Related
Action movie legendJean - Claude Van Dammehas only recapitulate the same role in dissimilar movies three times . Van Damme ’s talent for soldierly artsand passion for acting brought him to celebrity in 1986 with his role as Ivan ' The Russian ' Kraschinsky inNo Retreat No Surrender , which opened the doors for the actor ’s lengthy career in the action / soldierly liberal arts genre . Iconic movies such asBloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , andUniversal Soldiercontinued cementing his name as one of the main activity legend of the 1980s and 1990s .
Jean - Claude Van Damme has revived his life history with the crime dramaJCVDwhere he work a semi - fictitious version of himself , the ensemble filmThe Expendables 2 , where he played the independent villain to Sylvester Stallone ’s army of military action stars , and more recently , The Last Mercenary , where he bear homage to some of his most famous use . irrespective of which era of Van Damme is being discussed , the actor ’s touch physicality and intimidating presence have remained the same .
Related : Every Movie Where Jean - Claude Van Damme Has play A Twin
It comes as something of a surprisal that Van Damme has played the same fibre in only three different franchises . Although this puts him behind other action coeval such as and Arnold Schwarzenegger — who repeat the same purpose perhaps too many times in theTerminatorfranchise — andRocky / Rambolegend Sylvester Stallone , Van Damme ’s varied performances are proof of his accomplishment in convey different characters to life with each original storey he stars in . Here are Jean - Claude Van Damme ’s three dealership roles , place .
Kung Fu Panda
TheKung Fu Pandafranchise have several histrion live for their part in natural process moving-picture show . For instance , Jackie Chan played Monkey , Lucy Liu impersonate Viper , and Angelina Jolie sound Tigress . Kung Fu Panda 2introduced Jean - Claude Van Damme ’s Master Croc , the former leader of a reprehensible gang known as the Wool Stealing Crocodile Bandits of Crocodile Island . Master Croc was Van Damme ’s first - ever voice acting office — ahead of his approaching role as Jean Clawed in the upcomingMinions : The Rise of Gru — and he played it like he had plenty of part playacting experience under his whang .
Even though Master Croc is a surprisingly complex theatrical role who geological fault between villain and paladin , the crocodile does n’t have a considerable impact on the plot ofKung Fu Panda 2orKung Fu Panda 3 . The former references Van Damme ’s signature snag during one of his fight scenes , but the grownup audience may not recognize Van Damme ’s voice , and the younger consultation may not be cognizant of Van Damme ’s body of employment . TheKung Fu Pandatrilogyis quite ordered for an liveliness dealership , but if Van Damme had had the possibility of showing off his skills in person , his persona as Master Croc would probably be higher on the list .
Kickboxer
The firstKickboxermovie , discharge in 1989 , was one of Jean - Claude Van Damme ’s earliest hits . It told the tale of Kurt Sloane , a man who witnesses his kickboxing admirer brother Eric get paralyse in the band by his resister , Tong Po . Seeking revenge , Kurt travel to Thailand and train to become a kickboxer himself . Kickboxerpacks an intense punch with a simple premise and allows Van Damme ’s skills to shine as a warlike creative person . Kurt is often meet dripping in sudor and blood while pushing his mind and body to the limit , and even has the probability to show off excellentdance movement , which he referenced inThe Last Mercenary . What Van Damme miss in subtle acting he makes up in the right-down brutality of his fights and the intensity of his breeding .
Related : How The Last Mercenary Continues ( & Fixes ) Jean Claude Van Johnson
WhileKickboxerbelongs among the classic when it comes to Hollywood ’s warriorlike arts music genre , the seven sequels the franchise produce scantily held a taper to its legacy . The first 3 sequel focalise on Kurt Sloane ’s younger brother David , who lack the same mania as Van Damme ’s original protagonist . These sequels concentrate less on the one - on - one , combat - oriented action scenes and change state the dealership into more a conventional activeness series;Kickboxer 3 : The Art Of Warends with the baddie being stabbed with a knife , and David being saved from being shoot . Kickboxer : VengeanceandKickboxer : Retaliationattempt to take the franchise back to its rootage , but although they manage to capture a tinge of the original ’s spirit with the regaining ofJean - Claude Van Damme after his 1990s glory Clarence Day , the decision to cast him as the trainer of a new Kurt Sloane distances the nimbus of the originalKickboxereven further .
Universal Soldier
Just like Jean - Claude Van Damme placedKickboxeramong the best of the 1980s martial artistry classics , his iconic execution inUniversal Soldierdid the same for a whole unexampled decade . Roland Emmerich ’s 1992 sci - fi movie tells the story of Van Damme ’s Luc Deveraux and Dolph Lundgren ’s Andrew Scott — two soldier who are resuscitated as super - soldiers after they kill each other in the Vietnam War . Although wacky by nature , Universal Soldieris unapologetically tight - paced and natural process - compact , with an idealistic degree of levity and abelievable retro - futuristicatmosphere that still contain up to this day .
Again , the originalUniversal Soldierleft the taproom too eminent for future subsequence . The second and third installments , Universal Soldier II : pal in ArmsandUniversal Soldier III : Unfinished Business , replace Van Damme with Matt Battaglia and come out the news report right after the events of the original , but the decrement in storytelling and optical quality is evident . Universal Soldier : The Returnbrings back Van Damme , but gets immediately retconned byUniversal Soldier : positive feedback , where Dolph Lundgren also returns .
However , it ’s only until 2012’sUniversal Soldier : Day of Reckoningthat the franchise take an innovative turn , as it copulate a more psychological tincture with the realistic kind of competitiveness scene that qualify Van Damme . Part of the last installment ’s heightened lineament is due toVan Damme ’s interpersonal chemistry with Scott Adkins , who penetrate the moving picture with much - need seriousness . conceive the similar issues theKickboxerandUniversal Soldierfranchises suffered , it ’s up toJean - Claude Van Dammefans to decide whethermartial artistic production or sci - fi make one film serial publication preferable over the other , but what favor theUniversal Soldiersequels is that they at least attempted to watch over the story of Luc Deveraux , albeit with wads of mind - boggling retcons and overcomplicated plot .
More : Every Unmade Jean - Claude Van Damme Horror Movie
