(Photo by Universal Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection)

Jean-Claude Van Damme Movies Ranked

We’re ranking the films of action star Jean-Claude Van Damme! We start with his Certified Fresh projects, including voicing Master Croc in Kung Fu Panda 2, and the meta JCVD, which flexed his acting muscles. His Fresh films include John Woo’s American debut Hard Target, villainous turns in Minions: The Rise of Gru and The Expendables 2. And among the fan favorites: prime slabs of ’80s action in Bloodsport and Kickboxer.

#1

JCVD (2008)
Tomatometer icon 82%

#1
Adjusted Score: 85809%
Critics Consensus: JCVD is a touching, fascinating piece, with Jean-Claude Van Damme confounding all with his heartfelt performance.
Synopsis: Weary action star Jean-Claude Van Damme (Jean-Claude Van Damme) returns to Belgium to find relief from his troubles but instead... [More]
Directed By: Mabrouk El Mechri

#2

Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
Tomatometer icon 82%

#2
Adjusted Score: 89310%
Critics Consensus: The storyline arc may seem a tad familiar to fans of the original, but Kung Fu Panda 2 offers enough action, comedy, and visual sparkle to compensate.
Synopsis: Now known as the Dragon Warrior, Po (Jack Black) protects the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung... [More]
Directed By: Jennifer Yuh Nelson

#3
#3
Adjusted Score: 76606%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: One year after avenging his brother's murder, MMA champion Kurt Sloane finds himself imprisoned by a powerful gangster in Thailand.... [More]
Directed By: Dimitri Logothetis

#4

The Bouncer (2018)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#4
Adjusted Score: 29419%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A bouncer agrees to help Interpol hunt down a crime boss so that he can regain custody of his daughter... [More]
Directed By: Julien Leclercq

#5
#5
Adjusted Score: 45175%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Picked on by Seattle bullies, a karate student (Kurt McKinney) learns enough to face a Soviet (Jean-Claude Van Damme) twice... [More]
Directed By: Corey Yuen

#6

Enemies Closer (2013)
Tomatometer icon 79%

#6
Adjusted Score: 56199%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A former Navy SEAL (Tom Everett Scott) becomes trapped in the wilderness with drug runners and an old enemy (Orlando... [More]
Directed By: Peter Hyams

#7
#7
Adjusted Score: 79821%
Critics Consensus: The Minions' antic shenanigans are beginning to grate despite this sequel's injection of retro chic, although this loony marathon of gags will still delight young children.
Synopsis: In the heart of the 1970s, amid a flurry of feathered hair and flared jeans, Gru (Oscar® nominee Steve Carell)... [More]
Directed By: Kyle Balda

#8

The Expendables 2 (2012)
Tomatometer icon 68%

#8
Adjusted Score: 73929%
Critics Consensus: Taut, violent, and suitably self-deprecating, The Expendables 2 gives classic action fans everything they can reasonably expect from a star-studded shoot-'em-up -- for better and for worse.
Synopsis: Mercenary leader Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham) and the rest of the Expendables team reunite when Mr.... [More]
Directed By: Simon West

#9

Hard Target (1993)
Tomatometer icon 62%

#9
Adjusted Score: 65252%
Critics Consensus: Hard Target gets a boost from John Woo's stylish direction, but at heart, it's still another silly, explosion-dependent action thriller in the Jean-Claude Van Damme oeuvre.
Synopsis: Chance Boudreaux (Jean-Claude Van Damme), a sailor skilled in martial arts, is employed to guard Natasha Binder (Yancy Butler) as... [More]
Directed By: John Woo

#10

The Last Mercenary (2021)
Tomatometer icon 56%

#10
Adjusted Score: 56357%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Richard Brumère, aka "La Brume" ("The Mist"), a former French secret service special agent turned mercenary, is back in the... [More]
Directed By: David Charhon

#11
Adjusted Score: 58658%
Critics Consensus: The mooted final installment in the long-running series is a hyper-violent, often grim throwback to action movies of yore -- which will appeal to some audiences just as emphatically as it deters others.
Synopsis: Archenemies Luc Devereaux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren) contend with a terrifying army of reanimated supersoldiers.... [More]
Directed By: John Hyams

