The Quest 1996
The Quest ★★ 1996 (PG-13)
In his directorial debut, Van Damme plays pickpocket Christopher Dubois, who finds his adventures just beginning when he hops a freighter heading for the Far East in order to escape police trouble. He learns about a prestigious martial arts competition, where the prize could set him up for life, if he can manage to get into the invitationonly event. After many films set in the future, Van Damme chose to set this one in the '20s, with fairly good results. He piles on the beautiful location shots until the inevitable martial arts melee toward the end. Pacing is sketchy but Van Damme does display directorial talent. 95m/C VHS, DVD . JeanClaude Van Damme, Roger Moore, Aki Aleong, James Remar, Jack McGee, Janet Gunn, Abdel Qissi, Louis Mandylor; D: JeanClaude Van Damme; W: Stuart Klein, Paul Mones; C: David Gribble; M: Randy Edelman.