The quintessential Van Damme film - a classic villain (Chong Li), great mis-cast sub-villains: Paco, a latino muy thai fighter, and the female harassing Syrian fighter, Hossein (played by a Phillipino), horrendous overacting (see, the "blinding scene", among many others), an ugly American sidekick (Ray Jackson, aka Ogre from Revenge of the Nerds), a signature move (the Dim Mak) and interesting cultural angles/stereotypes displayed by fighters from around the world, and you have the perfect Van Damme vehicle. No other movie has so masterfully combined top-notch martial arts with unintentional comedy. Mix in an extremely goofy role by future Oscar winner Forest Whitaker, and you have a basic cable classic of epic proportions.
See the full review, "Action and Unintentional Comedy Galore - Van Damme's Finest".
Van Damme, an ex-French Foreign Legionnaire, fights a series of brutal underground street fights in a tank top tucked into high-riding jeans (aka, the "Marseilles Tracksuit"), reaching the big payday fight against the dangerous Attila, a kitten petting, sunglass wearing, lamb-chopped monster, who fights in a tank top tucked into dress slacks, with leather tassled-loafers as footwear. Briliant. Martial arts: check. Unintentional Comedy: check. Overacting: check.