From cheesy flicks but lovable flicks like Street Fighter to modern day mega-hits like The Expendables 2, Jean-Claude Van Damme has proven himself an iconic martial artist and actor. But his bravado just wasn’t enough to take down his singular sitcom appearance on Friends. 6cu38

In the episode “The One After The Superbowl, Part 2,” Van Damme played a fictional version of himself starring on the equally fictional film Outback 2. Plenty of fans fondly his cameo, and even the actor himself has said more people, “talk about that show more than all of my movies together.” So why did he say he felt ashamed by his time on the program?

Jean-Claude Van Damme didn’t know much about Friends 1eb1l

In the show, Van Damme is an absolute hunk that both Monica and Rachel want to have a date with. Sitcom shenanigans ensue; Monica and Rachel fight over who gets to go out with the superstar, and it turns out Van Damme only ever wanted to have a threesome with Rachel — and Drew Barrymore. He may have been confident on the screen, but behind the scenes, things were entirely different.

“I didn’t know much about the show,” Van Damme itted in an interview with the New York Post. He also made it clear that doing the show “was a good memory” for him. The issue didn’t come from complaints of the sitcom aging poorly either; it was all from disappointment in his own acting skills.

My acting is so bad. I look so like a ham. Like, ‘Hey, girls.’ […] It’s like, I’m ashamed of myself. So then I was on the set, and those girls, they go and they kiss me and they kiss me on the lips. I didn’t know what to do, how to do… It was strange. They were very nice.”

If anything, he’s probably lucky the deleted scene with him saying “I can crush a walnut with my butt” was cut, because the embarrassment levels might have hit critical mass. But in all seriousness, Van Damme is in the hallowed halls of Friends guest stars like Robin Williams, Brad Pitt, and Bruce Willis. When your name is next to star power like that, there’s nothing you should feel ashamed of.

With 10 mainline installments in the can, the core cast of the Fast & Furious franchise has swelled to a ridiculous levels, matters that aren’t helped by pretty much any major figure to have either been killed or presumed dead returning from beyond the grave.

If they don’t, then you can expect a family member that’s never been mentioned before to pop up in their stead as a surrogate of sorts, but producer and all-round figurehead Vin Diesel apparently draws the line somewhere when it comes to new recruits after Jean-Claude Van Damme claimed that he was actively blocked from boarding the series by its chrome-domed commander-in-chief.

Speaking to The Telegraph, the eccentric and often-controversial veteran that’s been sued for allegedly lying about his martial arts prowess, got into a fight for dating the estranged wife of his former bodyguard, and rescued a three-month old chihuahua from being euthanized as part of a dispute between Norway and Bulgaria at various points in his career was adamant he’d been offered a part before Diesel shut it down.

His side of the story extends to “They want me in Fast and Furious…But Vin Diesel said, ‘No, I don’t want him,'” but without either the actor who reportedly denied his request or studio Universal addressing the matter, it’s Van Damme’s word against Diesel’s. That being said, it’s not as if he hasn’t had any issues with heavyweights of the action genre before, even if those fences have been mended for the sake of making money.

Universal Soldier is a bizarre franchise. It started out as a standard action entry, but the more sequels have been made, the bolder and more unique the narrative gets. It’s the opposite of most IPs, which generally get safer and more reliant on what worked in the past as they go on. It’s this willingness to go bold, however, that makes the timeline a bit confusing.

There are six films in the Universal Soldier saga, and three different timelines between them. We have to hand it to the creators for being ahead of the curve when it comes to properties that ditch the continuity of sequels prior and try to start fresh. We’re going to attempt to break down the different timelines, and establish the easiest watching order for all six.

Original trilogy 2j1n1g

The easiest, and most obvious starting point in the first Universal Soldier (1992). The film was commissioned as a starring vehicle for Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren, and managed to gross $95 million on a $23 million budget. Despite its success, the studio that made Universal Soldier, Carolco, went bankrupt, and were forced to sell the rights to Skyvision Entertainment. 

