Jean-Claude Van Damme. The Muscles from Brussels. If you grew up in the early nineties, this handsome Belgian was everywhere. With his unique accent, good looks, and a butt he was all but too happy to show off at least once a film, he was the rare action star that was just as popular with the ladies as the dudes. Changing tastes in the mid-nineties meant that his career as a viable lead in theatrical films started to dry up, which wasn’t helped by some off-screen issues he had with drugs (a Hollywood tale as old as time). But, while his contemporary, Steven Seagal, became something of a parody of himself, JCVD got clean and doubled down on his craft, emerging as a surprisingly potent actor in some DTV movies that are way better than anyone gives them credit for.
While his days as an A-list lead might be behind him, JCVD remains a guy you can’t help but love, and his legacy has been assured by the fact that he never stopped delivering decent movies (even if the budgets are lower) and has a good sense of humour about himself. And, oh yeah, he’s known to be a pretty nice guy to boot (and is the subject of one of our biggest What Happened to this Celebrity episodes of all time). But what are the best JCVD movies? Here are five (in chronological order).
- Bloodsport (1988)
- Kickboxer (1989)
- Double Impact (1991)
- Universal Soldier (1992)
- Hard Target (1993)
Jean-Claude Van Johnson deserves to be on this list, perhaps as a sixth best-comeback honorable mention.
he’s so good at comedic roles that he often has himself in splits in his movies.
His highest rated movie seems to be Kung Fu Panda 2 though. Also, i had no idea he had kept making so many movies over the last 10 years! And they are literally all apparently horrendous. What a shame. I watched all of this dudes stuff in the 90s and 2000s, and have vivid memories of sitting extremely awkwardly through the steamy sex scene in Double Impact while watching with my parents.
Kumite!
Loved his movies as a kid. Glad to hear he cleaned up.
Definitely has a sense of humor about himself. See Jean-Claude Van Johnson for some good fun.
That’s one Hell of a 5 year run!
I also appreciate the fact that they didn’t include JCVD, as it would have given the list a note of… “seriousness” or “credibility” but you do have to have a few of his films under your belt before watching it. They could also have thrown in Predator for the surprise factor but the graphic may wink to that.
I think he’s only in about 3 shots in Predator
