Van Damme laughs at himself

Remember Timecop? Or Universal Soldier? Or Street Fighter?

Well, Jean-Claude Van Damme, now 48, is coming back to the big-screen with the self-parodying action comedy, JCVD.

As the amusing trailer shows, Van Damme -- an actor whose best performance is said to lie in a cameo on Friends -- is well aware of the mindlessness of his early 1990's successes, and the 'muscles from Brussels' is ready to laugh at himself.

So we have this film, a spoof on celebrity crossed with some sort of bank heist, something Van Damme himself has described as going into 'Dog Day Afternoon territory.'

He has also reportedly said that director Mabrouk El Mechri has done to him with this film what Martin Scorsese did to Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver.

For his first self-declared 'intelligent' film, Van Damme seems bubbling with confidence. Either way, the trailer is fun. At least more than the very prospect of a Double Impact II could ever be.

Photograph: Getty Images