Kickboxer 2: The Road Back

Kickboxer 2 is, well, an unnecessary sequel which unfortunately lacked the presence of the phenomenal Jean-Claude Van Damme. Despite this, the movie manages to be a great deal of fun. The fights are well staged and there is an excess of campy acting which is a requisite of this genre. It is one of many of these types of flicks which could make you cry if you take it seriously, in that you'll regret paying money to rent, or (God forbid) buy it. However if you ignore the lack of substance and enjoy it for what it is (which is very little), you will find that you may even start to love (perhaps pity) the movie for it's ignorant simplicity. Heck, Tong Po is back and in always ready for carnage. Sasha Mitchell makes a decent replacement for Van Damme perhaps lacking in physique and skill, but definitely on par in the brain power department. This is best described as a guilty pleasure.

David Sloan (Sasha Mitchell) is Kurt's younger brother. He runs a gym in LA teaching kids kickboxing. Justin Maciah (Peter Boyle) runs United Kickboxer Association and wants him to fight. David doesn't want to fight like his brothers but the gym is struggling. His best protégé Brian wants to fight and even David has to fight to keep the gym open. After winning against the champ, David quits and bad-mouths UKA. They retaliate by burning down the gym and Xian Chow (Dennis Chan) returns to help David recover from the burns and the lost. Sangha (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) has a plan to bring Tong Po to fight David. Tong Po had shot dead Kurt and thereby losing the opportunity to regain the country's honor in the ring.

What's the point if Jean-Claude Van Damme isn't in it? Sasha has just a fraction of Van Damme's charisma. It is simply a waste of time. It also lacks the exotic locations of the original and the fights are poorly shot. Besides all that, the story takes forever to get going. The crux of the drama is the return of Tong Po. That's the villain fans want to see. If Tong Po killed Kurt, I think that's enough reason for David to seek revenge. All the other stuff at the beginning is unnecessary. In fact, they should have Tong Po right at the start.

A solid 8/10. This sequel continues from the original Kickboxer. Kurt and Eric Sloan have been killed in revenge by Tong Po, under instructions from his manager Sanga. David Sloan (Sasha Mitchell), the youngest and last of the great Sloan dynasty, struggles to keep the family kickboxing gym afloat. His hopes rest on his pupil Brian Wagner (Vince Murdocco) who is a talent for the future and David hopes to get him into the big fights soon.

Financial problems eventually force Sloan to fight again in a new organization run by a crooked promoter (Peter Boyle). His surprising comeback ultimately attracts the attention of Tong Po who, having been disgraced by Sloan's older brothers, seeks to lure their younger sibling back into the ring.

David defeats opponent Neil Vargas (Matthias Hues) and retains his title.

But when Sloan announces his retirement after the bout, Po's manager Sanga (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) hires a group of thugs to burn down the gym, injuring Sloan and killing one of his young students.

While recovering in the hospital, Sloan is visited by Xian Chow (Dennis Chan), who trained his brother Kurt in Thailand. Though David initially wants nothing to do with him, he finally relents and allows Xian to nurse him back to health. Meanwhile, one of Sloan's most promising students (Vince Murdocco) has secured a championship bout and invites Sloan to watch the fight. However, his slated opponent is unexpectedly replaced by Tong Po, who brutalizes the young man and kills him in the ring. Now with no other recourse, Sloan is forced to accept Po's challenge....

Albert Pyun takes over as director. The fight sequences are competent enough, but he should have asked Jean-Claude Van Damme for some guidance.

I particularly like the song played in the opening credits: Suns will set and suns will rise, But I still see my brothers eyes, Suns will set and suns will rise, But I.... I'll always see my brothers eyes...

Or something like that! But this on on DVD and enjoy!!!

David Sloan (Sasha Mitchell) is content to keep his nose clean and stay out of the kickboxing business (Yeah, right) and run a gym that caters to kids. However his gym is on hard times and the only way to keep the gym his brothers helped build is to fight again. Enter Tong Po(Michael Qissi) who is looking to regain his honor after losing to Sloan's older brother Kurt(Who was played by Van Damme in # 1) Suffice to say David will have to step into the ring. I picked up the Kickboxer 5 pack because I remember seeing these on Cable TV when I was younger and enjoying them a lot. While there is some fun to be had in this sequel there is far too much plot that stops the movie dead in it's tracks. Mitchell is an adequate martial artist and okay actor but the role gives him little to do and it's only the well staged fight sequences which give K2 the only watchable edge it has.

* * out of 4-(Fair)

I am known for willingly watching ANY movie I haven't seen, whether it has the potential to be awful or not. To this end, I borrowed the first 3 "Kickboxer" movies from my mate. I actually found "Kickboxer 2" to be quite watchable, and an improvement over the original. Sascha Mitchell can deliver a line marginally better than Van Damme, and pretty much everyone involved with this film tries as manfully as they can to treat it with as much seriousness as possible. You get the sense that Albert Pyun could be an average director in Hollywood were he to take on better projects. I also found the fight sequences more realistic and less narcissistic than in the first one, although my friend disagrees with me. Mitchell seems less obsessed with the idea of the audience seeing him flexing his muscles than Van Damme did. I should point out that the buddy I refer to is the martial arts aficionado of the two of us, so maybe his opinions count for more than mine from an aesthetic perspective.

Yes, it is a basic fight film, but it provides what its fans want with a modicum of style. I am in no way trying to claim that this is as good from a technical standpoint as any of the other films I've rated 6, but from an entertainment perspective you'll be surprised to find it's solid, if unspectacular fare. That assessment is from a viewer whose tastes are usually a little more refined.