Skyvision then commissioned two sequels in 1998: Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms and Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business. These have the same timeline, which means they can be watched in the order in which they’re numbered. Easy, right? Well, it’s about to get complicated. 

Retcon sequels 2t6x6s

Universal Soldier: The Return (1999) is meant to be a direct sequel to the first, which means it ignores the events of the Skyvision sequels. It brought back the producers of the opener, as well as stars Van Damme and Michael Jai White, but it flopped, grossing only $10 million on a $22 million budget.

A decade ed before the next chapter, Universal Soldier: Regeneration (2009), was released, and it tried to do the same thing that The Return did. It ignored the events of the Skyvision sequels and The Return, and tried to position itself as a direct sequel to the OG. Van Damme and Lundgren were reunited, and the reviews for Regeneration, while mixed, were the most positive they had been in decades.

Regeneration timeline 6m4n19

Universal Soldier: Regeneration was not a roaring box office success, but it did manage to spawn a direct sequel titled Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012). Van Damme and Lundgren returned, and the story, which dealt more into the characterization of the titular soldier than ever before, earned some unexpected praise from critics. 

Vulture’s Bilge Ebiri wrote that Day of Reckoning has “a mesmeric, unreal quality, where things can turn on a dime, and often do.” The film completes a trilogy that we will dub the “Regeneration” timeline. It’s easy to because they are the only entries in the franchise in which Van Damme and Lundgren both appear.

Viewing order 21666q

There are three different ways you can watch the Universal Soldier franchise. Well, four, if you want to simply follow the release date order (but that could get confusing). There’s the original trilogy, which looks like this:

• Universal Soldier
• Universal Soldier II: Brothers in Arms
• Universal Soldier III: Unfinished Business

There’s the Return timeline, which looks like this:

• Universal Soldier
• Universal Soldier: The Return

Then there’s the Regeneration trilogy, which looks like this:

• Universal Soldier
• Universal Soldier: Regeneration
• Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning

Happy viewing, whichever path you chose to follow!

I know this sounds like a contrarian position, but maybe 1994’s Street Fighter actually does have a lot of redeemable qualities that are often overlooked. I say this as a skeptic, mind you, so let me explain why I think it deserves a second chance.

You see, 1995’s Mortal Kombat is often viewed by video game fanatics as the first “good” adaptation of the medium. However, in spite of Street Fighter releasing one year prior — and both films holding “Rotten” status on Rotten Tomatoes — it seems like people love to trash on Street Fighter more. 

Once I knew of the film’s reputation as an adult, I always just assumed it really was unwatchable garbage and never gave it a second shot, despite having memories of loving it on VHS as a kid. Well, the day finally came when Street Fighter was available for free on Tubi, so I watched it the other day. And let me tell you, it wasn’t that bad. In fact, some aspects of it are great, in my opinion. 

Granted, Street Fighter is nowhere near my all-time favorite movie or anything like that. In fact, it even pales in comparison to the similarly titled anime from the same year Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie (which I would highly recommend, by the way). However, the Jean-Claude Van Damme movie does have its own special sort of charm that I believe explains why the flick continues to chart highly on streaming services, even to this day. After all, it is easy to forget the movie was actually financially successful at the box office, earning triple its budget worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. So let’s count down the top 10 reasons Street Fighter actually nailed it, in many ways, even if it isn’t a perfect movie.

10. It doesn’t do the stereotypical fighting tournament plot. 5pc6y

Unlike Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter does not go the stereotypical route of having the plot revolve around some kind of fighting tournament. Instead, it attempts to do a bit of an action spy thriller-type film about a ragtag group of heroes who must take down an evil dictator. Your mileage of this premise may vary but at least the film had the cojones to try something different.

