The 15 Best Jean-Claude Van Damme Movies Ranked

In a world where multiple action stars claim to be the best of the best, one man does it all. The muscles. The one-liners. The splits. His name is Jean-Claude Van Damme, and his personal emoji is that of a goat.

Blessed with a filmography like no one else, it's a challenging task to narrow down the best JCVD movies. After all, how does one quantify greatness when in the presence of multiple masterpieces? The solution is twofold: One, identify their overall influence in pop culture. And two, be honest about the entertainment factor. "Was it fun?" should be the measuring stick for every single movie you watch — not how much money it made, nor what those pesky critics (myself included) think. Plus, if there's a mullet in a movie, it automatically enters any top 10 list.

So, don't claim to be a film fan if you haven't watched these Jean-Claude Van Damme movies. He doesn't need Oscars to prove his worth; the Oscars need him. Let's get Van Dammed with a ranking of the best Jean-Claude Van Damme movies.

Peter Hyams' "Sudden Death" should be considered a movie rip-off that's better than the original, because this is "Die Hard" at a hockey game, so that's instantly cooler (pun intended). It doesn't take too long for the action to kick off here, as fire marshal Darren McCord (Jean-Claude Van Damme) treats his two kids, Tyler (Ross Malinger) and Emily (Whittni Wright), to a Stanley Cup Finals game. After a sibling tiff, Emily runs off — only to be snatched by terrorists who have taken the U.S. Vice President and others hostage. Oh, and the goons plan to blow up the arena at the end of the game!

Darren does what any good father would do and enters the attacking zone to save his daughter, beating the tar out of random thugs up and down the arena until he faces the final boss, Joshua Foss (Powers Boothe). It's non-stop action from start to finish, as it becomes Darren versus the world, knowing the fate of thousands of lives lie in his hands (and educated feet). Boothe plays a delightful smug bad guy here, while JCVD puts on a heartwarming display of fatherly love in a way only he can. He fights a terrorist dressed as the Pittsburgh Penguins' mascot — it doesn't get better than that.

Look, not every action movie needs to make logical sense. Take Corey Yuen's "No Retreat, No Surrender" as a classic case. In this story, young karate enthusiast Jason Stillwell (Kurt McKinney) sees his father Tom's (Timothy D. Baker) dojo visited by a bunch of thugs, featuring prizefighter and likely psychopath Ivan "the Russian" Krachinsky (Jean-Claude Van Damme). Tom gets his leg broken by Ivan, while Jason tries to fight the Russian who easily subdues him. Long story short, Jason calls upon the spirit of Bruce Lee (Kim Tai-chung) to train him. All this culminates in Jason enacting revenge on Ivan at *checks notes* a martial arts tournament.

You gotta love the '80s and how every blood feud is resolved at a fighting tournament and by summoning ghosts for advice. Much like cold pizza, though, "No Retreat, No Surrender" not only gets better as more time passes but also cheesier. It's one of JCVD's first starring roles — where his character actually gets a name instead of a noun — showcasing a charismatic and competent action star in the making, and you feel it each time he's on screen.

What's better than Jean-Claude Van Damme in a movie? How about two of him? In Sheldon Lettich's "Double Impact," JCVD plays twins Chad and Alex Wagner who are separated at a young age after the death of their parents. Now, as adults, these two brothers — who are the polar opposite of each other — need to team up to get revenge on their parents' killers.

Yeah, the story is thinner than a slice of ham and about as predictable as a donkey on a tricycle, but this is all just an excuse for JCVD to be in a buddy comedy — by himself, with himself. That said, the Muscles from Brussels demonstrates an aptitude for making each Wagner brother memorable (and funny) in their own way, almost making everyone believe it's two different actors in the roles. Also, special mention needs to go to Corinna Everson as the tough-as-nails Kara, who ragdolls the Wagners and confirms her place as one of the most buff women in film.

"Double Impact" demonstrated Jean-Claude Van Damme's twincredible abilities. In Ringo Lam's "Maximum Risk," the concept gets explored again, but JCVD doesn't need to play two characters on screen at the same time. In this film, Mikhail Suverov (Van Damme) dies early on, while Alain Moreau (Van Damme) is brought to the scene of the crime because of how similar he looks to Mikhail. This event leads Alain on a quest to untangle a web of crime and conspiracy regarding what happened to Mikhail, whom he also learns was his long-lost twin brother.

Positioned as an action thriller, "Maximum Risk" holds nothing back when it comes to its action elements — especially in terms of car chases and a well-choreographed sauna fight scene. At the same time, it also gives Van Damme something to do rather than punch and kick everyone in his path. He convinces as a character desperately seeking answers to questions he never knew existed in the first place. "Maximum Risk" marks the first time a viewer might have seen a JCVD movie and recognized that he's more than just an action star — he's an accomplished actor too.

