JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME

a difficult decision, yes...

Day of Reckoning

Last Action Hero - Himself
Rzhevskiy vs. Napoleon - Himself

vs

JCVD - JCVD

this distinction is breaking my mind

wow I just remembered his Expendibles 2 name was "Jean Vilian" - that's incredible

i'm also tempted to try to sketch out some grand meaning in the pattern of franco- vs anglo- vs russophone character names

i am having a tough time with this, certainly hard target is the usual consensus pick for classic JCVD but it definitely takes awhile to get going until the second half, when there's more mano-a-mano henriksen and vosloo and their henchmen.

bloodsport, undeniably classic. timecop has its moments. i've been eager to see the recent universal soldier sequels, which are supposedly shockingly good.

JCVD

more twists: for me the archetypical JCVD role is frank dux, who is a real person (not that it matters much to the performance) -- however dux' story itself is quite probably bullshit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Dux

The accuracy of many of Dux's personal claims has been disputed, including his martial arts background, fighting in the "Kumite", and prior military service. According to the Los Angeles Times, the organization that allegedly staged the Kumite had the same address as Dux's house, and the trophy he claims to have won was bought by him at a local trophy store. This was disputed by Dux, who claimed the receipt was fabricated. He also claims his critics are part of a conspiracy to discredit him, led by ninjutsu master Stephen K. Hayes, whom Dux claims views him as a threat.[3][4][5]

so JCVD was sort of filming "JCVD" from the beginning, unwittingly

sweet talk page on that wiki, of course

2012 The Expendables 2 Jean Vilain
2014 The Expendables 3 Claude Vilain

i would be so thrilled if JCVD came back in EX3 as a totally new character (his character in EX2 gets beheaded), "you kill my brother like sheep"

this comes down to bloodsport vs hard target. bloodsport is a beautifully paced and constructed movie but frank dux is not as insane and engaging a character as chance boudreaux.

SPOILER alert man, you can't just go around saying stuff like that or 'precious has AIDS!' because you never know who hasn't seen the film.

if youre talking to me let me just say that A) I dont think "spoilers" really apply to a movie like Expendibles 2 and B) From the first 15 minutes of the movie it's pretty clear that JCVD is going to eat it

gotta go with Bloodsport

i don't really care about spoilers obviously

are we picking best performance, or best movie?

BLOODSPORT. 25 years ago!

Monaco Forever - Gay Karate Man

this made me laugh maybe a little too hard

w/r/t criteria, i lean towards best film but that's just me, ppl can vote based on any criteria they choose.

hes great in JCVD. the two most recent UniSols are masterpieces of direct-to-video action that make garbage like Expendables 2 look even more embarrassing by comparison (just about every guy in the Expendables has been in something way better than it in recent years, which just makes the whole enterprise even more insulting). of golden age van damme ive always been a hardcore Bloodsport guy, but it has to be said that the choreography in it stinks - its super entertaining anyway though. Lionheart, Hard Target, Death Warrant, Kickboxer, In Hell, Sudden Death all worthy entries in the van damme canon. im a big Double Team guy too, though its so idiosyncratic and crazy that its not for all tastes. gonna be a tough vote

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcoiBOez0II

that clip is incredible

oh my god!

I remember nothing about SUDDEN DEATH except the penguin but tbh I think that's enough.

welp that's cemented my vote

http://www.filmwerk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/iceburgh.jpg

http://www.vandamme.ru/photos/movies/sudden_death/sudden_death21.jpg

http://cps-static.rovicorp.com/2/Open/EU%20VOD%20Releases/Sudden%20Death/_derived_jpg_q90_600x800_m0/Sudden%20Death2.jpg?partner=allmovie_soap

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udBAYuS5jgw

BLOODSPORT. 25 years ago!

― Jeff, Thursday, February 28, 2013 8:25 PM (30 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I seriously thought you started this poll.

