*SPOILERS ahead (but if you’ve seen Bloodsport, you've kind of already seen The Quest.
All this pandemic stuff has really stifled me when it comes to writing about movies. I had already been dragging my feet this month due to standard laziness (despite having notes and outlines prepped already for three articles). But when the pandemic stuff started to be treated with seriousness, it made my silly articles seem even less important than they were before (if that’s possible). I, like most of the country, have been much more preoccupied with the general safety of the nation, the safety of my family, the uncertainty about employment, and worrying about having enough food and baby supplies to endure a prolonged quarantine. Now that the reality of the situation has set in a bit more, I figured it was time to distract myself with writing. Because of that, I’m starting with a Jean-Claude Van Damme favorite of mine: The Quest. I know that the first article of each month is a JCVD movie, but this time the reason is twofold. Not only is this my first article of March, but it’s about a movie I enjoy because I find it relaxing in its simplicity, even if it is basically a Bloodsport remake set in a different time period. The Quest is a movie I can turn on and lose myself in, and that’s the perfect movie for me right now.
Bloodsport: The Prequel
One of the reasons I enjoy this movie is because it’s basically another Bloodsport. So much so that Frank Dux (the inspiration for Bloodsport) sued Van Damme over this, eventually getting a “Story by” credit because of a screenplay they wrote back in 1991. But it’s clear that if they were writing a movie, they were simply making Bloodsport again but set in the past. How the WGA saw this as reason enough to give him a writing credit is beyond me because I imagine this “screenplay” nothing more than Dux and Van Damme doing rails of coke and excitedly talking about all the different fighting styles in the film. But seriously, this is much more of a ripoff of Bloodsport (for which Dux did not receive a writing credit) than anything else. The writers of that film most likely had more of a case than Dux did (but what do I know?).
The similarities to Bloodsport are obvious, but I still want to point them out. To begin with, Van Damme is on the run from the law. He’s not actively pursued this time around, but he’s still technically on the run.
Of course, the main similarity is that the film is centered around a secret martial arts tournament that you only get to fight in by invitation. All fighting styles are welcomed (much like how a guy like Jackson in Bloodsport is in the same tournament as Van Damme), and death in the ring is possible.
Just like Frank Dux, Van Damme’s Christopher Dubois gains entry into the tournament even though he is not originally meant to fight in it. In both films, he is trained as an afterthought rather than as the main participant. In Bloodsport, he replaced the dead son of his trainer, and in The Quest, he takes the place of Maxie Devine (what a fucking perfect old-timey boxer name).
Speaking of Maxie Devine (played by James Remar who is really bringing it but simply cannot match the awesomeness of Donald Gibb), he basically becomes the Jackson of the movie after Dubois gains Maxie’s respect (by begrudgingly kicking his ass). After that, Maxie is Dubois’s loudest cheerleader in the crowd and is the unofficial color commentator, too (“He’s movin’ around like an animal!”). The only thing missing is Maxie getting a head injury from the Mongolian. Although Maxie does make some noises near the end of the film that could be evidence of some past head trauma.
Once again, the villain of the film is simply a villain because he’s good at fighting. Sure, both Chong Li and Khan (IMDb says this is his name, but I only knew him as the Mongolian dude) kill a guy in the ring, but it’s allowed! Don’t join the secret martial arts tournament if you’re afraid of dying in the ring. Khan is a little less excited about it murdering a guy, and he has even less lines than Chong Li. That is to say he literally has no lines in the film. We just know he’s the villain because of the slow motion shots of his uncaring face and menacing score that plays each time he’s on screen.
The last major similarity is the inclusion of a lady journalist love interest. In both films, she’s there to write about the tournament (in The Quest the story is so grand it becomes a book called...The Quest). But her real reason for existing is to give Van Damme a love interest. Kudos to The Quest, though, for not making her a victim at any point in the film.
To be fair, there are also plenty of differences between Bloodsport and The Quest (some would argue that the main difference is that Bloodsport is actually good [I like them both, but I do prefer Bloodsport]). But The Quest is simply too similar to Bloodsport to ignore. And when Frank Dux ended up with a “Story by” credit, it was like confirmation that this was essentially another Bloodsport movie. But I don’t care. I still love this movie. Yes, it’s all very familiar, but a lot of times, that’s what I want from a Van Damme movie. Just give me some fight scenes and a simple plot. The Quest is comfort food cinema for me, and I don’t need comfort food to be all that original.
The Quest to Make the Most Epic Martial Arts Movie of All Time.