9. The film refuses to take itself too seriously. 3w4qm

From the over-the-top villain to the cascading waterfall of side characters filling every frame, one thing this movie doesn’t do is try to be anything other than what it is: a fan-service-filled gallery of colorful characters getting into fights with each other. It may fail at achieving even this basic setup, in some ways, but at least the movie doesn’t feel like it is talking down to you at any point. Plus, the improvisational filming style writer-director Steven E. de Souza employed with its fast-and-loose plot to work around the film’s troubled production exudes the same anarchic energy of movies like The Evil Dead and Dawn of the Dead.

8. A pleasantly colorful palette keeps the eye entertained. 4op48

From the blue camo soldier uniforms of the freedom fighters in the movie to the colorful chemicals that are injected into Robert Mammone’s Blanka, Street Fighter embraces a vibrant splash of colors that will keep the eye entertained for the duration. Much praise needs to go to this aspect of the film as it firmly places the movie in other ’90s classics of camp, such as Surf Ninjas and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie. 

7. Blanka’s backstory is legitimately fascinating. 4w2h3

I will it, the final look of Blanka in the film when he finally emerges from his experimental pod doesn’t quite hold up as much as the version that existed in my head from childhood does. However, I still think that the film’s choice of giving Blanka a super soldier backstory where he is brainwashed and injected with chemicals is an interesting one that adds a lot to my favorite green monster from the game.

6. Chun-Li is a genuinely good character. 6u422v

Ming-Na Wen’s Chun-Li may not necessarily look perfectly like the character she is playing from the game Street Fighter II. However, her arc as a reporter who secretly trains as a freedom fighter and part-time ninja — including learning martial arts in her free time — I found to be a genuinely compelling one. And who could argue with the coolness of the scene when she unleashes her fighting ability upon an unsuspecting M. Bison after being his captor?

5. Jean Claude Van-Damme’s coke-fueled performance hits that so-bad-it’s-good itch 451615

This list is not intended to rewrite history. I fully acknowledge that Street Fighter has some flaws, the most noteworthy of which is probably Jean-Claude Van Damme’s gross miscasting as the main character Guile, who is supposed to be an all-American Air Force guy in the same vein as Tom Cruise’s Maverick from Top Gun. But if you can look past the thick European accent that Van Damme delivers you will find an absolute gem of a so-bad-it’s-good performance.

It’s well known today that Van Damme had a notorious drug problem on the set, which caused a lot of trouble for its production. However, Van Damme’s coke-fueled performance comes through as a hilarious piece to the ensemble, making him the Tommy Wiseau of Street Fighter. If you can find entertainment value in aspects of movies that go horribly wrong, I count Van Damme’s presence as an absolute win. 

4. The action scenes are actually pretty good. n4i5f

The action in Street Fighter is not that bad especially compared to modern-day films that rely too heavily on CGI. For my money, I would much rather see Raul Julia on stunt wires giving his maniacal expressions in the climactic fight at the end than see any Marvel effort feature digital duplicates of their actors shooting computer-generated light beams out of their hands.

3. M. Bison dollars. 5sr15

A scene that encapsulates the unabashed silliness of Street Fighter is found in a moment when Julia’s M. Bison tries to entice someone with a briefcase full of M. Bison dollars, which have no value. It is a gag worthy to be in an episode of The Simpsons, let alone in an action-filled video game movie. Watch this moment and witness Julia’s pure joy in chewing the scenery and tell me with a straight face that Street Fighter has nothing of value to offer the world. 

2. When the casting does land, it goes hard. 4u3b22

I’ve already mentioned some of the characters who are unfortunately miscast in the movie, most notably Van Damme, but when the casting does hit a home run it is an all-time great representation of that character. Andrew Bryniarski’s Zangief and Jay Tavare’s Vega are two obvious standouts for me. However, I would be remiss if I did not mention what I think is one of the most perfect casting choices in the movie, Wes Studi’s Victor Sagat.

1. Raul Julia is on another level as M. Bison 5jn1k

Raul Julia will forever remain an icon for ‘90s kids not simply for his role as Gomez Addams in Barry Sonnenfeld’s The Addams Family duology, but also for his portrayal of M Bison in Street Fighter. That same level of high energy and unabashed joy for the craft of acting is on full display here in what some might describe as high camp, but I think it’s a tier above that. True, he knows how to play the role with humor when the scene calls for it, but he can also come across as bone-chilling in the very next beat.

