Jean Claude Van Damme

The infamous distributor may (or may not) be making a comeback, so we take a look back at five of their most essential films.

Real comedy still happens on late night, we can prove it. If you like Conan comedy gold, Fallon friendliness, cutesy Corden, list-making Letterman, kneedy Kimmel, and all the rest, I hope you’ll enjoy this column too. Last night on late night, Don Rickles and Howard Stern were on Late Show, Louis CK spoke with Seth Meyers about working …

Jean-Claude Van Damme is an action icon whose star rose very early in his career. (Bloodsport being the film that put him on the map). He is still very much involved in movie making, his most recent major role as the antagonist in the second Expendables film in 2012. Often derided for his wooden acting (and his accent, although that has never felt like a fair criticism), his movies have, for the majority, been hits, regardless of their dubious quality at times.

Right from the opening minutes it is abundantly clear that the filmmakers wish to ape the general tone and aesthetic of the Mad Max franchise that erupted on screens for the first time only a decade prior and into the 1980s. From the dystopian world reduced to savagery for vaguely explained reasons, to the quasi-steampunk allure of the costumes and technology employed (what little is left, of course), to the overall personality of the universe.

What proved the saving grace to the careers of these action stars – and also a way to turn the self-caricature, normally a loss, into a win – ended up getting bigger than just any one of them. It gave them a moment of relevance to get some action films of theirs made, but it won’t last long.

Let no one be confused as to what sort of film Bloodsport is. Despite its farcical attempt at building a love story and a mediocre stab at a tale of honour, director Arnold is mostly interested in making Van Damme look as awesome as possible. When a Van Damme film concentrates most of its efforts on decent action scenes (with Stan Bush songs!), viewers are going to get what they want for the most part

Jean-Claude van Damme’s first starring role was as a villain, but with his new film he finally gets in touch with his full-on, utterly insane inner bad guy.

Direct to video films have long been a ghetto where low rent productions and long forgotten c-list stars were forced to reside. Recently however a shift in momentum has begun to occur and something strange is happening, some of these films are actually quite good. Now don’t confuse direct to video films with the video …

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning Directed by John Hyams Written by John Hyams, Doug Magnuson, and Jon Greenhalgh USA, 2012 In a landscape of tired genre exercises and lame action reboots, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning feels like a tidal wave of renewal. In the hands of director John Hyams (Universal Soldier: Regeneration), the franchise not …

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning Directed by John Hyams Written by John Hyams, Doug Magnuson and Jon Greenhalgh USA, 2012 Although it looks like a generic action movie on paper, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning is actually a lot messier on screen, both physically and stylistically. Combining Gaspar Noé-style strobe light disorientation and long takes with David …

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning Directed by John Hyams Written by John Hyams, Doug Magnuson and Jon Greenhalgh USA, 2012 Although it looks like a generic action movie on paper, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning is actually a lot messier on screen, both physically and stylistically. Combining Gaspar Noé-style strobe light disorientation and long takes …

The Expendables 2 Written by Richard Wenk and Sylvester Stallone Directed by Simon West USA, 2012 Of the myriad problems with the horrifically tedious first instalment of The Expendables, one of the most prominent was the incompetent execution of its action sequences. Prone to an absurd cut frequency, confusing spatial relations, terrible CGI blood effects …

Hard Target For 20 years Hong Kong director John Woo was the driving force in film on the Pacific Rim. Following the success of The Killer, Woo’s 1989 masterpiece of operatic violence, he made out to Hollywood with his chop-socky. Hard Target. Woo’s American debut took the Belgium-born Jean-Claude Van Damme to new lows of …

Although he was born in Berchem-Sainte Agathe, Belgium, with the name of Jean-Claude Van Varenbeerg, Van Damme once called himself “Frank Cujo” when he first moved to Hollywood in 1981. When he couldn’t find work as an actor the former European Professional Karate Association’s middleweight champion decided to take English classes while working as a …