Kickboxer La Venganza

It was funnier, more commercial, but not necessarily more interesting, I imagined that this would be a Kickboxer sequel, but it's a remake ... nor Van Dame (always beautiful) saves... I liked the little dance at the end in honor of Van Dame... But very weak...

... and unfortunately a hard film to review.

The paradox is that the film succeeds where it doesn't want to -- and doesn't succeed where it wants to.

For example, as an out-of-the-box version or re-imagining of KICKBOXER, it does not quite make it.

The problem is not the direction, or cinematography (gorgeous), or even the script.

The problem is the casting of the main character.

At no point in this movie does Alain Moussi ever actually give the impression that he is strong enough or fast enough or skilled enough to take out the bad guy.

Think about it. Imagine the Rocky films if Stallone has been unable to "sell" his potential to be a winner???

That was the bad news. The good news is that it was a delight to see JCVD back in front of the camera, playing a super-cool "trainer" and showing off perhaps the world's most dangerous 55 year old.

The difference between a true star and a wannabee is that JCVD not only steals his scenes, but actually gives the impression that HE could win a fight with the dreaded Tong Po, age or no age.

Other than that, the film is fun but forgettable.

Gina Carano is also oddly cast as a promoter who throws tantrums but never a punch.

George St. Pierre sort of haunts the film as an odd character we never really get to know. (If nothing else, these sorts of excursions give GSP a reason to learn English, and get paid for it.)

The love interest is played by an actress named T.J Storm who (I am guessing here) took the part for less money on the condition that the name of her on-screen character is also .... "Storm." A strange kind of advertising for future roles? Also very easy on the eyes, I hasten to add.

This film is no Warrior or Forbidden Kingdom. It is not going into the annals of MMA film history.

But overall not too bad.

Though I think Van Damme is all right (and he can definitely kick some serious ass), and I think he was cool in this movie, I watched the original, and I found it boring. It had better and more drama, plot, and maybe acting than this new one, but it had little actual fighting, and what was there was really lame. This one has real, great action and fighting, and lots of it. I loved it. All these people who say this movie is so bad, yet like the old one...I can only assume they're either completely blind when it comes to martial arts (this one guy saying the choreography looks like something kids made on YouTube, lol, are you serious? Get your eyes checked dude), or they're not watching this movie for the fighting or action at all, in which case...I have to ask why they're even watching the movie to begin with...You watch a movie like this for the fighting, why else would you watch it?

Anyway, the story is simple, which is fine, but the directing is a little erratic, and there is little character development, which the old one did better. Had those been better, and the acting a bit more on point, I would have given a higher score. I can do without all the drama from the old one though, which wasn't really a thing here. But the fights and the action direction in any case is great, and provides lots of entertainment. Having people like Batista who are real fighters in real life doesn't hurt. The beautiful cinematography is also worth a note. Thailand is a beautiful place, and some of the shots show that well. The music was fine. If like me you like martial arts movies, go watch this, I think you will enjoy it a lot. If you're not in it for the action, then don't watch it, as there is honestly nothing here for you.

The original 'Kickboxer' is a minor classic of 80s martial arts cinema, but truth be told it has aged. It helped cement Jean-Claude Van Damme as a star and did kickstart a mini DTV franchise, but watch it now and there's surprisingly little fighting. The emphasis is mainly on the gruelling training sequences and the physical abilities of the lead, but it does come across a bit like it was riding the coat tails of 'Rocky' and other bigger, better films.

Flash forward to 2016 and we get this, the remake-slash-reboot. And while the word "remake" is anathema to some movie goers, 'Kickboxer: Vengeance' is pretty good. It won't usurp the original's classic status and again, it's not as good as other similar films (hello 'Warrior'). It is however a solid ninety minute MMA actioner, with loads more fighting than its parent. It's flawed and there are wrinkles that could have been ironed out, but for the most part 'Kickboxer: Vengeance' does a really decent job at updating the series.

The film tells the story of Kurt Sloane (Alain Moussi, 'V-Wars,' 'Jiu-Jitsu'), younger brother of celebrated fighter Eric Sloane (Darren Shahlavi, 'Ip Man 2,' 'Mortal Kombat Legacy'). When Eric is killed in an underground fight in Thailand, he sets off on a mission of revenge against Eric's killer, the towering Tong-Po (Dave Bautista, 'Guardians Of The Galaxy,' 'Spectre'). Faced with threats from Tong-Po's cult-like following and clearly no match for the giant, Kurt turns to Eric's trainer Durand to help get him in shape, leading to a hefty amount of fisticuffs and tremendous physical pain.

And it's one the films biggest strengths that Durand is played by none other than JCVD himself. Van Damme has quietly been building a reputation as an underrated actor this past decade, from his sarcastic villain of 'The Expendables 2' to the mysterious, Colonel Kurtz figure of the last 'Universal Soldier' movie, but here he really steals the show. He's clearly having a lot of fun playing a wise old bad ass; you wind up believing that he'd be the type of mentor to get kids to throw coconuts at his student for fun, or throw them into a surprise bar fight to test their skills. Additionally, despite being in his fifties, Van Damme can still throw down. He gets in several brawls of his own during the run time and looks like he could take on Tong-Po himself.

Alain Moussi meanwhile is likeable enough as the lead, but he's here for one thing and one thing only; spinning through the air and kicking people in the head. He gets in several impressive scraps but the film saves the best to last. His climactic three-round fight with Tong-Po is to put it mildly, awesome. Surrounded by a baying, blood-thirsty crowd, the two engage in a violent and extremely painful looking fight. Claret flies, glass gets taped to their hands and swords come into play for an epic scrap that lasts for ages and could only be more macho if a Predator turned up. The choreography is top notch and by the end, both guys look like they've been dragged through hell.

Like I said though, there are problems. The storytelling relies on an extended flashback, but it's not obvious where it ends and this is a little disorientating. Gina Carano's casting as an unscrupulous fight promoter is odd too. She's perfectly capable of handling the role, but seeing a highly regarded pro-fighter in a movie like this and doing no fighting is jarring, plus it hints that George St. Pierres' role as a booze-loving, penniless fighter will be a significant secondary character, but he doesn't really do much. Either it wasn't fully thought out or half his scenes wound up on the cutting room floor.

Not perfect then, but as it clocks in at a brisk ninety minutes and features one utterly jaw-dropping smackdown as a finale, 'Kickboxer: Vengeance' is definitely worth a watch. The plot is cliched, but the lead is a nice lad, the villain is an intimidating monster and Van Damme is having a whale of a time. This remake works.

This movie was full of action. I was very emersed in the film, and before I knew it it was over. 90 minutes passed in a flash. As an avid JCVD fan, I have been looking forward to the release of this movie for months now. It was everything I hoped it would be, and more. Although JCVD has a smaller role in this film, I thought it was a cool idea to make him master Durand. His fight scenes put me in a place of nostalgia, as I flashed back to the original film. Werdum, Valasquez, St. Pierre and Bautista also had some great scenes. Their acting was average, but let's be real, they are world class athletes, not actors. It was nice to see a new face with Alain Moussi playing Kurt Sloan. He is very fit, and extremely Athletic. This film is your typical 2015 martial arts action film, and a must see! You can thank me later.