Double-Feature: Executive Decision & Air Force One

[Guestx]

Sensei: You know, you're not the first person to point out the obvious parallels between Jesus' life and my own.

I will give him credit for landing roles in such high-profile, big-budget pictures as Executive Decision and Under Siege. In Under Siege he got to co-star with Tommy Lee Jones. In Executive Decision, he's only in the movie for about half an hour or something, but he still got to share the screen with Kurt Russell.

Van Damme is still light-years cooler, of course, but giving credit where it's due I'll concede that Van Damme never got to do something like that.

 

[FierceRedBelt]

You've seen him Die Hard on a boat, train, and this summer you'll get to see Sensei handle terrorists a plane!

\
Van Damme is still light-years cooler, of course, but giving credit where it's due I'll concede that Van Damme never got to do something like that.

Seagal was a bit of a flash in the pan but he burned a thousand times brighter. At his best he was an A-List celebrity.

 

[Guestx]

Seagal was a bit of a flash in the pan but he burned a thousand times brighter. At his best he was an A-List celebrity.

My remembrance is that Van Damme was always the most popular of the two. I didn't know anyone personally who preferred Seagal. But then again, I was like 12 years old during their primes.

Since Seagal was given the opportunity to appear in films with actors like that, it does make me wonder if I would've noticed more of an appreciation for him among adults if I had been of a proper age to get that perspective.

 

[FierceRedBelt]

My remembrance is that Van Damme was always the most popular of the two. I didn't know anyone personally who preferred Seagal. But then again, I was like 12 years old during their primes.

Since Seagal was given the opportunity to appear in films with actors like that, it does make me wonder if I would've noticed more of an appreciation for him among adults if I had been of a proper age to get that perspective.

See it's the exact opposite for me. I don't remember Vandamm ever being popular and it seemed like he was going to hit it big with Street Fighter but that ended up being a huge joke against him.

Everyone I knew loved Sensei's early stuff. At his best he delivered an extremely quick and violent fighting style that we'd never seen before and I'd argue since. His acting was a lot better than Jean's too.

 

[BisexualMMA]

I will give him credit for landing roles in such high-profile, big-budget pictures as Executive Decision and Under Siege. In Under Siege he got to co-star with Tommy Lee Jones. In Executive Decision, he's only in the movie for about half an hour or something, but he still got to share the screen with Kurt Russell.

Van Damme is still light-years cooler, of course, but giving credit where it's due I'll concede that Van Damme never got to do something like that.

I think of Under Siege more as him getting to share the screen with Bernie Casey and Erika Eleniak's ample bosom.

 

[BisexualMMA]

My remembrance is that Van Damme was always the most popular of the two. I didn't know anyone personally who preferred Seagal. But then again, I was like 12 years old during their primes.

Since Seagal was given the opportunity to appear in films with actors like that, it does make me wonder if I would've noticed more of an appreciation for him among adults if I had been of a proper age to get that perspective.

Both Van Damme and the Sensei consistently had good to great actors to play off as villains or supporting characters.

Van Damme - Ron Silver, Lance Henriksen, Mickey Rourke, Ted Levine, Powers Boothe.

Sensei Jesus - Gary Busey, Tommy Lee Jones, Michael Caine, William Forsythe...

At some point, Van Damme started taking notes and/or got inspired by his co-stars.

I think the Sensei thought he was better than these superior actors and mostly scoffed at the opportunity to learn from them and he only got worse over time. Shit, I can only imagine Seagal and Busey on the same set. Filming Under Siege must have been madness.

 

[MMA since 1993]

Definitely executive decision.

 

[FierceRedBelt]

Both Van Damme and the Sensei consistently had good to great actors to play off as villains or supporting characters.

Van Damme - Ron Silver, Lance Henriksen, Mickey Rourke, Ted Levine, Powers Boothe.

Sensei Jesus - Gary Busey, Tommy Lee Jones, Michael Caine, William Forsythe...

At some point, Van Damme started taking notes and/or got inspired by his co-stars.

I think the Sensei thought he was better than these superior actors and mostly scoffed at the opportunity to learn from them and he only got worse over time. Shit, I can only imagine Seagal and Busey on the same set. Filming Under Siege must have been madness.

That's hard to say when Sensei hasn't made a movie with high level actors in twenty years. He's clearly better than the 'b' level folks in Machete and it showed in the clip @shadow_priest_x posted.

Sensei's personality has put a lot of people off over the years and his meal ticket at WB booted him. That's the real story of his career. He was too big for his britches and he payed the price. With good direction he's a decent actor and at one point he was a really interesting action star to watch.

 

[BisexualMMA]

That's hard to say when Sensei hasn't made a movie with high level actors in twenty years. He's clearly better than the 'b' level folks in Machete and it showed in the clip @shadow_priest_x posted.

