However, as many action stars used their muscles and wraparound sunglasses as a crutch for weak acting, Van Damme quickly made the leap from martial arts star to legit action actor in a manner that Steven Segal can only dream of. In honor of Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning‘s release on Blu-Ray^TM and DVD, here are his seven best films. Your results may vary.

Bloodsport

Perhaps the most durable film of JCVD’s catalog, Bloodsport is a great example of what-you-see-is-what-you-get. Taking some creative liberties with the life story of Frank Dux, the producers let us into the world of underground fighting known as the kumite, in which seedy Asians bet on a (wait for it) Bloodsport where fighters as diverse as those in a video game hammer on each other for sport and glory.

It’s impossible to ignore the parallels between the film and the video game Street Fighter, indicating that the reach of Bloodsport was such that it transcended film and managed to infiltrate other aspects of pop culture.

Universal Soldier

Before Roland Emmerich was going over the top with films like Independence Day, he was cutting his teeth in the action genre with (slightly) less fanfare such as Universal Soldier, which featured futuristic soldiers having at each other as reanimated versions of their Vietnam War-era selves.

Big Bad Dolph Lundgren fashions a necklace made out of ears, and if that doesn’t do it for you, the ambitious scene set upon the Hoover Dam gives us a fascinating glimpse of what’s to come from Mr. Emmerich.

JCVD

Upon learning that Jean-Claude Van Damme is credited as playing “JCVD,” it’s clear that this won’t be a straight up documentary on the action star, but rather a truth-bending interpretation of the action star’s life, in which he plays a struggling, broke actor that is down on his luck and weathered.

It doesn’t always achieve its lofty high-concept ambitions, but it’s a fascinating watch nonetheless to see JCVD go from ass-kicker to uber-vulnerable.

Hard Target

If you can get past the mullet (a ginormous “if”) and get past the denim on denim on denim (probably with lots of turquoise and silver underneath it), you can get to the heart of a really great action film starring an in-his-prime Van Damme directed by an up-and-coming John Woo.

This is Woo at his finest, before he got all cliché and heavy-handed with his imagery and symbolism. It’s bows and arrows and motorcycles and explosions all done in a deft fashion that, for its time, was pushing the boundaries of stale action fare.

Street Fighter

While few would argue this is a “good” film, it’s a fascinating piece of JCVD’s career, as it crosses the same spot on his career arc that Bloodsport does, though in a baroque and stale way. So why watch it unless you want to run through that academic exercise?

Because it’s the archetypical bad video game film that managed to drag some decent talent down with it, namely Raul Julia (sadly, his last film) and Van Damme. Van Damme plays the protagonist Guile, and beyond that, the plot is largely incidental as the film just tosses out reference points to the video game in the hope that will be enough.

It’s not, but it’s incredibly fun and interesting to watch the film try so damn hard.

Breakin’

Sure, JCVD is uncredited here as a spectator during a breakdance scene, but it’s amazing to watch this campy 1984 breakdancing film knowing that somewhere, an undiscovered Jean Claude Van Damme was wandering around the set, speaking with a thick Belgian accent, and wondering if it would be ok if he took another sandwich from the craft services truck.

Kickboxer

Lesson 1: Play to your star’s strengths. Van Damme was rightfully known for and discovered for his prowess as a martial artist, and between this film and Bloodsport, that couldn’t be more clear in the upward trajectory of his career. Any film that has the protagonist dipping his hands in resin and glass is going to have first crack at the number one spot, and this is no exception. In fact, it’s probably the rule.

The name says it all. Kickboxer. We see JCVD kick ass the way it was meant to be kicked, and that’s his legacy.

Van Damme became a part of the project when writer/director Dominic Burns emailed his wife to ask whether or not he would be interested, and was “astonished” to find out he was.

It’s always a good sign when a writer/director is astonished that an actor wants to be involved with his or her project. (THR)

According to some guy in Bulgaria, the cast will consist of Stallone, Jason Statham, John Travolta, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke and Bruce Willis. Take this news with a grain of salt because it’s far from an official announcement but it would be pretty cool to see. No plot details have been given either, but let’s assume that Stallone and the other guys have to go up against Chuck Norris. They lose, of course. But that would be a fun fight to watch for a few minutes. (via Collider)

While all these methods are perfectly acceptable, one particular method is often overlooked. Of course I’m talking about the fan-made Youtube tribute video. Anyone with a laptop, basic editing software and an abundance of free time can add to the already-plentiful number of tribute videos that adorn the cyber-landscape. Yet despite the ease of production and distribution, or perhaps because of it, these clips often languish in Internet hell, receiving only a few dozen clicks from people who accidentally find them while looking for porn. In order to shine the spotlight on these overlooked gems, I present to you the following three examples of awesome fan-made tribute videos.

Marked For Death Music Video

Everyone worth a damn in this world loves Seal’s musical masterpiece, “Kiss from a Rose.” And Steven Seagal‘s Marked for Death is widely considered to be in the top eight Steven Seagal films of all time. Despite the natural pairing, it took the wisdom of Youtube user xxmikexx187 (check out his movie rants) to put the two together. The haunting melody coupled with visuals of Jamaicans being brutally tortured and killed delights the senses in a way that the two parts could have never achieved separately. For Mr. Seagal, it is fitting tribute in indeed.

Jean Claude Van Damme Tribute

They say that one good thing deserves another. But I also like to think that one OK thing deserves another slightly less cool but still funny thing. With that, I give you this tribute to Jean Claude Van Damme from user probierhappen. Sure, Van Damme isn’t as cool as Seagal, and Evanescence’s “Wake Me Up Inside” isn’t as cool as anything. But that all goes out the window at the 15 second mark, when Jean Claude delivers an epic nut punch. Everything after that is just gravy…sweaty Belgian man gravy.

“Full House” Fan Video

Last but not least, we have this stunning tribute to the classic 90′s sitcom, “Full House.” Of course, it’s a “classic” in the sense that Polio is one of the all time “classic” diseases, but I digress. Just because I didn’t like the show doesn’t make it bad. The same goes for Hillary Duff’s song, “Beat of My Heart.” Just because I think it sounds like a cat swallowed razor blades and is moaning for its life doesn’t mean a thing. In fact, I’d even go as far as to say that user hilarydufffan56 chose the perfect song to accompany clips of the Tanner family. And with over 14,000 hits and counting, I think this tribute could go down as a “classic” in its own right.

^{‘JUDO-TAINT!!!!"}

The film that dared to bring us two Ron Silvers is coming back. Universal has announced that they plan to actually write the word "Timecop" down on paper, follow it with more pages featuring description and dialogue, hire a director to wear a baseball cap that reads "Timecop" on the front, convince an actor to play a "Timecop," and then spend money on actually getting this thing made, and mass-produce billboards and other marketing materials that say "Timecop."

Sadly, they will not cast Jean Claude Van Damme to reprise his role as the cop who cops time for this one. Good luck finding an actor who can make his foot hover in front of people’s faces. They don’t teach that skill. You’re born with it. (What’s Playing)

Cast: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Vinnie Jones

Synopsis: Jack Conway (Jones) and Derek Chase (Van Damme) are the two best assassins in the world — but unknown to each other. While Conway is a master sharpshooter, Chase is equally skilled with a knife. These two rival assassins form an uneasy alliance to take down the head of a drug cartel, which is backed by the DEA.