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.

I suppose, the sympathy for Sasha Mitchell can be the main and, honestely, the only motif to see this second part.

First because the younger Sloan is unrealistic at whole in terms of the first Kickboxer.

Second , because the confrontation between Brian and Tong Po sounds more than crazy like the ignorance of David about Thai fighter.

But, sure, exactly what you expect. And Dennis Chan as a sort of compensation like the so familiar Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa.

But, sure, the simple use of a succes .

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)

An excellent sequel to the original Kickboxer. However, what was missing was that in the 1st film, David Sloan was never mentioned. But in either case, Tong Po is back and he's thirsty for revenge. Michel Qissi returns to the role that made him famous!!! Instead of Van Damme, we have the up-and-comer Sasha Mitchell and he is just amazing in his role of David Sloan. Not only does Sasha have a good acting range, but has fighting skills to match. Fight Choreography well handled by kickboxer Benny "The Jet" Urquidez. And we get the return of Dennis Chan!!! You gotta love Xian Chow...still the same old mentor from Part 1...sarcastic and serious at the same time!!! Kickboxer 2 is a knockout dragout sequel.

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.