15 Best Van Damme Movies Of All Time

Van Damme was born Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg on October 18, 1960, in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe, Brussels, Belgium. His father, Eugène Van Varenberg, introduced him to martial arts at the age of ten. He also studied ballet as a teenager, giving him an unusual background for a future action star. It has been a struggle from the bottom for Jean-Claude, and one of the first people who helped him was Chuck Norris, for whom he worked as a bouncer at Woody’s Wharf, a bar in California. He moved to the United States with his friend Michel Qissi in 1982 to seek greener pastures and became known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme.

His movies have had mixed reactions at the box office, and whilst some did well, others did not. He had to struggle with personal issues as well. After four divorces, he remarried his ex-wife Gladys Portugues in 1999. Jean-Claude Van Damme has three children from two marriages. Two of the three children are from his marriage to Gladys. Here today, we take a look at the best Van Damme movies of all time, from his early martial arts hits to some of his later, less talked-about performances:

 

15. Universal Soldier (1992)

This movie took his salary into seven figures, with a reported payday of $1.5 million.

Directed by Roland Emmerich, the action-packed science fiction story is about an elite team with erased memories, and when they get recollections of the past, the plot turns into an establishment versus one-in-the-team conflict.

The movie grossed around $36.3 million at the US and Canadian box office. Dolph Lundgren gives him a formidable opponent as Andrew Scott, a soldier whose old grudges return along with his memories. The uneasy pairing is a big part of the fun, with Van Damme’s confused Luc trying to recover his humanity whilst Scott grows more dangerous. There is even room for a little humor between the shootouts, which helps the movie avoid taking its outrageous idea too seriously.

 

14. Maximum Risk (1996)

Directed by Ringo Lam, the movie pairs Jean-Claude with Natasha Henstridge in a thriller that takes him from France to New York.

The plot is about a twin brother (played by Jean Claude), a policeman who finds that his other twin brother was killed in a violent attack and takes his place to find the truth. His twin brother, Mikhail (also played by Jean-Claude), was working for the Russian mafia, and he is told by his mother that she had to give up the twin and had no idea as to where he was. It all came to light only after his death. The mystery gives Van Damme a good reason to look over his shoulder even when nobody is throwing a punch. His brother’s girlfriend, played by Henstridge, becomes an important guide to a life he knows nothing about. With Russian mobsters and crooked FBI agents closing in, finding out who to trust is almost as difficult as staying alive.

 

13. Death Warrant (1990)

The movie was directed by Deran Sarafian and grossed around $16.9 million at the US and Canadian box office. Jean-Claude dons the role of a decorated cop who has to infiltrate a very violent and corrupt prison to find answers about many crimes. His past soon comes into play, and it turns into a struggle between life and death for him, and survival becomes a near impossibility.

The critics were largely unimpressed, although the action scenes give Van Damme fans something to enjoy. The prison setting leaves him with very little room to escape, which makes even the quieter encounters feel threatening. There is also a grim mystery underneath the usual punches and kicks, giving his undercover assignment something more to uncover. It is a rough outing for his character, and that is much of the appeal for anyone who likes their action heroes backed into a corner.

 

12. Until Death (2007)

This direct-to-video movie was directed by Simon Fellows, and the story revolves around a bad cop who is addicted to heroin and falls into a coma after being shot.

After waking from his coma, he wants to turn over a new leaf, but his pregnant wife is kidnapped, and he is on a quest to right all wrongs. Despite a great performance by Jean-Claude, critics had mixed reactions to the film. Van Damme has to make us care about a man who has given the people around him plenty of reasons to give up on him. That makes the scenes of regret and recovery just as important as the gunfights. For viewers used to seeing him arrive as the dependable hero, this is a welcome chance to watch him earn that position.

 

11. Wake of Death (2004)

Philippe Martinez directed this movie, which revolves around a thug in a criminal gang who tells his colleagues that he wants to quit.

