The Kickboxer franchise has officially returned and it is
currently available to watch on VOD, with the Blu-ray being released on November
8th. It doesn’t break any new ground story wise, as it is
essentially a reboot of the original that features practically the same plot
and the same characters swapped in for new actors. Despite the obviously
formulaic plot, it delivers more than enough action to keep fans of the genre
entertained and Jean-Claude Van Damme steals the show in a co-starring role.
Kurt Sloan’s (Alain Moussi) brother is killed in an underground Muay Thai fight
in Thailand. He goes to Bangkok and trains with Master Durand (Jean-Claude Van
Damme) in order to fight his brother’s murderer and get his revenge (a noted
story clone from the original).
If you’re expecting an epic story or some type of new twist
on the genre, then you should seek out something else to watch. They don’t try
to reinvent the wheel here and the purpose of the plot is mainly to further
drive the fight sequences. Dialogue is kept to a minimum, opting for more
training and fight scenes than conversation. The camerawork is well done and
they make excellent use of the exotic Thailand locations and old world set
designs. There are several stunning large scale scenic shots and a number of others
that show off some of the beautiful temples located in that country. The fight
scenes are all filmed well and the editing never detracts from them or makes
them look overly choppy or hyper-edited.
Moussi takes the helm as the star of the feature, replacing
Van Damme as the Sloane character that he portrayed in the original Kickboxer (1989). It’s hard to tell if
he is going to become the next big action star, because he barely has any
dialogue in this. There is no doubt about his physical abilities, as they do an
outstanding job of showcasing his talents as a martial artist. Only time will
reveal if this is beginning of something big for him, as this is his first major
lead role. Even though Van Damme plays a secondary role, he absolutely stands out
as the true star and shows that he can still kick butt at the age of
fifty-five. He is in phenomenal physical shape and has several good fight
scenes in this. The combination of Van Damme’s presence and Moussi’s physical
abilities is most likely what has led to the announcement of Kickboxer Retaliation, expected to be
released sometime in 2017.
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| I may dress like Michael Jackson in this movie but I can still kick your ass, pal. |
The rest of the cast includes a who’s who of former
professional wrestlers and UFC stars turned actors; this includes Dave Bautista
as the main baddie, Gina Carano, Georges St-Pierre, Cain Velasquez, and
Fabricio Werdum. They all feature the needed name recognition to bring in a
collection of fans of action movies, WWE, and UFC. They all perform well in
their respective roles; although Carano wasn’t really given much to work with.
The rest of them each had at least one decent fight scene that they were
involved in.
Make some popcorn or have a few drinks and just enjoy some
pure entertainment, featuring some superb fights, a possible emerging martial
arts star, and Van Damme at his best.
Practice your mouse martial arts. Click the button to share.
Score
-Raul Vantassle