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Reviews
Hard Target (1993)
Van Damme the ULTIMATE 80's / B-movie actor
Thanks to John Woo, Van Damme has found new ways to incorporate his same moves. For example, instead of sweep kicking his victim on the ground, he does it to a bad guy on the hood of a car. Brilliant, why didn't i think of that? This is a good film about super rich dudes who want to hunt humans. So the syndicate in charge of acquiring these victims mistakenly gets a hold of JCVD who wallops them all with his Bayou training. A damn good film as it is not set in the ring or in Van Dammes fav setting (the east) ha! I highly recommend this film as it is brilliantly made, but i don't recall seeing any of John Woo's token white doves (although it was a wihle ago). Go rent it, and support Van Damme!
Street Fighter: The Movie (1995)
Van Damme the ULTIMATE 80's / B-movie actor
Anyone who grew up with Streetfighter when it first came out in the arcade will like this film - if not merely because it is Streetfighter. The whole concept is preposterous, outrageous, ludicrious i say, yet somehow plausible while you are watching it. I cannot think of any other actor who resembles Guile more than Van Damme. Guiles fighting technique in the arcade is very similar to JCVD's as well (roundhouses, flying roundhouses etc). I was a bit disappointed that the movie did not have all the characters, or if it did, they did not use the same fighting moves as in the arcade (i.e. Dhalsim, Ehonda). Streetfighter also heralds one of the pop worlds beauties - Kylie Minogue. She looks pretty cute, but probably should have shown more skin. If she did i probably would have rated this film higher. Other than that it was a bloody good movie.
Sudden Death (1995)
Van Damme the ULTIMATE 80's / B-movie actor
Not a bad movie. Although i was left with questions at the end. Like, who was in that mascot suit? And how could anyone in that suit be more agile to challenge Van Damme in hand to hand combat. This was when i began wondering who would win in a fight between Wesley Snipes, Van Damme and Steven Seagal. Granted Seagal has size on both of the other two, but Snipes is damn quick and into Jujitsu and kept more speed with his age than the others, and Van Damme...well he's just a bad ass mo'fo. This movie was good, worth a watch but it does have a kid in it and i am alway suspect of movies with kid actors. Fortunately it is based around Van Damme trying to leave his kid in a seat at a hockey game so we don't see much of him. A unrealistic film with high thriller action and blood. Yay!
The Quest (1996)
Van Damme the ULTIMATE 80's / B-movie actor
Brilliant! Almost an identical plot as a few other of Van Dammages films - Bloodsport and Kickboxer. But as my pappy always says, if you can't beat it, stick with it! This movie was made in the mid 90's which proves its ability to transcend the decades as it is still as great to watch today as it was when it first came out. It also starts other greats as Roger-some-Moore, and James Remar. Remar really adds he quality to this film that other supporting actors added to Bloodsport. He plays a mug boxer, who finds Van Dammes style of using his legs to fight superb, thus becomes his biggest fan. No, on a more serious note this film is suberbly made. It has an edge of cheese (which is why we all watch Van Damme) which was purposely added, the evil Mongol bad guy, and James Remar. I would recommend this film not only to martial arts fans but movie critics as well.
Maximum Risk (1996)
Van Damme the ULTIMATE 80's / B-movie actor
Damme, Jean Claude made it to the big screen with this film. Co-starring the sexy Natasha Henstridge (she even looked good when she was pregga's). There is decent sexual innuendo, but nothing ever progresses to what made me rent this film, as i'm sure thousands of other viewers were hoping after watchign Species. I mean, it should have been guaranteed with a B actor like Van Damme, and a Hollywood tart like Henstridge, it sounded like an unbeatable combo. Nevertheless, there is decent fighting, and i will cut JCVD a break as he is old despite looking like a 30 year old. Worth a watch as it has good perve ratings and action. The formula that Hollywood as thrived on for decades. Keep up the good work guys!