In the meantime, his wife, who works for the immigration authorities, tries to help a little Chinese girl, but then all hell breaks loose: she is killed, and the girl and their son are kidnapped. Now, he is on a mission to avenge his wife’s death and rescue the children. Simon Yam plays the Triad boss behind the violence, giving Ben Archer an enemy who is every bit as ruthless as the situation demands.

Van Damme’s grief does much of the work here, particularly before the revenge takes over. The result is a darker watch than some of his earlier adventures, with little relief once the trouble starts.

 

10. Timecop (1994)

This science-fiction thriller was directed by Peter Hyams and was one of Van Damme’s biggest successes, grossing $100 million plus at the worldwide box office. It followed earlier hits such as Universal Soldier.

The movie received mixed reviews from critics and kept Van Damme in the limelight with an action-focused story about a time-traveling lawman whose wife is killed and who uncovers a political conspiracy. Ron Silver makes a suitably slippery opponent as Senator McComb, whose ambitions give the time-travel business a very dangerous purpose.

For Van Damme’s Max Walker, the chance to revisit the past also means another chance to reach his wife. That personal stake helps hold the story together when the action starts jumping between different years.

 

9. Six Bullets (2012)

This direct-to-video film was directed by Ernie Barbarash, in which a mixed martial artist’s daughter is kidnapped by human traffickers. He teams up with Van Damme to find the girl.

The movie gives Van Damme another troubled character to play, a retired mercenary named Samson Gaul. His guilt over the deaths of innocent people during an earlier rescue hangs over this new mission. Joe Flanigan plays the desperate father, and his fighting experience does not make him ready for the people holding his daughter.

That is where Gaul’s knowledge becomes as useful as his strength. The uneasy task of trusting another man with your child’s life gives the rescue story a little more weight than a simple chase after the kidnappers.

 

8. Kickboxer: Retaliation (2018)

Van Damme plays second fiddle to Alain Moussi, who returns as Kurt Sloane, the character Van Damme played in “Kickboxer” (released in 1989). Van Damme himself plays the mentor, Master Durand, in this reboot series.

The movie was directed by Dimitri Logothetis, and the film is a sequel to Kickboxer: Vengeance (released in 2016, directed by John Stockwell), where Alain Moussi played the role of Kurt Sloane.

Dimitri Logothetis wrote both reboot screenplays with Jim McGrath; hence the two films had some of the same people involved. Van Damme appeared in the 1989 original and both of these later films, with martial arts sequences remaining the main attraction. Kurt’s new opponent, Mongkut, is played by Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, and his sheer size makes the coming fight look like a very bad idea.

Mike Tyson also turns up as a fellow prisoner who helps with the training. With Van Damme handling the mentor duties, there is plenty for fans to enjoy before Kurt finally steps in to face the giant.

 

7. Assassination Games (2011)

The movie was directed by Ernie Barbarash, who also directed Six Bullets. The film revolves around two assassins working together, one trying to avenge his wife and the other trying to collect a reward.

This is a full-on action thriller with good action scenes and a lot of gunfights. The movie received mixed reviews and had a limited theatrical release before arriving on home video. Scott Adkins plays Flint, whose wife has been left in a coma, whilst Van Damme’s Brazil initially sees the job as another payday. Their different reasons for wanting the same man dead make cooperation less straightforward than it sounds. Watching the two wary killers size each other up is part of the attraction, even before the next burst of gunfire.

 

6. No Retreat, No Surrender (1986)

This was a USA/Hong Kong production and one of the first movies of Van Damme. It was directed by Corey Yuen and has a martial arts-centric plot set in Seattle.

The film gave Van Damme an early chance to show what he could do on screen. His breakthrough as a leading man would come two years later with Bloodsport. Here, he is the villain, Ivan the Russian, rather than the young fighter we are meant to cheer for. That part goes to Kurt McKinney’s Jason, who receives some rather unusual guidance from the ghost of Bruce Lee. It is a wonderfully odd setup, but the final confrontation gives an early glimpse of just how threatening Van Damme could look in the ring.