Julia’s dedication to the role is not in question. The actor powered through stomach cancer, which eventually took his life, to complete the movie because he was so committed to impressing his children with the role. Having taken inspiration from the mannerisms of famous dictators around the world, such as Benito Mussolini and Joseph Stalin, according to IMDb, Julia turned in a Shakespearian-like performance that I think should be ed as one of the all-time greats.

As fans mourn the loss of everyone’s favorite Power Ranger, it’s also a time to celebrate Jason David Frank’s life. While his fame is rooted in his time as the Green Ranger, he had his share of notable moments off camera as well. Like the time he almost fought Jean-Claude Van Damme at a comic con. 

Five years ago, it was a battle of the initials: JDF versus JCVD. The two were guests at the La Mole Comic Con in Mexico City when they had an altercation. 

The short version of the story, according to Frank via FloCombat, was that he had challenged his former idol to a fight years prior when JCVD apparently talked about ing the professional MMA ranks. Then at the 2017 comic con, the two finally met face-to-face, and the sparks flew. While no punches were thrown, it made for great headlines and plenty of wagers between the two actors’ fans. 

JCVD isn’t the only celebrity Frank has wanted to meet in the octagon. When Phil Brooks — aka professional wrestler C.M. Punk — left the world of sports entertainment to try his hand at combat sports, JDF was ready to knuckle up. As fans know, Frank is well-versed in mixed martial arts, having mastered several fighting techniques over decades of training. He even competed in amateur MMA bouts, scoring a 4-0 record in his short-lived fighting stint. Brooks would decline Frank’s challenge, but we’ll always wonder what would have been.

It doesn’t stop there. Over a decade ago, there was talk of him squaring up with athlete-turned-politician Herschel Walker. After turning pro in 2010, Frank wanted to the professional MMA promotion Strikeforce. At the time, Walker had made his mixed martial arts debut at 47 years old. Naturally, JDF was ready to take on his fellow celebrity. 

In the end, none of the celebrity-on-celebrity violence happened, but the potential is enough to keep us asking, what if…? 

Jean-Claude Van Damme first became a household name in the late 1980s, starring in major action blockbusters like Lionheart, Double Impact, Nowhere to Run, and more. The 61-year old Belgian actor and martial artist will now bow out from the genre in the What’s My Name?, where he plays a fictionalized version of himself. 

The star had previously played himself in 2008’s JCVD, which marked a resurgence of his acting career after starring in numerous direct-to-video films. Speaking with Deadline, the legendary martial artist revealed that the film, much like JCVD, will draw from bits and pieces of his life.

“I wanted to leave the stage but with a revisit of my career, starting with Bloodsport, the one where I started to become famous. I want this to be a new Bloodsport but on a higher level. In the film, I am on my way down in of career, and as I come out of a premiere of another action movie, I am not happy because I’ve been living in hotels the past 30 years, which is actually true.

We’re going to bring real elements from my real life and what happened to me. I came from Belgium, all the way to Hollywood. I succeeded, I failed, I came back. So I’m walking out on the street after the premiere, and boom! — a car hits me because I’m drunk. When I wake up from the impact, I don’t know what’s my name, and no one recognizes me.”

What’s My Name? will center on Van Damme’s character waking up with amnesia following a car crash, before he regains his memory through fighting memorable characters from his long and successful career. The actor also claimed he will get in prime physical condition for the film, and after it’s wrapped up, he will travel the world and spend time with his family, which sounds like a fitting retirement after such an illustrious decades-long period of roundhouse kicking people in the face.

Action fans can now enjoy The Last Mercenary, Jean-Claude Van Damme’s new movie, on Netflix. 

Van Damme is one of the most iconic action stars of all time. The Belgian actor is known for classic movies like Bloodsport, Kickboxer, Universal Soldier, and Hard Target, among dozens of other appearances. Van Damme turned 60 last year, but age has only slightly slowed down the talented martial artist. 

