If you haven't seen Bloodsport, stop what you're doing and watch Bloodsport

Jean-Claude Van Damme gets a bad rap. Due to when he got famous and the sorts of movies that he usually makes, JCVD often gets lumped in with other B-tier '80s action stars like Steven Seagal and Chuck Norris, which does Van Damme a disservice.

If you go back and watch the '80s action movies that made all three men famous, you'll likely notice the difference. Seagal and Norris both wade through most of their movies (Executive Decision notwithstanding) like they're playing a video game with all the cheats enabled. Their characters rarely get wounded, have a moment's doubt about their current course of action, or even take a punch. To their credit, both Seagal and Norris made at least one genuinely good movie in their careers (Under Siege, Lone Wolf McQuade, technically The Way of the Dragon), but they both consistently played stoic invincible guys.

Van Damme, conversely, played more fallible protagonists, put up against more dangerous opposition. Van Damme's characters make mistakes ( Double Team, Double Impact ), get horribly beaten ( Cyborg, Kickboxer ), suffer serious losses along the way ( Timecop ), or just look like morons half the time ( Universal Soldier , his action mullet in Hard Target ). Even when Van Damme's acting isn't quite up to the task at hand (and y'know, you try putting on a performance in your second language), it's easier to root for him because it's easier to believe he's in danger.

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