These were by no means masterpieces of cinema. But when held up against his peers, JCVD's films do stand out. And most of held up very well, especially Hard Target and Maximum Risk.

Saying no in Hollywood can be a risky move, especially when it comes to a sequel to a huge hit.

Filmed on location in Boston and I can assure you..every explosion was real. Especially the one right in Back Bay near the Common.

Good Lord…how did we miss "Blown Away"! They blew up half my beloved city making that thing. Jeff Bridges's Irish accent comes and goes more than Costner's in Robin Hood, which is no small feat!! Plus an abundance of U2 on the soundtrack. It got overshadowed by Speed big time that summer.

Given the popularity of this feature, has the AV Club considered creating a podcast around it?
It doesn't even have to focus on the "winner" from each year. Breihan could use the podcast to trace the history of the action film and pull in some great guests to discuss their experiences on those sets (stunt men, VX…

No idea. Tall, athletic, decent acting ability and absolutely gorgeous. Maybe it was due to the fact that she started her career in garbage like Species. While it is by no means a good film, Ghosts of Mars showed that she could have been a solid action heroine in her own right. And she was a last minute replacement…

Bloodsport to Maximum Risk may be one of the best and consistent runs any action star ever had. Discuss.
Bloodsport, Kickboxer, Lionheart, Double Impact, Universal Soldier, Hard Target, Timecop, Sudden Death, Maximum Risk.
Granted there is some garbage in there (Cyborg, Street Fighter), but that is a very good run and…

Maximum Risk is top 5 JCVD and it kicked off a great run with Ringo Lam. Watched it a few months back and it holds up so well. Hard Target is more fun since it so over the top, but Maximum Risk is his grittiest film by far. And it has Natasha Henstridge. The world needs more Henstridge.

Timecop is first time people thought "Wow, maybe this Van Damme guy can act?!" It was his best performance by a wide margin for the time.

Respect Reeves more with each passing year. He has stuck to his guns even when the rest of Hollywood has laughed at him (turning down Speed 2).
He has some legitimate action classic under his belt (Point Break, Speed, Matrix, John Wick).
Takes risks that sometimes result in minor classics (My Own Private Idaho).
Even…

Executive Decision convinced me that Kurt Russell should have been cast as Jack Ryan from day one.

No it wasn't. 95 should have gone to Die Hard with a Vengeance. It is vintage McTiernan and a testament to big budget, practical action spectacle. Bad Boys ushered in the era of music video aesthetics taking over mainstream Hollywood.

Can't argue with Speed as the top pick for 1994. Still one of the most fun movie going experiences I ever had. And it came out of nowhere. There was zero hype around Speed. One of the last "word of mouth" action hits.

Van Damme's ego got the best of him. The original cut focused more on Henriksen and Vosloo. In recent years, he has gone out of his way to praise Woo and especially Ringo Lam for their contributions to his career.

I agree but if Van Damme does indeed have a legacy, it is having the good taste to bring Woo, Lam and Hark to Hollywood and exposing their style to a wider audience. That and being one of the most athletic Hollywood stars of all time.

I believe it was for Rambo. He was indeed on set and would offer direction but only as back up to the star. Costamos was recommended to Russell and the production by Stallone himself. I believe that the producers of Tombstone also had a had in the Rambo films as well.

You are absolutely right. 2005 was Batman Begins. I'm not a comic book person so all these films bleed together.

Would argue that Van Damme's work with Hong Kong directors did in fact influence the action genre. Had Van Damme not brought Woo to America, I'm not sure Hollywood would have fully embraced his style. Van Damme's work with Ringo Lam also had an effect on the DTV action genre by elevating what those films could be (see…

He was on the A-list for a few minutes with Timecop. It was pretty much all over two years later. I still hold out hope that someone sends him the Liam Neeson action scripts and we get a major comeback, especially since JCVD has turned into a pretty decent actor.

Davis used a lot of the same actors/ex-cops that gave Code of Silence and Above the Law its local flavor. By the way, did anyone else notice that Above of Law is basically a remake of Code Silence?