The Last Mercenary is Van Damme’s latest movie, where he stars as a former secret service agent who must return to to save his estranged son, falsely accused of arms and drug trafficking. Van Damme and the ing cast will have to fight their way through an international terrorist organization if they want to clear his son’s name. 

The trailer shows Van Damme fighting through dozens of thugs with ease, often taking on multiple fighters half his age. The film also contains comedic elements reminiscent of Van Damme’s earlier movies, including what appears to be a nod to his infamous dance scene in Kickboxer. 

Van Damme also pulls off his trademark splits in the trailer, showing fans that he can still perform and fight. Younger fans might not realize Van Damme inspired the Mortal Kombat Johnny Cage, and his Spilt Punch move is a direct reference to a scene in Bloodsport. 

It is unlikely that The Last Mercenary will earn any significant awards, but it should still be a fun experience for older and new fans alike. 

The Last Mercenary is now available on Netflix. 

You have to give director John Hyams credit for not just giving audiences the same old thing with Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. Those expecting a fun and action-packed thrill ride are going to be in for a major shock as this entry in the long-running franchise functions more as a horror movie than anything else. But despite the fact that the filmmakers are taking this series in a different direction, it doesn’t change the fact that the film is slow and dull in several spots, so much so that in the end, it doesn’t work as a whole. Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren return as our favorite Universal Soldiers: Luc Deveraux and Andrew Scott, and they have since formed the Unisol Church of Eventualism, which has them taking in wayward soldiers like themselves whom the government has been secretly operating as remote-controlled sleeper agents. Their goal is to liberate their fellow soldiers from the implanted memories and lies that the government has inserted into them so that they can start a new world order. But while Van Damme and Lundgren get top billing in Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, their appearances here are essentially cameos. The real star of this sequel is Scott Adkins who plays John, a man who as the movie opens is savagely attacked by home invaders who end up murdering his wife and child. One of those invaders reveals himself to be Deveraux who, following the events of Universal Soldier: Regeneration, is not quite what he used to be. After awakening from a coma and undergoing a tough physical recovery, John goes on a mission to find Deveraux and exact revenge on him for what he has done to his family. From there, the movie turns into a Jason Bourne-like story as John comes to make horrifying discoveries about himself and realizes that his life is not all that it’s cracked up to be. John also finds a female companion in Sarah (Mariah Bonner), who seems to know more about him than even he does, and he gets viciously attacked by Magnus (Andrei “The Pit Bull” Arlovski), a man who really has it in for him. The film’s last half is clearly inspired by Apocalypse Now as eventually,  John descends into hell to discover who he really is. Adkins previously appeared in The Expendables 2, which came out earlier this year, and he certainly has the moves to pull off the role as he goes about kicking ass. As an actor he’s not bad, but he spends too much time trying to emote and be all serious, so much so that you wish that the script gave him a little more to do. Still, his role serves as a good jumping off point for him for future projects and from here, he has nowhere to go but up. For those curious about the action in Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, it does have some really well done scenes which almost make it worth watching. Hyams, along with fight choreographer Larnell Stovall and cinematographer Yaron Levy stage some fights that seem especially brilliant when you take into that this film only had a shooting schedule of 30 days. This especially goes for Adkins’ last few fights, one of which is shot in a sustained take that lasts a couple of minutes. Another highlight of the film is, as expected, Dolph Lundgren, who gives the movie those moments of humor that it needs to rise out of the story’s overwhelming bleakness. Although he’s never been a great actor, Lundgren is always fun to watch and you come out of this film wishing he was in it a whole lot more. He’s clearly having a blast here as Scott works on bringing all his fellow Universal Soldiers back together for some ass-kicking and understanding. As for Van Damme, he’s interesting to watch here as his character goes in a different direction this time out. His stoic seriousness serves him well as Deveraux goes into Colonel Kurtz mode by the movie’s end. This is no longer the good guy character we him to be in the previous installments, and Van Damme looks to be relishing the opportunity to not be doing a role that he could just sleepwalk through. Watching Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, it is clear that Hyams and company put a lot of thought into the story and tried to make it more than just ‘another Universal Soldier film’. With franchises like these, filmmakers become obligated to shake things up as the films can become easily weighed down by formula. Hyams understands this, but the movie is waylaid by a number of slow sequences that render portions of the film dull and boring. Ultimately, the film comes off feeling like the Alien 3 of the Universal Soldier franchise, as it becomes, at times, far too nihilistic to be enjoyed. Still, Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning is worth a watch for those die-hard fans of the series. There’s some decent entertainment here and a number of the fight sequences are very good. If you can get past those frustrating slow spots, then this sequel just might be worth your time.

