The Quest (1996)

Director:

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Writers (WGA):

Frank Dux (story) and
Jean-Claude Van Damme (story) ...

Release Date:

26 April 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

Go the distance

Plot:

Chris embarks on an odyssey of self-discovery that spans the globe. Kidnapped and enslaved by gun smugglers...

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Underground Fighting | Fight | Blimp Crash | Tournament

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jean-Claude Van Damme	...	Christopher Dubois
Roger Moore	...	Lord Edgar Dobbs
James Remar	...	Maxie Devine
Janet Gunn	...	Carrie Newton
Jack McGee	...	Harry Smythe
Aki Aleong	...	Khao
Abdel Qissi	...	Khan (Mongolian Fighter)
Louis Mandylor	...	Riggi
Chang Ching Peng Chaplin	...	Master Tchi
Ryan Cutrona	...	Officer O'Keefe
Shane Meier	...	Red
Matt Lyon	...	Billy
Jen Sung Outerbridge	...	Phang (Siamese Fighter)
Peter Wong	...	Chinese Fighter
Kitao Koji	...	Sumo Wrestler

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for adventure violence and martial arts fights.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:M | Finland:K-18 (original rating) | Iceland:16 | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-16 (video premiere) | France:U | Germany:16 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:13 | UK:18 | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Company:

MDP Worldwide

Trivia:

Roger Moore as Lord Dobbs takes our hero to Mutai Island (and sells him). Moore was last on this same Island during the filming of the final scenes of The Man With The Golden Gun. These are the Phi Phi Islands in Thailand.

Goofs:

Factual errors: On the Region 1 DVD in the special features it has a filmography for Jean Claude Van Damme the first film on which is Abominable (1998), however that film never got past the planning stages and at the time was listed as an in-production project for him until around 2000.

Variety Of Fighters, Nice Colors Made This Fun To Watch

Although it took four viewings before I finally lowered my rating of this from "9" to "8,", I suspect I will still watch this lame-brain action flick a few more times and enjoy it. That's because it offers a great mixture of fascinating fighters in the tournament that covers most of the final 40 minutes of the movie; is a modern-day martial-arts action film with almost no swearing and no sex; and offer some tremendous scenery in the first half of the film as Jean Claude Van Damme and company travel to the Far East for this "World's Greatest Fighter" tourney.

That tourney is a lot of fun to watch except that it got carried away in the final bout, of course, that went on almost as long as all the preliminary bouts! However, the filmmakers were smart to make all the contestants totally different with different styles, making each one fun to watch. You didn't see the same thing each fight. There was everything from a huge Sumo-type wrestler to a little guy who imitated a monkey and a snake jumping and slithering around the ring. By the way, these were real guys, not actors imitating fighters.

The photography is magnificent, far better than you would except. The colors are beautiful and the Thailand scenery spectacular. The movie benefits from a classy actor like Roger Moore joining the cast, too. Yeah, it's stupid in parts, but it's fun and highly recommended for first-time viewers who don't know the outcome of the bouts.