 

5. In Hell (2003)

This was directed by Ringo Lam, who also directed Maximum Risk, released in 1996. The story follows an American man imprisoned after killing his wife’s murderer, only to find that the prison authorities make inmates fight for their entertainment and gambling. Set in Russia, it is a very tough environment, and the film has some great fight scenes, which are Van Damme’s forte.

The direct-to-video film was shot in Bulgaria and received mixed reviews from critics. Van Damme’s Kyle LeBlanc has more to worry about than simply winning the next fight. Each beating and compromise makes it harder for him to hold on to the man he used to be. That struggle gives the prison scenes a bitter edge, and the violence feels punishing even when he gets the upper hand.

 

4. Enemies Closer (2013)

This thriller, which also received a limited US theatrical release in 2014, was directed by Peter Hyams, who also directed Timecop in 1994, which was one of the best Van Damme films of that time.

The story is about two sworn enemies who must join up to fight a ruthless drug cartel on the USA/Canadian border, who are after a missing drug shipment and would stop at nothing to retrieve it. What transpires is action-packed mayhem. Van Damme gets to cause the trouble this time as Xander, the eccentric leader of the drug smugglers. Tom Everett Scott and Orlando Jones play the men forced to put their own quarrel aside long enough to survive him.

It is an enjoyable change of pace to see Van Damme making life difficult for the heroes, especially when his character seems to be having such a good time doing it.

 

3. Hard Target (1993)

Directed by John Woo, the plot of Hard Target is about a woman in New Orleans who hires a drifter (played by Van Damme) to look for her father, who is missing, which quickly results in a violent sequence of events.

This was John Woo’s first Hollywood feature after making his name in Hong Kong. The film earned around $74 million at the worldwide box office, although its critical reception was mixed. The missing-person search leads to a business in which wealthy clients pay to hunt human beings, so the danger soon becomes much bigger than one disappearance.

Woo makes good use of Van Damme’s athleticism as the hunted begin fighting back. The combination of gunplay, flying kicks, and a hero who refuses to stay down gives the film plenty of rewatch value.

 

2. JCVD (2008)

The film is named after the initials of Van Damme’s name and was directed by Mabrouk El Mechri. He plays a fictionalized version of himself, an action star struggling with money, career troubles, and a custody battle over his daughter.

He gets back to Brussels to sort out his problems. He walks into a post office to collect some money and gets caught in a robbery, becoming a hostage whom the local authorities mistake for the criminal.

The movie won praise for Van Damme’s performance, and it’s a must-see for fans who want to see another side of him. One of its most memorable scenes has him speaking directly to the camera about his life and regrets. With the action-star routine put aside, the hesitation and hurt in his delivery are allowed to carry the scene. It is a striking moment in a career built on physical confidence, and a good reason to seek this one out even if martial arts movies are not usually your thing.

 

1. Bloodsport (1988)

This was directed by Newt Arnold and was the film that propelled Van Damme to martial arts stardom, introducing another memorable fighter to audiences who had grown up watching Bruce Lee’s movies.

The storyline focuses on the Kumite, a secret and brutal martial arts tournament in Hong Kong. An American soldier and martial artist named Frank Dux (played by Van Damme) participates in the tournament and must eventually face the ruthless Chong Li (played by Bolo Yeung) to win.

The critics were much less enthusiastic than the fans who embraced its fights and tournament drama. The film became a commercial success and remains a cult classic among Van Damme fans. This is the movie that introduced Van Damme to them. The tournament gives each new opponent a chance to show a different fighting style, keeping the bouts lively as the field narrows. Bolo Yeung needs little dialogue to make Chong Li a frightening obstacle, and his presence hangs over the contest well before the final match. By the time Frank faces him, the movie has done exactly what a good tournament story should do: made us care who walks out of the ring.

 

Honorable Mentions

We also cannot help but mention these Van Damme performances as well:

• Second in Command (2006)
• Replicant (2001)

Did we miss any of the best Van Damme movies of all time? Let us know in the comments below!