Sensei's personality has put a lot of people off over the years and his meal ticket at WB booted him. That's the real story of his career. He was too big for his britches and he payed the price. With good direction he's a decent actor and at one point he was a really interesting action star to watch.

Seagal isn't terrible when he's interested in what he's doing. To be honest, I think he mostly does a Robert DeNiro impression, as opposed to immersing himself in his roles, but he does it well enough that his performances are all right in his better work. It's kind of funny that he ended up in the same movie as DeNiro in Machete, and DeNiro ended up putting on a Southern accent.

As for the cast of Machete... B-level folks? Jeff Fahey, Shea Whigham, Trejo, DeNiro? These guys are legit actors. So is Don Johnson. But yeah, motivated Sensei shouldn't have much trouble out-acting Jessica Alba and Tom Savini.

 

[FierceRedBelt]

Seagal isn't terrible when he's interested in what he's doing. To be honest, I think he mostly does a Robert DeNiro impression, as opposed to immersing himself in his roles, but he does it well enough that his performances are all right in his better work. It's kind of funny that he ended up in the same movie as DeNiro in Machete, and DeNiro ended up putting on a Southern accent.

As for the cast of Machete... B-level folks? Jeff Fahey, Shea Whigham, Trejo, DeNiro? These guys are legit actors. So is Don Johnson. But yeah, motivated Sensei shouldn't have much trouble out-acting Jessica Alba and Tom Savini.

Trejo? Come on dude. Sensei, when he's trying, is on another level than that dude.

 

[BisexualMMA]

Trejo? Come on dude. Sensei, when he's trying, is on another level than that dude.

Trejo has kind of slipped into self-caricature over the last 15 years, but he worked his way up from being an extra in every prison movie of the 1980s. He's a real actor.

 

[shinobimusashi]

I love Van Damme so much but I've always thought Seagal was a little better. Out For Justice is like my favorite movie of all time, I don't think Van Damme ever put in a performance as good as Seagal in Out For Justice.

 

[Guestx]

See it's the exact opposite for me. I don't remember Vandamm ever being popular and it seemed like he was going to hit it big with Street Fighter but that ended up being a huge joke against him.

Everyone I knew loved Sensei's early stuff. At his best he delivered an extremely quick and violent fighting style that we'd never seen before and I'd argue since. His acting was a lot better than Jean's too.

All of my people loved Van Damme and they loved him way more than Seagal.

You see, you talking about Van Damme "hitting it big" with Street Fighter is funny to me, because in the eyes of me, my friends and even my family (mostly that means my step-dad, the only member of my family who gave a shit about action movies) Van Damme had already hit it big with Bloodsport, Kickboxer and Double Impact.

He was already the fucking man by that point.

 

[Guestx]

Both Van Damme and the Sensei consistently had good to great actors to play off as villains or supporting characters.

Van Damme - Ron Silver, Lance Henriksen, Mickey Rourke, Ted Levine, Powers Boothe.

Sensei Jesus - Gary Busey, Tommy Lee Jones, Michael Caine, William Forsythe...

As much as I hate to admit it, those line-ups just are not comparable.

Seagal gets to act alongside Tommy Lee Jones, Kurt Russell and Michael Caine and Van Damme gets Mickey Rourke and Powers Boothe?

Don't get me wrong, I love Rourke and Boothe but I'm just not seeing these two things as being equal.

At some point, Van Damme started taking notes and/or got inspired by his co-stars.

I think the Sensei thought he was better than these superior actors and mostly scoffed at the opportunity to learn from them and he only got worse over time. Shit, I can only imagine Seagal and Busey on the same set. Filming Under Siege must have been madness.

I think Seagal was a decent enough actor early in his career but there was definitely a point where he just stopped giving a fuck. And now, like you say, Van Damme is perhaps the best he's ever been.

 

[Guestx]

I love Van Damme so much but I've always thought Seagal was a little better. Out For Justice is like my favorite movie of all time, I don't think Van Damme ever put in a performance as good as Seagal in Out For Justice.

You and @FierceRedBelt really should probably touch dicks together.

And then go watch Out for Justice and Above the Law.

 

[BisexualMMA]

As much as I hate to admit it, those line-ups just are not comparable.

Seagal gets to act alongside Tommy Lee Jones, Kurt Russell and Michael Caine and Van Damme gets Mickey Rourke and Powers Boothe?

Don't get me wrong, I love Rourke and Boothe but I'm just not seeing these two things as being equal.

I don't think there's any tier of acting excellence in which Mickey Rourke doesn't belong.

 

[I Am Legion]

Air Force One was far superior. Executive decesion is watchable, but it’s not a great movie. The Seagal part was odd and silly. So was Platts.

 

[FierceRedBelt]

Sensei Jesus >>> Can Damme

 

[Jack Reacheround]

I think Executive Decision is much better than Get off My Plane the movie.

 

[Guestx]

Damn, Executive Decision started out 5-0 and now it's losing?

@FierceRedBelt you never did vote.