In Hell (2003)
Van Damme the ULTIMATE 80's / B-movie actor
Wow, i made the mistake of watching this film on Van Dammes reputation alone. Big mistake as this film's budget was probably less than my third grade allowance. Obviously they could not pay JCVD enough to stay in top form as his roundhouse was sluggish. If it was not for Van Dammes reputation as a superb actor, one might assume after watching this film that he was cut from the high school drama club. I think he might be trying to take too much on himself now as an actor. JCVD if you read this, remember, less is more! Do not watch this film unless you are about to commit suicide, as after you have watched it you will want to! Not even on par with Cyborg or Replicant.
Double Team (1997)
Van Damme the ULTIMATE 80's / B-movie actor
Now we're talking! What potion are we concocting? A dab of violence, explosions, secret island societies, true celebs (Rodman), romance, and did i mention cross dressing Dennis Rodman! All that thrown in the cauldron with a swift roundhouse. Really, one of his formative latter films, where he seems to be moving away from his winning Bloodsport formula (only god knows why, yet this seems to work). There are enough roundhouses, flying roundhouses, and more roundhouses to please the avid JCVD supporter. Also stars a great role by Mickey Rourke. What a cast!! I highly recommend watching this as Rodmans non-acting ability lets Van Damme shine, only to be balanced by Rourkes suave demeanor.
Replicant (2001)
Van Damme the ULTIMATE 80's / B-movie actor
To be brutally honest - i don't remember much about this movie, only that i didn't like it. It was not a typical Van Damme movie, which is probably why i didn't like it. He WAS NOT the hero, did not execute enough roundhouses the entire film did not have enough emotion (where he cries, acts drunk, wails in despair etc). I would highly recommend shufflying on past this movie onto one of his better ones such as No Retreat, No Surrender; Bloodsport; Timecop...pretty much any other one. I would even say this movie is worse than Cyborg, which is a big call for my following out there who know me. This is pretty much the only JCVD film i struggled to get through, no wait...i had to have two goes at Cyborg as well. Replicant is not for the feint hearted, movie critic. It is only for the JCVD connoiseur.
Legionnaire (1998)
Van Damme the ULTIMATE 80's / B-movie actor
I do not recommend this movie as it does not follow JCVD's typical formula. As a B-grade actor, one must quickly learn to stick to what they can do (or capable of). There is far too much dialogue in this film to warrant as a martial arts film, and not enough good acting to warrant as an Oscar, yet strangely I managed to finish the movie. I do not think it was out of respect for Van Damme, but his subtlety as an actor. Perhaps he has developed, fine tuning his skills not only with his brawn but, his mind. I would only recommend this if you had absolutely nothing else to do on a lazy Sunday. If you watched this movie on any other day of the week that would be very sad.
Death Warrant (1990)
Van Damme the ULTIMATE 80's / B-movie actor
This is a well scripted Van Damme movie. Considering it is from the 90's, I was initailly wary of it as Van Damme movies have been progressively getting worse - I think because he is now into producing them himself. Where was I...ah, yes, this is a well scriped movie. It is packed with an intense plot, okay dialogue, and cosmic martial arts. Van Dammes roundhouse is noticeably slower than in No Retreat, No Surrender, but his flying roundhouse has become more accurate than in bloodsport(where it him a few consecutive hits to knock out Tong Po). The movie i set i a prison, so there is only ambiguous romance and your own imagination. I would recommend watching his earlier flicks before moving to this as it is a highly evolved Van Damme movie. To grasp a true appreciation of his calibre one must first know the evolution of such a talented actor / fighter.
