Welcome to the Jungle (now on video)

Review by Charles Cassady, Jr.

Aging 1980-90s action hero Jean-Claude Van Damme parodies his image in his latest flick WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE. Which would be sad, except he's not at all alone. Many a 1980s-90s action hero has gone this route in cheerful defiance
/surrender to the reality of passing years, thinning hair and flabby midsections. Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Segal, Bruce Willis - all went into self-spoof with varying degrees (Willis, who was doing light comedy and good dramatic bits all along, just rolled with the times gracefully). I think mainly Chuck Norris, Wesley Snipes and Jet Li really avoided full-on goofing themselves, though Norris inspired so many Chuck Norris jokes he might just as well have.

And, when Van Damme did indeed portray himself as a has-been Belgian action idol caught in a bank hostage crisis in 2008's JCVD, critics actually loved it. And, as we all know in movies, when something works one time (like kickboxing), Van Damme (or Van-damn near anyone else) does it again.