Top 1. 0 greatest Jean- Claude Van Damme movies Back in the golden era of action cinema, otherwise known as the 8. While the likes of Schwarzenegger and Stallone had broken into the mainstream and became household names, there was no shortage of up and coming younger actors keen to follow in their footsteps. I’ve never understood the criteria by which Hollywood decides which actors will become breakout cinematic stars, and if they do, for how long. As movie geeks, I’m sure we all have favourites that never quite achieved the success we wished for them – in the martial arts/action world alone, the list would be absolutely huge, with names like Michael Dudikoff, Richard Norton and David Bradley springing to mind from back in the day, as well as the more contemporary direct to video stars such as Michael Jai White and Scott Adkins, who still maintain the tradition of making solid action flicks for those of us who simply can’t get enough. Back when I was at school, Schwarzenegger was the biggest star around, and I have clear memories of how popular he was, with his movies being a constant source of chatter in and around lessons. When I found Jean- Claude Van Damme, simply through a process of renting (or rather getting my Dad to, as I was still technically underage) every new action movie released on video, it was a personal discovery that made it seem even more special.

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I appreciate that must sound strange, but there was a certain triumph to taking my beloved copy of A. W. O. L into school and spreading the word, showing the best fight scenes to my class, like some kind of JCVD evangelist. His quick ascension to global success came as no surprise to Van Damme’s fans, with his easy- going charm, vulnerability, charisma and karate skills pushing him to the fore of his field, and the movies I’ve picked below hopefully reflect the best of his work over several decades. As a lifelong fan of Van Dammage, I’ll be curious to see what you make of the list, so head to the comments below if you agree/disagree, and feel free to share your own favourites.

Double Impact (1. Replicant (2. 00. Big surprise. Huuuge surprise."Double Impact was the first chance I had to see Jean- Claude on the big screen, thankfully down to a combination of its UK release in cinemas and that, at the age of 1. The Flash Season 3 Episode 4 Free Online here. Directed by long time Van Damme collaborator, Sheldon Lettich, it was exciting, funny, violent and a real chance for JCVD to flex his acting chops.

Last year, while waiting on a rain- soaked red carpet for The Expendables 2, I enthused about his work with friend and editor of Screen. Geek, Sam Faulkner, who had a particular soft spot for Double Impact and contributed the following: "As a young kid getting into action flicks, JCVD always seemed to be a higher- intensity figure than the hyper- muscular, superhuman Stallone or Arnie.

I was surprised to find this movie on Amazon Prime. I did a search for "Lion Heart" and the movie didn't seem to appear. After doing a little searching, I saw the.

Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (born 18 October 1960), professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme and abbreviated as JCVD, is a Belgian actor, martial.

There was something that felt a little grittier about a martial arts kick to the head, like something the bigger kids should be watching. So naturally, adding two roles for the Muscles from Brussels to play in one film, giving his underrated comic delivery a chance to spar with itself, as polar opposite characters, made Double Impact leap to the top of my chart. It also features a few scenes that are overlooked in action cinema - in particular a frantic fight scene on a boat, trafficking bootlegged cars, that features double the kickassery."Which brings me nicely to Replicant, for my money VD’s most underappreciated film, and one which allowed him to play two even more diverse characters under one roof – there’s notorious serial killer of mothers Van Damme and slightly special, puppy dog Van Damme, who’s cloned from the DNA of his murderous counterpart. Yes, it’s as insane as it sounds, but a great little movie under the helm of City On Fire master, Ringo Lam, and with added Michael Rooker. Plus, if you watched both Double Impact and Replicant in one evening, it’d be four Van Dammes for the price of two - a veritable buy one get one free of roundhouse kicks to the face. And who could deny the appeal of that? Kickboxer (1. 98.

And why they were so piss at me?"Kickboxer, when you think about it, is a lot like Karate Kid (or Part II to be more precise) only with more bloody violence and broken glass. A young, rookie fighter is trained by a wise old master, by some rather unconventional methods, in order to get some payback - though to be fair Mr Miyagi wasn’t an advocate of brutal revenge.

In this case, Van Dammage is out to avenge his brother, Eric, who’s been left paralysed after a rather Ivan Drago- esque encounter with vicious, concrete kicker Tong Po. Thankfully, the fight doesn’t damage Eric’s glorious permed mullet and moustache combo, so don’t fret too much.

It has to be said that it’s bad luck to be Jean- Claude Van Damme’s brother, unless of course you’re Jean- Claude Van Damme playing your own brother, as chances are that bad things will happen to you – hell, even his friends have a habit of dying. The drunk dance scene in the bar is still one the best moments in cinema - splits to impress the ladies, cracking tune (Feeling So Good Today by Beau Williams), drunken martial arts, bottom wiggling and a total lack of underwear in linen trousers - which becomes frighteningly apparent the more he, er,  shakes. Kickboxer also takes the action movie training montage to new heights by filling an entire third with fight training, which is like sheer crack to someone like me. Eighties training montages were a vital part of my youth, to the point that even now I get a little over excited if one appears in a modern movie. Thinking about it, it’s exactly the element that’s missing from The Expendables, which is something Stallone should address as soon as possible.

Well, a montage and the lack of a power ballad. Speaking of such things, the rather fine re- teaming of singer Stan Bush and composer Paul Hertzog (they’d both done the music for Bloodsport) provide the requisite tunes and score, which are still a great addition to any 8. A. W. O. L: Absent Without Leave - aka Lionheart (1. Wrong bet!"It’s difficult to explain how much of an effect A.

W. O. L had on my affinity for Van Damme, without contextualising. To many people, I’m sure, it’s just a film about a man earning money through underground fights, to help out the wife and child of his murdered brother, but in my mid- teens it was absolutely beloved. While it may seem strange to judge an action icon's screen prowess by his hair, JC’s previous films as a lead hero had seen an assortment of bad partings and stylistic choices that made an incredible difference at such a young age, as to how cool he was. Oh yes indeed, in my shallow youthfulness I judged a leading man's status by a haircut, apparently, and in that respect A. W. O. L was a leap forward for JCVD. Thankfully, the film as a whole also sealed my bond with him, as its more contemporary urban setting (compared with the likes of Bloodsport and Kickboxer), mixed with the 'underdog rises' plotline that I’d been raised on with the Rocky movies, made Lionheart an instant favourite of mine.

I spent endless hours drawing images from it on my French exercise books, while defacing text books by adding, Attila, the main villain's features to anyone suitable (sideburns, sunglasses, a ponytail and a speech bubble which simply said “You!” in case you were wondering.)A. W. O. L might not seem terribly original now, with its power ballads and “I don’t know whether to fight you, or fuck you” dialogue, but the execution and simplicity of it all still make for a fine slice of entertainment, and the fight scenes still rank amongst my most watched from that era – it’s the martial arts equivalent of Rocky, and I simply can’t criticise it, even after all these years.