The Muscles from Brussels returns soon with Darkness of Man, so here’s five of his most underrated films to get you in the mood…
There are two kinds of people who don’t like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Crazy folk and Steven Seagal. The rest of us love to partake in a little bit of Van Dammage, am I right? Die-hard aficionados of the Muscles from Brussels have their favourites, of which the likes of Bloodsport, Timecop and Hard Target regularly stand high on their rankings lists. Likewise for more general action fans when judging the Belgian icon’s CV.
Bloodsport broke him out 36 years ago and Van Damme has been roundhouse kicking his way through villains ever since. His career transitioned from box office star to straight to video staple, but his enduring appeal still remains with Jean-Claude’s latest film, Darkness of Man coming this year.
As I write this, whilst listening to the soundtrack to one of Van Damme’s best, Lionheart, I dig deep into my vast knowledge of JC’s catalogue to pick five underrated gems that don’t get talked about enough…
Maximum Risk
The lack of top-tier status among most Van Dammites for Maximum Risk always baffles me. It might just scratch close to top 5, but is easily a top 10 for me. For most fans though, it tends to settle in the middle area of most lists. It’s not even just undervalued by JC’s fans though as action lovers don’t give this one the dues it deserves.
The film saw Van Damme bring legendary Hong Kong director, Ringo Lam over to make his international debut. Hard Target this is not, but as far as Van Damme’s movies with John Woo, Ringo Lam (also Replicant and In Hell) and Tsui Hark (Double Team and Knock Off) this is a clear second place. Firstly there’s the slightly Hitchcockian story which sees Van Damme investigating the murder of a doppelganger he discovers is a long-lost twin he never knew about. He travels from France to New York to investigate, posing as his bro and uncovering ties to the Russian mafia and crooked feds.
With great foot chases, car chases, gun fights and grounded and gritty brawls, this gives action fans plenty of bang for the buck and Van Damme played a more layered character than usual, as opposed to a larger-than-life hero. He’s also backed up by Natasha Henstridge right at the height of her career (she’ll soon be starring in my film Cinderella’s Revenge, out April 26th in US cinemas).
Lam handles everything with a tight grip in a film that nicely blends action with Euro-thriller and although there are some clunky reveals and characters, this certainly offers enough to keep you engaged outside of the fighting. Speaking of the brawls, the highlights are definitely Van Damme’s three showdowns with absolute man-mountain Stefanos Miltsakakis (including just about the best elevator fight ever committed to celluloid).
The Bouncer
Did anyone see The Bouncer? Van Damme has had plenty of mini comebacks over the years, including The Expendables 2, Jean-Claude Van Johnson and The Last Mercenary, but the one that really showed him at his best and was the most well-executed, was The Bouncer. It just got missed by people though. It was a French/Belgian co-production with Van Damme back in his mother tongue and delivering an intense and committed performance.
If anything held the film back, it was the feeling of being lost somewhere between the US and Europe, unable to quite lure enough of either audience. Too subtle for American fans who preferred a more straight-up brawler with more action and less ruminating, and for European audiences, perhaps a little bit too lithe and simple.
Whilst we’ve seen this kind of film plenty of times, it has enough new ground for Van Damme himself and it’s really well shot and well made (and honestly in recent years you can’t always say that about many JC films). There is a divide within the fanbase when it comes to the morose Van Damme archetype, which was birthed in 2003. Some fans like it, and some fans want a more hopeful, almost endearingly determined Van Damme of yesteryear (but does that work in a face that has been weathered by time and such experience?). Still, as far as the dour Van Damme character archetype, Lukas in The Bouncer is probably the most interesting. If you can, try to see the French, subtitled version rather than the English dub.
Wake of Death
It was Ringo Lam’s influence that had a big impact on Van Damme’s growth as an actor and who perhaps guided him to a path of edgier, darker and less heroic roles. Suddenly Van Damme was playing flawed, broken characters more at home in the mould of 70s antiheroes than in the 80s or 90s when Van Damme himself rose.
Wake of Death was due to be directed by Lam but when he departed the project, producer Philippe Martinez took over. The result is a pitch-dark and violent revenge film with some artistic flourishes that occasionally go a step too far. At the heart of this film though, is a performance from Van Damme that surprised many. It might have even surprised a few critics, had they been paying attention to the straight-to-video section. There’s real intensity from Jean-Claude as a vengeful husband on the warpath against a Triad trafficking gang.
At the time this really did appear to signal a real tonal shift in Van Damme’s canon, like closing the book on the 360 helicopter kick and slow motion posing in favour of blunt force trauma and grimy films (see also Until Death, which blended Bad Lieutenant with Regarding Henry to solid effect). Not surprisingly, it divided fans.
Desert Heat
Okay, this one isn’t great per say. In fact it’s a bit of a wild mess. Desert Heat (also known as Inferno and Coyote Moon) is one of those strange movies that seems a little unsure of what it’s trying to be. Within an often meandering, sometimes baffling story there’s a riff on Yojimbo set within a small desert town with an array of quirky characters. Van Damme plays a nomadic gun-for-hire who is left for dead and has his motorcycle stolen by a gang. Naturally, he goes out for revenge and retrieval, ingratiating himself with the desert townsfolk at the same time.
There’s a certain unique oddness here, certainly within Van Damme’s CV in a film with a lot of strange moments. Where else can you see a film where Van Damme gets a food rub by Danny Trejo? Then on top of that, you’ve got John G Avildsen directing. He’s no stranger to hot and clammy desert set cinema, although Wake in Fright this is very much not. Bill Conti stops on by to score and whilst neither of the Rocky alums (Avildsen and Conti) are anywhere near their best, their presence is still felt. If the film really lacks one thing, it’s a villain worthy of Van Damme’s 360 finisher.
Assassination Games
Jean-Claude Van Damme and Scott Adkins play the two best assassins going and intense rivals, forced into an uneasy alliance to take down a greater enemy. This one seems to get overlooked largely because with a headlining duo of ‘Frank Dux’ and ‘Boyka’ fans might have expected more razzmatazz in the fight sequences.
However, it’s fairly restrained on that front, opting for a little more grit rather than too many show-stopping moves, though Adkins certainly gets to stretch his kicking muscles a little more. What this straight-to-video special managed to do though, was offer up an engaging plot with plenty of duplicitous characters. The 2010s aesthetic doesn’t hold up so well in a film following a visual trend started by Tony Scott (but that was never used as effectively as by the late, main man).
Still, this is a good showcase for a then-up-and-coming Adkins and the seasoned Van Damme. Ernie Barbarash, in his first (and best) of three Van Damme films, provides some solid direction.
SEE ALSO: Maximum Van Dammage: The Definitive Top 10 Jean-Claude Van Damme Movies!
Honourable Mentions:
Nowhere to Run
Six Bullets
Legionnaire
Enemies Closer
Replicant (with Van Damme in full-blown peacocking villain mode).
What’s the most underrated Van Damme film? Will you be watching Darkness of Man? Let us know on our social channels @FlickeringMyth or hit me up @JolliffeProductions…