Double Impact (1991)
Van Damme the ULTIMATE 80's / B-movie actor
As much as one might believe that TWO Van Dammes in a movie should be better, it isn't. The winning formula of his previous films has been JCVD's fine martial arts coupled with support actors who CAN act. There is no actor in this movie who can act, sadly. Fortunately were graced to grow up in the 80s and enjoyed; bullying kids, pickin'on nerds, throwing things at people; and were members of gangs in jean jackets then you will probably like this film as all it has is great martial arts. By no means is the choreography as riveting or inspiring as in Bloodsport or No Retreat, No Surrender, however, it is TWO Van Dammes which makes up for a lot.
Cyborg (1989)
Van Damme the ULTIMATE 80's / B-movie actor
As an avid fan of JCVD, I was devastated after watching this film. It broke my trust in Van Damme as an actor (only to be renewed after watching Bloodsport-immediately after). This film was obviously before JCVD had any authority in the production of movies as HE would not put out such a poor movie. There were no cheesy comments, no little guys getting beaten up, no training montage, no solid soundtrack...all in all there was nothing. If you are a B movie advocate than you MUST watch this as a learning experience, if you are a Van Damme fan, then you MUST watch his for nothing else but to greater your JCVD knowledge. I don't even recall a token ass shot.
Kickboxer (1989)
Van Damme the ULTIMATE 80's / B-movie actor
This is a great movie. Not as good as Bloodsport, however, with its own quirky changes from the Van Damage movie formula. Yes, he does get trained after his brother is brutally beaten by a Muay Thai boxer, he does go through the hardship of training and yes there is cheesy romance. But this cheesy romance is saved by the fact that there is no sex scene, yet somehow Van Damme manages to get his token ass shot in there again! Brilliantly planned. This movie, like Bloodsport, has a support character called Jackson (maybe JCVD had a close friend by the same name...or maybe it is the only English name he can pronounce?), anyway he is a great character as he is really 'Nam American. He brings life to the movie as he acts out his role as the mentally effected 'Nam veteran. Furthermore, this movie shows Van Dammes acting ability at its finest when he is taken to the bar, made to drink till he is HIGHLY intoxicated and then test his skills on a bunch of little Thai guys (much like in Bruce Lee films where he proceeds to beat up 100 little Chinese guys). Regardless, his outfit in this scene is of envy to every die hard 80's child, and his capabilities as an actor shine. A must see blockbuster!
Bloodsport (1988)
Van Damme the ULTIMATE 80's / B-movie actor
This could be, Jean-Claude Van Dammes finest moment. This movie's plot is thick with witty dialogue, brilliant martial arts choreography, and a soundtrack second to none. Of course it has Van Dammes token ass shot (where he shows it for a split second), so for the girls out there who haven't seen it, watch this movie and know why every girl in the 80's loved him. Not only is it Van Dammes movie, it heralds other brilliant actors such as Forrest Whittaker as a MP trying to subdue Frank Dux (JCVD)only to be in awe of his 'moves.' It also has the actor known as Jackson, who is in other movies such as Revenge of the Nerds, who is a brilliant cheesy 80s actor. Oh yes, one other point is this movie also includes an arcade game scene, where Jackson and Dux battle it out on the good ol'2D arcades (probably costing them 20c). I highly recommend this film as it is a masterpiece of the martial arts genre. Favourite quote: "Okay, USA!"
No Retreat No Surrender (1985)
Awesome Movie !
This is one of the greatest movies ever made. It has everythign the 80's was about - great martial arts, working class struggle, break dancing, cheesy romance, unreal soundtrack and Bruce Lee. Wow, if i ever see a better 80's flick i'll eat my hat. Superb, i recommend it to anyone who is into other movies such as; Footloose; Breakfast Club; Predator; Commando; Revenge of the Nerds etc. This could easily be Van Dammes finest martial arts; he is faster than in Bloodsport, stronger than in Kickboxer, and speaks less than in his later year movies where he appears to be trying to make a a name as a reputable actor. Brilliant. All support actors are chosen well, including very minor roles such as Jason's dad, RJ, and RJ's nemesis (the fat man). Cannot recommend it enough. Well done guys!!