The 10 Best Jean-Claude Van Damme Movies, According to Rotten Tomatoes

From classics such as Kickboxer and Hard Target to recent films such as JCVD, Jean-Claude Van Damme has received many critical acclaims for his filmography.

It looks like fans of Jean-Claude Van Damme will only have one last chance to see him in action. In early 2022, the actor said his next action film, What's My Name, will be his last as an action star. He will play himself in the film, and the story is inspired by "real elements" from his life.

What's My Name sounds very familiar to one of his highest rated films on Rotten Tomatoes JCVD. In that movie, Van Damme also played a fictional version of himself. Towards the end of his career, Van Damme's most critically acclaimed roles tend to be semi-autobiographical, as he seems to be trying to escape the B-grade action movie world his career has ultimately descended into.

10/10 The Last Mercenary (2021) – 58%

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The Last Mercenary gives Van Damme the chance to parody the action movies he's been making for two decades. In the film, he plays a government agent named Misty who returns to France to help his son, who is being framed for a crime he did not commit.

Van Damme is all about the game here, being able to make fun of himself and show how funny he really is. rotten tomatoes critics Van Damme was praised in the film, calling him "self-aware" and his lines delivered with a "weary sense of humor".

9/10 Hard Target (1993) – 60%

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While Bloodsport made Van Damme a star, it was Hard Target that really caught the critics' attention. A loose remake of the classic "The Most Dangerous Game," John Woo made his Hollywood debut with this action flick.

Van Damme as Chance Boudreaux, a homeless veteran who helps a woman find her missing father in New Orleans. Thanks to Woo's direction and Lance Henriksen's bad guy, critics praised the film, saying Woo did to Van Damme what Sergio Leone did to Clint Eastwood pious.

8/10 The Expendables 2 (2012) – 67%

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When Sylvester Stallone took his 80s and 90s action heroes and put them together for a big-budget action movie, he had a brilliant idea. It only makes sense that Van Damme would join the fray when The Expendables 2 launches.

Best of all he played a bad guy named Jean Vilan, who, unsurprisingly, was part of the best action scenes in the Expendables series. Van Damme proves he's still fun because Know why you are famous. As one Rotten Critics reviewer put it, it's "a wild and crazy blast from the past".

7/10 Minions: The Rise Of Gru (2022) – 70%

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If there's one thing Van Damme loves more than his fighting skills, it's his distinctive voice. Therefore, he is very suitable for voice roles in animated films. Van Damme joins the latest Despicable Me episode, "Minions: The Rise of Gru," as a character named Jean-Claude.

Van Damme, a member of Vicious 6, has a mechanical lobster claw on his right arm. One Rotten Tomatoes reviewer said the film is "lived up by a talented voice cast," and Van Damme is certainly a part of that.

6/10 Enemies Closer (2013) – 79%

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Enemies Closer is another late Jean-Claude Van Damme film, released in 2013. What's unusual about this movie is that it gave Van Damme the chance to play a villain in an action movie. He plays Xander, the leader of a gang looking to recover a drug lost in the woods.

Tom Everett Scott and Orlando Jones play heroes, former enemies turned allies, but Van Damme really stole the show when he appeared alongside star of the movie. It is rare for an action star to play a villain, and it can be called a must-see for movie fans.

5/10 The Bouncer (2018) – 80%

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The Bodyguard is a 2018 action film that is darker and more serious than most Van Damme films. In the movie, he plays a bodyguard named Lucas who is ultimately forced to protect his daughter when his own actions target her head.

Van Damme eschews the humor he brought to his later roles and takes on a darker, rougher edge here. There's nothing in The Bouncer, but it goes to show that Van Damme still has a lot to offer in action even in his later years.

4/10 No Retreat, No Surrender (1986) – 80%

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Rotten Tomatoes critics' favorite Jean-Claude Van Damme movie is his 1986 film No Retreat, No Surrender. It was Van Damme's breakthrough film and Corey Yuen's first American film.

The film pays homage to Bruce Lee, the fictional martial artist turned ghost. Van Damme plays a karate student named Jason Stillwell who defends his dojo from an evil group that wants to get rid of them.

3/10 Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011) – 80%

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Highest-grossing animated film Van Damme voiced DreamWorks' Kung Fu Panda 2. In this movie, Van Dam plays Master Crocodile, one of the kung fu masters conquered by Prince Shen.

The sequel is a vast improvement on the original. The animation is impressive, and the story is darker, more mature, and more satisfying. Critics praised the animation, saying the film "never loses sight of its purpose: to be fun, to be funny, to be funny."

2/10 JCVD (2008) – 84%

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JCVD ​​is a film that made fans of Van Damme aware of his fame. In it, he played an exaggerated fictionalized version of himself, struggling with a career decline before finding himself in the middle of a bank robbery in Belgium.

Since he was known as action hero Jean-Claude Van Damme, the actor had to figure out how to deal with the situation. He delivers an emotional and self-deprecating performance that may be the best of his career.

1/10 Kickboxer: Retaliation (2018) – 92%

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Surprisingly, the highest rated Jean-Claude Van Damme movie on Rotten Tomatoes is Tae Kwon Do: Revenge. In this movie, Van Dammee turns to one of the franchises that made him a household name, but in a very different role.

This time, Van Damme stars as Durand, a young fighter who trains Kurt Sloane, played by Alain Moussi. The film is a vast improvement over its predecessor, Tae Kwon Do: Vengeance, with one Rotten Tomatoes reviewer calling it "a stylish and funny fight movie with enough wit to make us smile."