Chuck Norris humiliates JCVD
A video as popular as the Jean Claude Van Damme commercial for Volvo, where he did the splits between two moving Volvo semi-trucks, and one that went so viral, was bound to be copied and parodied. (Much-maligned Toronto mayor Rob Ford hilariously copied it, for example.) This parody features another martial arts action star popular in the 1980s, Chuck Norris—or, at least, a CGI version of him. Here, Chuck “performs” the stunt (with the help of CGI and Delov Digital) between two planes, and with a team of special forces operatives aligned atop his cowboy hat in the shape of a Christmas tree, no less. A monologue from Hamlet and the beautiful song “Only Time” by Róisín Murphy complete the video, which has gone viral in its own right.
- + Who
It is not clear wherChuck Norris is an American martial arts actor, who starred in action movies in the 1980s and is best known for his work staring in the television show Walker, Texas Ranger in the 90s. He is a native of Oklahoma and served in the United States Air Force before becoming an actor. Jean-Claude Van Damme is a Belgian martial arts actor who has stared in many films. He was most popular in the 80s and 90s for films like Bloodsport, Kickboxer and Universal Soldier. The full splits were a feature in virtually every movie he did, and became something of a signature move. Delov Digital is a Hungarian studio that works in almost every medium imaginable, from print to motion pictures to animation and even painting.
- + Where
This video appears to take place between two jumbo jet airliners, high in the sky, but is in fact a product of animation from the studio Delov Digital. It isn’t clear whether Chuck Norris actually had anything to do with the video. The planes, the sky, the commandos and the actor himself have all been rendered with CGI.
- + What
The video opens with a close-up shot of Chuck’s face, and a tough-sounding narrator reading from Hamlet, Act 1. (Some say that ever ‘gainst that season comes wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated. The bird of dawning singeth all night long. And then, they say, no spirit dares stir abroad; The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike, No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, So hallow’d and so gracious is the time.) The camera begins to pan back, revealing the scene, finally revealing, at (0:30) the commandos in the shape of the Christmas tree, the airliners. (0:44) Then we see the commandos light up like a Christmas Tree and the narrator says “Merry Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year to you all.” The video finishes with a long shot of the airliners and the commando Christmas Tree. Credits roll at (1:07).
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