The late filmmaker Albert Pyun dabbled almost exclusively in low-budget movies, but he created some video store classics that anyone around in the '80s and '90s will remember all too well. One of these films was 1989's "Cyborg," starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. In what can only be described as a martial arts cyberpunk mash-up, JCVD stars as Gibson Rickenbacker, a man who gets sucked into a mission to help the cyborg Pearl Prophet (Dayle Haddon), who holds the key to saving humanity as it's gripped in the throes of a dangerous plague.

Despite the fact that "Cyborg" was cobbled together from the pieces meant to be for "Masters of the Universe 2" and "Spider-Man," and Pyun wrote the script over a weekend, this is B-movie bravado at its finest. JCVD went all in on it too, as evidenced by it being one of the sci-fi movies that pushed things too far on set. While filming a scene, Van Damme hit a stuntman with a prop knife, resulting in Jackson "Rock" Pinckney losing sight in his one eye. JCVD claimed it was an accident, while Pinckney called it recklessness.

Let's have a heart to heart here: the 1994 "Street Fighter" movie is good. Does it do its own incoherent thing and largely ignore what makes the video game series popular? Yeah, but when you have Jean-Claude Van Damme's Colonel William Guile flexing his biceps and hitting Raul Julia's sensational M. Bison with wicked one-liners and tidy roundhouse kicks, you can't help but forgive all its sins.

It's an absolute cheese fest from the most sophisticated of cheesemakers, but the gorgonzola platter has never tasted this delicious. "Street Fighter" is the male genitals spray painted on the wall outside of your parents' home, yet you still can't help but appreciate the art and effort of the design. As a matter of fact, its memory never fails to make you smile. The only reason it doesn't rank higher on this list is because JCVD failed to commit to the full scope of Guile's blonde flat-top haircut. Imagine how glorious it would have been had Van Damme decided to do that.

"The Expandables" film series is like the ultimate crossover of on-screen action heroes — just ignore that 2023's "Expend4bles" exists, because if no one cared while making it, why should the rest of us who watched it? Yet, the best of the series remains Simon West's "The Expendables 2." Not only does it feature the legendary greats like Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Chuck Norris, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, but it also gives every action fan what they have wanted since the '80s: a one-on-one fight between Jean-Claude Van Damme and Sylvester Stallone.

In the film, JCVD plays the mercenary Vilain, who murders Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth), one of Barney Ross' (Stallone) crew. Consequently, Barney and the Expendables swear vengeance on Vilain and his gang of goons. Without a shadow of a doubt, Van Damme portrays the best villain in this franchise in "The Expendables 2," while the anticipation for his earth-shaking showdown with Stallone lives up the hype as an all-time action movie moment. This is the genre's equivalent of Captain America lifting Mjolnir in "Avengers: Endgame."

There's a common misconception that Jean-Claude Van Damme was only good in the late '80s and '90s. Maybe that's because he's one of the actors with a terrible Rotten Tomatoes streak that stretched from the '90s into the late 2000s. Yet, while JCVD might not be leading the box office like he used to, he's still putting out some of the best work of his career. Case in point: 2024's "Darkness of Man."

Van Damme plays the battered and weary ex-Interpol agent Russell Hatch. After the death of an informant years prior, Hatch vows to protect the informant's young son, Jayden (Emerson Min). Jayden finds himself stuck in the middle of a turf war started by his uncle, so Hatch steps in to fulfil his promise.

While on the surface level, "Darkness of Man" appears like any other actioner from JCVD's catalog, it relies more on character-driven storytelling than all-out brawling. Van Damme shows off his dramatic side, portraying a guilt-ridden man who needs to forgive himself for the past. Yes, he needs to embrace the darkness within to protect Jayden, but he must also find a way to let it go to move forward.

Jean-Claude Van Damme is renowned for his work in the action genre, but he's shown that he has a great sense of humor that isn't always exploited in movies. In Jennifer Yuh Nelson's "Kung Fu Panda 2," JCVD joins the voice cast as Master Croc. The crocodile joins Po (Jack Black) and the Furious Five as they face off against the maniacal peacock Lord Shen (Gary Oldman). If this all sounds weird to you, just remember how the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were the coolest team in the '80s as they fought a brain in a human suit and a ninja who could have doubled as a cheese grater. Time is cyclic.

Look, no one knew they wanted Van Damme as the voice of a martial arts crocodile until it happened, but it just works and demonstrates the actor in his element. The charm of Po's hero journey, coupled with all the wild and wacky characters he meets along the way, continues to keep the "Kung Fu Panda" franchise as fresh as the water that Croc likes. JCVD must have had a ball with this role too, since he reprised it for "Kung Fu Panda 3."

Jean-Claude Van Damme isn't above parodying himself. After all, who can forget the hilarious "Jean-Claude Van Johnson" series? Yet, the first time he did it was in 2008's "JCVD." Directed by Mabrouk el Mechri, Van Damme plays a fictionalized version of himself: a washed-up actor whose life and career tumble around him, but it gets worse as he walks in on a robbery at the post office.