The gang reloads and changes positions as star Sylvester Stallone bows out of directing the sequel to the action mega-film known as The Expendables. Director Simon West gives The Expendables 2 a much-needed steady hand for directing the multiple generic action shootouts that all end the same way, only this time with even more washed up actors from the 80s/90s. The Expendables 2 is better than the previous entry, but not by much. I’m convinced that most people that try to defend The Expendables or its superior sequel haven’t recently watched one of the 80s action flicks that inspired this mess of work. Those films were cheesy in their own rights, but damn entertaining and loaded with violence and shooting, done up the old-fashioned American way with buckets of prop blood and lots of real rigged explosions. The stories were light and the acting was able, but the enjoyment one could get out of any given Schwarzenegger or Stallone film was high and that is what drove the stars to have successful, yet slightly repetitive careers. The Expendables is simply name nostalgia and not an actual tribute to the films that have come and gone before it. The Expendables 2 is a little better, thanks to the swapping of Stallone for Simon West as director, but it still misses the ball by a couple of miles. West directs this one with more violence and less story, which is a plus, but he continues to use poorly rendered CGI for the blood work and he shoehorns in even more actors from the past that can’t seem to string a sentence together. Now we’re greeted with the likes of Chuck Norris, even though he’s only in it for a microsecond. Guys like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis are given meatier roles, only to flat-line them with one-liners that make obvious references to their past bodies of work, like The Terminator or Die Hard. At least they brought on Jean-Claude Van Damme as the film’s villain, because he gives the film that much needed kick (literally). Van Damme and returning co-star Dolph Lundgren seem to be the only two that fully understand what makes The Expendables 2 work, because they’re constantly giving over-the-top and fun performances. It sucks that they’re surrounded by the clueless and misguided Sylvester Stallone and the even more pointless Jason Statham. When Terry Crews becomes one of the highest levels of enjoyment in a film loaded with action heroes then you know you’re doing something wrong. Nothing against Crews, because the guy is a hilarious addition to the cast, but he shouldn’t be out-acting guys like Stallone and Statham, yet he dances around them effortlessly. Jet Li was the smartest one of the bunch, because he cuts the string early on and bails before lunchtime. The rest is a haze of flavorless action that simply puts these roided up freaks against countless bad guys without a face or purpose. It’s not fun watching our favorite hero mow down row after row of enemies if we aren’t given the slightest reason as to why we should even care what he’s doing. The Expendables 2 is easier to get through than the first film, but the first film was a glaring disappointment that took a giant shit on everything it should have been paying homage to. They say the third time’s a charm, but I’m willing to bet that doesn’t apply to this situation. Lionsgate transfers the film to Blu-Ray with a 1080p presentation that’s dark and natural, yet never too appealing to the eyes. The film gets points for remaining true to the source, but the colors are all washed up and grey, with that grittiness making way for finer detail and color exposure. The 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is the only perfect thing about the entire experience. This shoot first ask questions later audio track comes exploding with bullets and bombs at a rapid pace that’ll keep your heart beating from start to stop. Dialogue is rarely spoken, yet when it is you’ll have no troubles comprehending it between the various scenes of pure war and carnage. Here’s a list of the bonus material found on the disc:

