The latest video in Lance Vlcek's The F*cking Black Sheep series is a special double feature, as the release of JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM has inspired Lance to take a look back at two underappreciated entries in action star Jean-Claude Van Damme's filmography.
Like Lance, I am a big fan of Van Damme, especially of the films that were part of what Lance calls his "golden era". The two films he focuses on in this video are a couple of my least favorite golden era Van Damme movies, but I can agree they're worth checking out.
First up is director Albert Pyun's CYBORG, which was released in 1989 and described as an "explosive, future shocked bloody battle against the ultimate evil". CYBORG has the following synopsis:
Convulsed by social anarchy and a virulent, incurable plague, 21st century America has descended into a seething, barbaric nightmare. On a desperate quest for data to cure the epidemic, a beautiful human-robot Cyborg is captured by cannibalistic Flesh Pirates, who plot to keep the cure for themselves. Now, only the awesome fighting skills of sword-for-hire Gibson Rickenbacker can rescue her and save what remains of civilization.
The other film examined here is SUDDEN DEATH, directed by Peter Hyams and released in 1995. The plot of this "tension-packed suspense thriller":
Inside the Civic Arena, 17,000 rabid hockey fans gather for the Stanley Cup final game – including the vice president of the United States. What they don’t know is that someone is planning to have the building, and its inhabitants, blown to bits. Van Damme portrays Darren McCord, a father who brings his two children to watch the Pittsburgh Penguins versus the Chicago Blackhawks. But when his daughter is suddenly taken hostage by terrorists, their special night out turns into a deadly race against time. Her sinister captor is demanding delivery of a billion dollars from the US Treasury by game’s end. With thousands of lives at stake, Van Damme frantically sets a plan in motion to rescue his daughter and abort the impending explosion… before the final buzzer.
The video embedded below also includes a shout-out to Steven E. de Souza's 1994 video game adaptation STREET FIGHTER, in which Van Damme played the character Guile. While I don't share Lance's positive view on that one, I do share his view of Van Damme in general, and this Black Sheep video is a great tribute to one of my favorite heroes.
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