#12

Sudden Death (1995)
Tomatometer icon 51%

#12
Adjusted Score: 53130%
Critics Consensus: Sudden Death may not be a classic, but exciting set pieces and strong work from Jean-Claude Van Damme help this action thriller pay off part of its Die Hard debt.
Synopsis: Ex-fireman Darren McCord (Jean-Claude Van Damme) has a new job working security at the Pittsburgh Civic Arena. Hoping to impress... [More]
Directed By: Peter Hyams

#13

Bloodsport (1988)
Tomatometer icon 48%

#13
Adjusted Score: 49917%
Critics Consensus: This is where it all began for the Muscles from Brussels, but beyond Van Damme's athleticism, Bloodsport is a cliched, virtually plotless exercise in action movie recycling.
Synopsis: U.S. soldier Frank Dux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) has come to Hong Kong to be accepted into the Kumite, a highly... [More]
Directed By: Newt Arnold

#14

Timecop (1994)
Tomatometer icon 42%

#14
Adjusted Score: 44757%
Critics Consensus: It's no Terminator, but for those willing to suspend disbelief and rational thought, Timecop provides limited sci-fi action rewards.
Synopsis: When mankind perfects time travel, the government establishes the Time Enforcement Commission to thwart criminal attempts to alter the timeline.... [More]
Directed By: Peter Hyams

#15
#15
Adjusted Score: 41746%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Kurt Sloane (Alain Moussi) has always been there for his brother, Eric (Darren Shahlavi), who's known in the martial arts... [More]
Directed By: John Stockwell

#16

Kickboxer (1989)
Tomatometer icon 40%

#16
Adjusted Score: 40023%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Eric Sloane (Dennis Alexio) is an American kickboxing pro, helped by his brother, Kurt (Jean-Claude Van Damme), in his quest... [More]
Directed By: Mark DiSalle, David Worth

#17

Double Impact (1991)
Tomatometer icon 33%

#17
Adjusted Score: 34099%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Nearly 25 years after seeing his father killed by Hong Kong crime boss Raymond Zhang (Philip Chan Yan Kin), Chad... [More]
Directed By: Sheldon Lettich

#18

Lionheart (1990)
Tomatometer icon 39%

#18
Adjusted Score: 39696%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Léon Gaultier (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is a soldier in the French Foreign Legion, serving abroad in East Africa. But after... [More]
Directed By: Sheldon Lettich

#19

Universal Soldier (1992)
Tomatometer icon 34%

#19
Adjusted Score: 36474%
Critics Consensus: Universal Soldier unites a pair of veteran action stars behind a potentially intriguing premise, but on this battlefield, entertainment value is largely AWOL.
Synopsis: During the Vietnam War, soldier Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) finds that his superior officer, Andrew Scott (Dolph Lundgren), has... [More]
Directed By: Roland Emmerich

#20

Maximum Risk (1996)
Tomatometer icon 34%

#20
Adjusted Score: 36034%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: French police officer Alain Moreau (Jean-Claude Van Damme) makes an astonishing discovery: Mikhail, a man who died recently in a... [More]
Directed By: Ringo Lam

#21

Nowhere to Run (1993)
Tomatometer icon 36%

#21
Adjusted Score: 37726%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: An escaped convict, Sam Gillen (Jean-Claude Van Damme) travels to a farm to search for money from an earlier heist.... [More]
Directed By: Robert Harmon

#22

Legionnaire (1998)
Tomatometer icon 29%

#22
Adjusted Score: 14214%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: When ambitious boxer Alain LeFevre (Jean-Claude Van Damme) refuses to accept a mobster's bribe, he ends up with a price... [More]
Directed By: Peter MacDonald

#23

Replicant (2001)
Tomatometer icon 30%

#23
Adjusted Score: 12511%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Detective Jake Riley (Michael Rooker) is on the trail of serial killer Edward "The Torch" Garrotte (Jean-Claude Van Damme), who... [More]
Directed By: Ringo Lam