• Audio Commentary with Director Simon West
• Gods of War: Assembling Earth’s Mightiest Anti-Heroes (HD)
• Big Guns, Bigger Heroes: The 1980’s and the Rise of the Action Film (HD)
• On the Assault: The Real Life Weaponry of The Expendables 2 (HD)
• Guns for Hire: The Real Life Expendables (HD)
• Deleted Scenes (HD)
• Gag Reel (HD)
• Digital Copy
• UltraViolet Digital Copy

I’m still holding my breath for that Expendables film that accurately portrays why I loved watching 80s and 90s action flicks growing up and still revisit them to this day. Stallone clearly doesn’t understand why and while Simon West attempts to grasp that idea, he mostly comes up short. The Expendables 2 is what The Expendables should have been at the very least, which is a bad movie that has some decent action. The bar has been lowered severely at this point and yet I still question why these guys can’t deliver anything better.

Forget UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva. Georges St-Pierre disclosed to the Leader-Post, albeit jokingly, that a face off with Jean-Claude Van Damme would be the superfight he would have wanted.

“I would have liked to fight Jean-Claude Van Damme in ‘Bloodsport’. That would have been my dream fight, in an MMA cage,” said St-Pierre

While this is obviously nothing but a fantasy, JCVD was recently spotted at Tri-Star Gym in Montreal training with St-Pierre in preparation for his role in The Expendables 2. Undoubtedly, both stars likely hold a mutual respect for one another due to their similar backgrounds: both have a ion for martial arts and have French speaking roots. Although this match up would have been fun to see on the silver screen in the 80’s during Van Damme’s prime, in reality, St-Pierre is preparing to return from a lengthy departure from MMA due to a knee injury. He is scheduled to return to the cage to face interim UFC welterweight champion Carlos Condit on November 17 at UFC 154 in Montreal. If St-Pierre successfully defends his belt, UFC President Dana White has announced that he is willing to put together a superfight that, if made, puts a GSP vs. JCVD match to shame. The buzz in the mixed martial arts community is due to a potential blockbuster fight with consensus pound for pound king and UFC middleweight champ, Anderson’The Spider’ Silva. For now, GSP vs. JCVD and GSP vs. The Spider remain nothing but pure fantasy, but at least one may still become a reality.

With the release date for The Expendables 2 closing in, we now have the final poster for the Stallone action flick. Does it deliver? Of course it does. It has eleven tough guys with guns and fire everywhere. What else did you want? As the tagline “Back for War” suggests, Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone) reunites his team for revenge after the death of one of the Expendables. Here is the official plot summary from the studio:

Mr. Church (Willis) enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney (Stallone) and his band of old-school mercenaries. But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time — six pounds of weapons-grade plutonium; enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that’s nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary (Van Damme) who savagely murdered their brother. That is done the Expendables way….

The film features an all-star cast including Sylvester Stallone, Liam Hemsworth, Jason Statham, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jet Li, Scott Adkins, Chuck Norris, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews and Randy Couture. The first film was ravaged by critics for its weak writing and character development but it was still quite entertaining. Let’s hope that this film delivers not only in action, but also in storyline. Then again, everyone knows that Simon West isn’t exactly a Shakespearean director, so I don’t know how much we can expect…. The Expendables 2 opens August 17th in the US. Take a look at the star-studded poster below.

The Expendables 2 isn’t too far off now and yesterday, a new TV spot was released. It features more action, more explosions and more big men with big guns. In addition to the testosterone overload, we also get some new looks at the star studded cast, which is led by Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis. ing the three action movie legends are Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Terry Crews, Liam Hemsworth and more. The spot does a good job of selling the film for what it is, an action movie fanboy’s dream. As much as I enjoyed The Expendables, the sequel looks a lot better and I like the direction that director Simon West is going in. With $100 million to spend (compared to the $80 million dollar budget of the first film), West was able to do a lot more with his set pieces and it really shows. Check out the TV spot below and let us know what you think. The Expendables 2 will hit theatres on August 17th.