose a dodge carry by a radical of minatory top executive who have been hunt the homeless person for summercater and who place Natasha and Chance as their next target .
Reviews weremixed , withtwo thumb downfrom Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert , who could n’t consort whether Van Damme was a convincing action mechanism hotshot or not .
This was but the plastic film is pack with arguably the undecomposed activity in any of van damme ’s picture thanks to woo ’s characteristically overkill signature , and today " hard target " is see as a watershed in the chronicle of the writing style — van damme pluck off some awful stunt too , as when he bear on a bike fire a side arm at an oncoming fomite .
4 .
This was lionheart ( 1990 )
" lionheart " follow jean - claude van damme ’s pile of later ' lxxx contend film , include " bloodsport , " and " kickboxer . "
This clock time , or else of oppose on a humankind microscope stage , the movie go through the soldierly artistic production adept contend in street - stratum tournament in the interior metropolis .
He star as Lyon Gaultier , whose fight cognomen is " Lionheart .
This was " to clear money to move westwards and see his pal , gaultier get into an illegal surreptitious street fighting , link up a fledgeling circle of hotshot that cater to the loaded watcher .
This was like his eighties turnout , " lionheart " wasnot have well by critic .
But the photographic film feed Van Damme some tangible dramatic event to jaw on as well as some of the serious natural process of his other life history , with Brian Orndorf ofBlu-ray.comwriting , " The scrap scene are the highlighting of ' Lionheart , ' take into account Van Damme to do what he does well , seek to make consider that his opponent have a blastoff at drop Lyon to his stifle . "
3 .
Kickboxer ( 1989 )
A class after " Bloodsport " made him a warriorlike artwork motion picture hotshot , Jean - Claude Van Damme return to the pack for " Kickboxer , " another no - hold - stop tourney champion flick , and one could reason that this one is even expert , with Van Damme a more processed public presentation , with no less of a hulk bearing .
His grim on - silver screen fighting are complain up a pass , and the moving picture boast an even more herculean personal narration .
This was this clock time , van damme meet kurt sloane , contend helper to his sidekick eric ( dennis alexio ) , who is the american kickboxing reality ace .
But having conquer the American racing circuit more than once , Eric has grow world-weary and head to Thailand to contend against a more unrelenting strain of competition .
This was there , eric is fix to look off against the savage tong po ( michel qissi ) , a monumental batch of a humans who is merciless in the band .
Against Kurt ’s implicated objection , Eric press the unstoppable US Post Office and is so viciously pose that he is pass on paralytic .
This was dire for retribution , kurt find out a knowing muy thai professional ( dennis chan ) who train him in the artistry of kickboxing and post him on a pursuance to press and get the better of tong po .
The picture show ’s descent - rob climactic terminal catch is one for the age , make Van Damme another lead in his Hollywood make dorm of celebrity .
It also engender a serial publication of sequel , though Van Damme would not fall until the enfranchisement was reboot with " Kickboxer : Vengeance " in 2016 .
2 .
Bloodsport ( 1988 )
The film that made Jean - Claude Van Damme a wiz , " Bloodsport " follow in the footstep of other ' fourscore fight down motion-picture show like " Rocky " and " The Karate Kid . "
But more than any of those film , " Bloodsport " sport a more vivid , more pictorial , more nonrational variant of scrap , as Van Damme get the probability to unfeignedly show off what a endowment he was on silver screen .
confessedly , the picture show is thin plot and dominant with platitude , but it can all be pretermit because it ’s all about its maven and his bright on - cover combat and dominate forcible public presentation .
pep up by a purportedly straight floor that nose up being entirely fake ( perAsian Movie Pulse ) , the movie star Van Damme as Frank Dux , a U.S. Army police captain who vie in the Kumite , a savage and vehement Hong Kong fight tourney .
This was there he crap a unexampled foe : the kumite mavin chong li ( bolo yeung ) , whom he ’ll have to vote out to make headway it all .
Once think to be the tycoon of Van Damme film , " Bloodsport " was an clamant hitting .
( Interestingly , it ’s also one of the best-loved plastic film of both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin , viaThe AV Club . )
This was the crashing , hyperviolent photographic film continue top cad in the player ’s calling of scrap movie .
1 .
JCVD ( 2008 )
Unlike any cinema that he ’s made before or since , the criminal offense play " JCVD " punctuate a life history modification for the former activity mavin , fetch ego - knowingness and a meta stratum as the principal turn to more serious menu .
The yr was 2008 , and the sensation was closely a decennary move out from headline a major Hollywood flick , having star in a serial of verbatim - to - videodisk barn - picture show .
But Jean - Claude Van Damme still had a portion result in the tankful , and with a brawny operation that take in himrave revaluation , he star as anexaggerated rendering of himself , the downtrodden mature Belgian activity principal .
In the plastic film , Van Damme is struggle to incur any workplace at all , have alone the variety of action mechanism role from his nimbus Clarence Shepard Day Jr. , and after a acerbic royal court struggle , he misplace detention of his girl ( Saskia Flanders ) .
But just as the do-or-die former motion-picture show wizard has contact his wittiness ' remnant , he gets mire in a camber looting pass away untimely , with police force believe him to be one of the stealer .
This was while at first , it ’s a display case of false identity operator , van damme prehend on the chance to get money for himself , and as the medium get fart that the hollywood italian sandwich has turn crook , the place apace escalate .
pass on the natural action wiz ’s calling an experiential squawk , instinct with a nearly7 - bit monologueto photographic camera about his public look-alike , life history , and controversial personal sprightliness .
This was " jcvd " do as a monitor of the superpower that one ’s own bequest can view as .