The Quest is admittedly derivative of one of Van Damme’s most beloved films, but it is also the most ambitious film Van Damme ever made. You can tell he was trying to make a grand, epic martial arts film, which is probably why he decided to direct it (though his directing prowess was called into question by Roger Moore in his book, and there are reports that the second unit director, Peter MacDonald, actually kept the film on track).
While The Quest didn’t lead to more films directed by Van Damme, you can still tell he was going for an old-fashioned epic style. The story spans decades (we get to see old man Van Damme!) and the globe and attempts to be about honor...or something. The Quest definitely fails to be an epic along the lines of Once Upon a Time in America, but I always appreciate someone swinging for the fences.
From the music to the piracy to the golden dragon, The Quest tries to be something big and epic. But it’s only the superficial elements that are epic. The music and whatnot is just the wrapping paper. Underneath that, you just have a Van Damme movie.
To be clear, I’m totally fine with having an epic-wrapped Van Damme movie. As I stated above, I’m not looking for a transcendent or grand experience when I watch a Van Damme movie. I want to see some fighting, a bit of humor, the splits, and at least one roundhouse kick. All that extra stuff doesn’t take away from the film, but there is one odd element that Van Damme used that is distracting: slow motion.
If this film is famous for anything in Van Damme’s filmography, it’s for its use of slow motion at seemingly random moments. Khan breaks a table: slow motion. Khan stares across the room: slow motion. A fight begins and the fighters get in their stances: slow motion. You get the idea. Slow motion is used in the expected places (like Van Damme’s amazing roundhouse kick), but it’s also used in nonsensical moments. I always chalked this up to Van Damme being the director and thinking that slow motion just makes shit better. But looking at it as a wannabe epic, I think this was Van Damme’s attempt to add weight to all these moments in the film.
But slow motion is mainly used to allow the viewer to see the detail in a complex scene, especially in a fight scene. But here it’s used during the boring parts of a fight. It just doesn’t make sense. And slow motion is not a hallmark of classic films or anything, either. I just think this was the only thing Van Damme could think of during post-production to attempt to make The Quest something more than it was.
Van Damme just didn’t realize that a martial arts movie doesn’t have to be epic to be good. If the focus had been on making the fight scenes as good as possible, then maybe The Quest would be remembered as one of the better martial arts films. Instead, the focus was so much on having the film be presented as something it wasn’t that the most important aspect of it fell by the wayside. We don’t need old man Van Damme makeup. We don’t need cliché fighters from every country in the world. We don’t need this film to take place seventy years in the past. We don’t need a subplot about a mime raising street urchins. We just need good fight scenes.
The Quest does have decent fight scenes, but aside from a badass roundhouse, nothing stands out. So instead of getting the epic film Van Damme intended, we get a simple forgettable film that’s great to watch when you want to shut your brain down for a while. That is actually a great accomplishment. When Van Damme goes for it, epic or not, the end result is always entertaining.
Why Do I Own This?
It’s a Jean-Claude Van Damme movie.
Random Thoughts
What bartender immediately assumes someone wants a cup of coffee? This dickhead deserves to be robbed.
The sound effects with the sumo wrestler are so fucking stupid.
I get why the cops are after him in the beginning. Who likes a juggling clown on stilts?
What is the backstory with Van Damme and all these street urchins?
These gangsters don't fuck around, bursting into a children's hangout guns blazing.
Khao is a dick. He gives Van Damme shit for betraying him, but Van Damme was basically his slave. How can you blame him for looking for a way out?
I wish Maxie Devine was played by Conan O'Brien as his old timey boxer character from the episode of SNL that he hosted. "I'll baste your turkey!"
It's nice that the fighters from each country dressed as stereotypically as possible. I'm surprised the French dude didn't start his fight wearing a beret and holding a baguette.
Van Damme won the heavyweight boxing belt in the weirdest way possible: ceded to him at a secret martial arts tournament.
So the Mongolian is the bad guy because he broke the table at the restaurant?
Sure, the Mongolian kills a guy later, but it's a secret martial arts tournament; traditionally, a few deaths are to be expected from such a tournament.
Lady journalist love interest wears some interesting headwear throughout the movie.
Do Spaniards really do the bullfight stance even when fighting humans?
I have to admit, when I first watched this I truly did not expect to see a zeppelin used to steal a golden dragon.
What is that noise Remar makes near the end of the last fight? "Hmmmmmeaaaaaah!"
I’ve always loved the roundhouse kick in this film. He’s basically doing the splits while doing a roundhouse. It’s the two Van Damme trademarks combined.
That wasn't much of an epilogue. And what happened with him and lady journalist? It just zooms in on her at the end without him saying a thing about her. And how was she in that group picture when she was the one who took it? Sure, the book is written by her, but he couldn't say what happened beyond her writing the story?
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