#24

Cyborg (1989)
Tomatometer icon 22%

#24
Adjusted Score: 22840%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In a future beset by chaos and violence, mercenary Gibson Rickenbacker (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is charged with a mission that... [More]
Directed By: Albert Pyun

#25
#25
Adjusted Score: 10063%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A bullied employee (Adam Brody) must unleash his inner beast after a team-building retreat in the wilderness goes awry.... [More]
Directed By: Rob Meltzer

#26

We Die Young (2019)
Tomatometer icon - -

#26
Adjusted Score: -1%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A war veteran tries to help a boy and his younger brother when they get mixed up with a vicious... [More]
Directed By: Lior Geller

#27

The Quest (1996)
Tomatometer icon 14%

#27
Adjusted Score: 14677%
Critics Consensus: Jean-Claude Van Damme makes a forgettable directorial debut with The Quest, a bland retread of better heroes' journeys.
Synopsis: In the slums of New York City during the 1920s, petty thief Chris Dubois (Jean-Claude Van Damme) finds himself on... [More]
Directed By: Jean-Claude Van Damme

#28

Pound of Flesh (2015)
Tomatometer icon 15%

#28
Adjusted Score: 10259%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A former black-ops agent (Jean-Claude Van Damme) begins a blood-soaked quest to find the organ thieves who stole his kidney... [More]
Directed By: Ernie Barbarash

#29

The Order (2001)
Tomatometer icon 13%

#29
Adjusted Score: 4337%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Framed for murder, a man (Jean-Claude Van Damme) must find a sacred scroll in Jerusalem before it falls into the... [More]
Directed By: Sheldon Lettich

#30

Street Fighter (1994)
Tomatometer icon 11%

#30
Adjusted Score: 13674%
Critics Consensus: Though it offers mild entertainment through campy one-liners and the overacting of the late Raul Julia, Street Fighter's nonstop action sequences are not enough to make up for a predictable, uneven storyline.
Synopsis: Gen. Bison (Raul Julia), the evil dictator of Shadaloo, captures a busload of relief workers and holds them for ransom.... [More]
Directed By: Steven E. de Souza

#31

Double Team (1997)
Tomatometer icon 11%

#31
Adjusted Score: 11464%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: An international spy (Jean-Claude Van Damme) teams with a flamboyant weapons dealer (Dennis Rodman) to escape from a penal colony... [More]
Directed By: Hark Tsui

#32

Knock Off (1998)
Tomatometer icon 10%

#32
Adjusted Score: 11871%
Critics Consensus: Muddled plot; stiff acting.
Synopsis: Fashion designer Marcus Ray (Jean-Claude Van Damme) has been selling knockoff jeans in Hong Kong, but he's about to get... [More]
Directed By: Hark Tsui

#33
Adjusted Score: 7314%
Critics Consensus: Universal Soldier - The Return fails on almost every level, from its generic story to its second rate action and subpar performances.
Synopsis: After being brought back from the dead as a genetically enhanced warrior, Luc Deveraux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is now fully... [More]
Directed By: Mic Rodgers

#34

Black Water (2018)
Tomatometer icon 0%

#34
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A deep cover operative awakens to find himself imprisoned on a submarine. With the help of a fellow prisoner and... [More]
Directed By: Pasha Patriki

#35

Desert Heat (1999)
Tomatometer icon 0%

#35
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Veteran Eddie (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is on the verge of a breakdown. Depressed and grappling with a difficult loss, he... [More]
Directed By: John G. Avildsen

#36

Derailed (2002)
Tomatometer icon 0%

#36
Critics Consensus: Derailed is one of those familiar and pulpy cautionary tales that depend largely on implausible coincidences and preposterous twists.
Synopsis: Secret agent Kristoff (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is assigned to escort Galina Konstantin (Laura Elena Harring), a thief in possession of... [More]
Directed By: Bob Misiorowski

#37

Death Warrant (1990)
Tomatometer icon 0%

#37
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: An undercover officer (Jean-Claude Van Damme) investigates murder and mayhem in a prison where kickboxing comes in handy.... [More]
Directed By: Deran Sarafian