Jean-Claude Van Damme has starred in dozens of action movies, but arguably his most overlooked also happens to be his directorial debut. My love of martial arts began in childhood, which naturally sent me down an infinite rabbit hole of watching every martial arts flick I could get my hands on and studying a wide variety of different disciplines. That also made me quite a fan of the Muscles from Brussels himself, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and one who continues to wonder why his 1996 directorial debut The Quest doesn’t get more love.
Set in 1925, The Quest follows a young fighter named Christopher Dubois (Van Damme), who enters a secret martial arts tournament in Tibet known as the Ghang-gheng. To say The Quest blew my expectations out of the water wouldn’t come close to covering it, but I remain perplexed at how little it is discussed as a clear highlight of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s career. Here’s why, in my estimation, The Quest is Van Damme’s most underrated movie.
The Quest Was Van Damme’s Second PG-13 Movie (& Handled Much Better Than Street Fighter ) Like many Hollywood action heroes of the ’80s and ’90s, Jean-Claude Van Damme largely appeared in R-rated fare while simultaneously building up a sizeable fan base among kids and younger audiences, even inspiring many with his kicks and splits to take up martial arts. Van Damme made his first foray in the PG-13 world as Colonel Guile in 1994’s Street Fighter . Unfortunately, while Street Fighter was a sizeable .