I wish I had thought of it. My problem is I've seen so many of these movies but remember so little about them. Other than bloodsport.

i had a copy of bloodsport taped off tbs when i was a kid and every spring and summer break i'd watch it repeatedly. great soundtrack, super badass bolo yeung villain, great donald gibb sidekick character, fantastic location shooting in hong kong, unremittingly hilarious from start to finish. it'd be a perfect movie if the fights were just better, but frank dux did the choreography and it's really sloppy and amateurish esp. compared to what HK flicks were doing at the same time

H4A what do you make of the claims Dux is a fraud? i didn't know any of that until i looked him up today

yeah dux is an infamous and hilarious fraud. i think i even knew that when i was a kid, though i dont remember how

Is "Knock Off" the one where he is pulling Rob Schneider on a rickshaw, who is in turn whipping him with an eel?

That and "Double Team" is the most beautifully batshit Tsui Hark /Van Damme pairing imagining. "Double Team" will blow your mind with its weirdness and/or Dennis Rodman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36gSLmCHpUQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36gSLmCHpUQ

in a way, the craziest thing about double team is that mickey rourke gives a sincere and even affecting performance in the middle of all that insanity

cf his tearful 3 minute monologue in the middle of 'the expendables.'

this was during rourke's down period but he was still good, esp in something like 'the rainmaker'

Just the idea of a final showdown between Van Damme and Dennis Rodman and Mickey Rourke in a vacant colosseum, lined with illuminated soda machines, filled with explosives (I think?) and guarded by killer tigers...

god just thinking about the wild west frontier of '90s action cinema gets me misty eyed

One of many highlights of "Hard Target:"

http://unrealitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/hsbiu.gif

Natasha Binder: What kind of a name is Chance?
Chance Boudreaux: Well... my momma took one...

bloodsport forever and ever. one of those movies i'll happily watch anytime it comes on (usually when i'm in a hotel).

Looks like I finally have to watch Hard Target. of the ones I have seen though it's gotta be bloodsport, although i have a soft spot for double team, jcvd, and the hyams universal soldier sequels.

also Street Fighter is an absolute piece of shit, but I kinda love it.

Can I just...

http://i.imgur.com/kIgidco.jpg

Anyway, the answer is Hard Target but every JCVD film has something to enjoy.

John Galliano's looking rough.

in the uk, every week at prime time ch5 plays a few films with JCVD in.
and everytime i see one in the listings my reaction is the same : 'f*ck another shit film on tv tonight'
someone please convince me that am i wrong and that any of these are worthy of hard disc space ?

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

smh at expendables getting a vote but not lionheart. thumbs up to whoever voted for DoR tho

disappointed by the low turnout

i dont think jcvd appreesh is ever gonna be sky-high on here, sadly

i was the Regeneration vote. maybe not my definitive favorite but i wanted it to get some representation

aw man wtf i voted sudden death why bc penguin

http://veryaware.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/gifs_10.gif

i don't think i voted! fuck. would have been either double impact or cyborg

attn: al leong

http://gutsanduppercuts.tumblr.com/post/53433879866/walk-up-in-the-club-like

if i had seen this i would have voted for either double impact or timecop

the man is overdue for a lincoln center honor

!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7FIvfx5J10

Badass

still got it

Happy International Women's Day 🌹
▶️ Watch https://t.co/AluuuAeMxC#jcvd #vandamme #jeanclaudevandamme #women

— Jean-Claude Van Damme (@JCVD) March 8, 2024

#jcvd #women

Surely I didn't vote in this poll, because if I had then 'Timecop - Max Walker' would have had a vote, what an unbelievable classic

I recently watched The Bouncer, which is a really incredible latter-day JCVD movie. He's in full old-man-beaten-down-by-life-but-can-still-kick-your-ass mode throughout, and the direction (by Julien Leclercq) is ruthless and efficient — the whole thing is a tight 95 minutes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bouncer_(film)