Surreal, funny, and tragic, it's hard to discern what is fact and fiction in "JCVD." It's no secret that Van Damme's real life and career had been in shambles at this point, and this performance comes across as someone willing to shed their facade and expose the human being underneath the celebrity. He becomes critical, almost brutal, about himself and his failures in a way in which no one could have predicted from an actor whose range previously depended on how far he could stretch his leg for a high kick. In "JCVD," Van Damme delivers a powerful and poignant performance that proved to be the start of his career renaissance.

Peter Hyams' "Timecop" wasn't Jean-Claude Van Damme's first foray into sci-fi action, and he's proven more than capable in the genre. In addition to this, this is yet another Hyams-Van Damme collaboration to reap rewards and turn out to be terrific entertainment for the audience. In this 1994 film based on the Dark Horse Comics story, JCVD portrays Time Enforcement Commission (TEC) agent Max Walker, who time travels and stops crimes across the timeline while discovering politicians suck, no matter which era you visit.

While most people consider "Timecop" the Temu version of "Demolition Man" or "The Terminator," it's actually a tidy '90s romp that becomes more fun when you switch off your brain. Van Damme also puts in an applause-worthy performance as both an action hero and noble officer trying to protect the past, present, and future. It's tragic how Van Damme never returned for a sequel, though the "Timecop" series adaptation turned out to be one of the best live-action comic book TV shows of the 1990s.

If you have ever mixed up "Kickboxer" with "Bloodsport," don't worry, you aren't the only one. Both feature martial arts mayhem in a tournament setting. In David Worth's "Kickboxer," however, Jean-Claude Van Damme's Kurt Sloane is on a quest for blood. His brother, Eric (Dennis Alexio), was brutally beaten by Tong Po (Michel Qissi), so Kurt seeks out the Muay Thai training of Xian Chow (Dennis Chan) to prepare him for the fight of his life.

"Kickboxer" isn't penned by Aaron Sorkin, so if you expect a deep allegory for why violence is bad, this is the wrong movie for you. In a nutshell, this is all about training to beat up a bully who's bigger than you. It also happens to be one of the most influential martial arts movies of all time, and it even sees Van Damme do a cute little dance that's become a popular meme.

More importantly, this film reaffirms JCVD's credentials not only as an action star but also as a magnetic presence that elevates the so-so material. The franchise continued without Van Damme, as Sasha Mitchell played the other Sloane brother, David, and it was never the same without the Muscles from Brussels as its leading man.

Sometimes, there are movies with titles that don't tell you anything about the storylines. Not "Hard Target." In this John Woo 1993 action spectacle, Jean-Claude Van Damme's Chance Boudreaux becomes, *ahem*, a hard target. Boudreaux gets pulled into quite the predicament as he helps Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler), who's looking for her missing father. What they discover is a deadly game where rich cretins pay to hunt homeless people. Along the way, Boudreaux also knocks out a snake, because that slippery serpent deserved it.

When you combine Woo's vision with JCVD's action flair, explosiveness is the only outcome. "Hard Target" features high-octane stunts and intense action choreography that will have everyone drooling for more. There is a longer cut of the movie floating around the internet — according to those who have seen it, it includes even more violence than the theatrical version. Regardless, the original "Hard Target" is more than just fine; it's one of John Woo's best Hollywood films and a bona fide JCVD classic.

You could say that Roland Emmerich's "Universal Soldier" shares a lot of commonality with Paul Verhoeven's "RoboCop," since a poor guy dies, but his job still wants him to come in for another shift. This 1992 action sci-fi sees Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) perish in the Vietnam War, only to be revived through the Universal Soldier program as a mindless weapon. While his past memories are erased, Deveraux experiences a breakthrough and discovers more about who he is and goes on the run with the reporter Veronica Roberts (Ally Walker). The problem is he's hunted down by his old nemesis and fellow Universal Soldier, Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren), who is more unhinged than ever and wants to kill Deveraux and Roberts.

Pairing Van Damme and Lundgren on screen is pure muscle magic, as they feed off each other as adversaries. In JCVD's case, he also captures the essence of a man who tries to rediscover his humanity and semblance of who he truly is. "Universal Solider" kicked off a franchise with a couple of sequels in which both Van Damme and Lundgren returned. However, nothing is quite as good as the original film.

There could be only one choice here. Newt Arnold's "Bloodsport" is the action extravaganza that catapulted Jean-Claude Van Damme's career to the stratosphere and cemented him as an on-screen icon. The film sees Van Damme play the U.S. Army official Frank Dux, who competes in an underground — and frankly, illegal — martial arts tournament in Hong Kong called the Kumite. Dux sets his sights on the lethal fighter Chong Li (Bolo Yeung), but the American warrior needs to level up his game to match the sneakiness of Li, who isn't afraid of employing dirty tactics to win at all costs.

"Bloodsport" is inspired by the real-life story of Frank Dux, but there are numerous disputes about Dux's version of events — if they even happened at all. Don't let that dissuade you from the film adaptation, though, as it's become a staple part of any action fan's Letterboxd recommendations. By far and away, it's Van Damme's best movie too – and it's a borderline crime that sequels were made without his involvement. No shade to his replacement, Daniel Bernhardt, because he's still awesome and just took the paycheck on offer.