No Retreat, No Surrender (1986)
Jan 7, 2001Martial Arts/Ghost of Bruce Lee
Martial arts film about a bullied teenager who gets aid from the ghost of Bruce Lee. A shabby effort lifted by the dynamic presence of a then unknown Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Cyborg (1989)
Aug 2, 1999Post-Holocaust Kickboxing
The first of Albert Pyun's kickboxing killer cyborg films featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme who was largely unknown at the time. Pyun creates wall-to-wall action but there is almost nothing else to the film
Death Warrant (1990)
Nov 6, 1999Prison Action/Organ Harvesting/Serial Killer
A Jean-Claude Van Damme action vehicle set in a prison that becomes an interestingly stylised realm in a wild plot featuring serial killers and organ harvesting schemes
Universal Soldier (1992)
Nov 19, 2000Undead Super-Soldiers/Action
The first studio film from Roland Emmerich, a loud, noisy action featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren as Vietnam Vets resurrected as super-soldiers
Hard Target (1993)
Apr 4, 2000Human Hunting for Sport/Action
John Woo made his US debut with this Jean-Claude Van Damme vehicle, which is essentially an urban version of The Most Dangerous Game. Woo’s stylised action set-ups give a slight script a dynamism that blows his contemporaries away
Street Fighter (1994)
May 22, 2001Videogame Adaptation/Action Team
Based on the popular videogame, you cannot complain that this is exactly what you expect – wall-to-wall action, comic-book heroes and villains. The complaint might be that the action is never particularly enervated and the film lacks anything beyond that
Timecop (1994)
Aug 17, 2003Time Police
Film featuring Jean-Claude Van Damme as a temporal police officer. While you expect another time travel action film, this has quite a deal more sophistication in the scripting department than you expect
Universal Soldier: The Return (1999)
Aug 17, 2010Undead Super-Soldiers/Action
Sequel to Roland Emmerich's Universal Soldier, this brings back Jean-Claude Van Damme but otherwise substitutes a brain dead plot that has him facing an evil A.I.
Replicant (2001)
Sep 14, 2002Cloned Serial Killer
Halfway reasonable Jean-Claude Van Damme film in which he plays the clone of a serial killer who is brought to life in attempt to track down the original
Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009)
Aug 15, 2010Undead Super-Soldiers/Action
The fifth of the Universal Soldier films reuniting both Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren, while being given a tough, brutal action punch by director John Hyams
Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
Jun 16, 2011Animation/Talking Animal Martial Arts
Sequel to DreamWorks hit animated film, this does little more than repeat its predecessor. The detail and texture is amplified to a work of art, although you cannot help but wonder if the under tens care about this
Alien Uprising (2012)
Apr 2, 2014Alien Invasion
Low-budget British alien invasion film shot in a hyperkinetic style using as many social collapse cliches as possible. Jean-Claude Van Damme turns up to deliver explanations for everything
Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)
Mar 23, 2013Super-Soldiers/Action/Identity Bender
Sixth entry in the series, this throws out all the themes the previous sequels operated by and feels like a Universal Soldier film written by Philip K. Dick with utterly fascinating results. John Hyams hits in with a brutal intensity that shows he is one of the most exciting up and coming action directors
The Go-Go Boys: The Inside Story of Cannon Films (2014)
Jul 19, 2022Cannon Films Documentary
A documentary about Cannon Films and legendary producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. This one was authorised by Golan and Globus and makes interesting comparison to Electric Boogaloo
Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
Aug 20, 2022Animation/Super-Villain and Cute Mischievous Creatures
The cutely nonsensical Minions have become a pop culture phenomenon. Here we get more of them in the second film outing, although this acts more as a Gru origin story