Kickboxer: Vengeance

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.

'KICKBOXER: VENGEANCE': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A reboot/remake to the 1989 cult classic martial arts flick, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Van Damme returns to play the central character's mentor, while stuntman (turned martial arts actor) Alain Moussi stars in the film, as Kurt Sloane (the role that Van Damme played in the original movie). The story is once again about kick boxer Kurt Sloane wanting revenge for his brother's brutal beating, at the hands of a lethal Muay Thai champion. The film also costars WWE star (turned actor) Dave Bautista, Gina Carano (a former MMA star, turned actress), Georges St-Pierre (a former MMA star, turned actor), Sara Malakul Lane (a Thai model, turned actress) and the late Darren Shahlavi (a former stuntman, turned late martial arts actor). It was directed by actor, turned director, John Stockwell; who's directed such other B-movie cult classics as 'BLUE CRUSH', 'INTO THE BLUE' and 'IN THE BLOOD' (also starring Carano). The script was written by Dimitri Logothetis (who also co-wrote and directed the 2014 martial arts flick 'WINGS OF THE DRAGON'; also starring Moussi), and first time screenwriter Jim McGrath. The film received a direct to Video on Demand (and select indie theaters) release, and it's received mixed reviews from fans. Although it's extremely cheesy, I enjoyed it.

After winning the World Karate Championship, Eric Sloane (Shahlavi) accepts a generously paid offer to travel to Thailand; and compete in an underground fight there. Eric's brother Kurt (Moussi) is extremely worried about the fight, and he attempts to talk his brother out of it. After Eric doesn't listen to him, Kurt travels to Thailand to watch the fight; and he arrives just in time to see his brother brutally murdered (in the fight) by his merciless opponent Tong Po (Bautista). Kurt then wants revenge, and he asks his brother's mentor there, Master Durand (Van Damme), to train him. Durand reluctantly agrees.

The movie is pretty amateurish and cheesy; I'm actually amazed it was funded with a $17 million budget. Stockwell has made much better looking films than this, and so have several of the actors (Van Damme, Bautista, Carano, etc.). Still it is a great homage to the very cheesy, and extremely amateurish, original (which I'm a big fan of); and it's great that they got Van Damme to finally come back to the series (which has spawned multiple other sequels before this). I kind of wish it would have been more professionally made, but I also kind of like how campy it is. I enjoyed it.

Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GhHTPB4y30

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.

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...

This is a standalone film meant as a homage to all the loyal fans of Jean Claude Van Damme, who starred in such cult martial art films like Bloodsport(1988), Kickboxer(1989), Lionheart(1990)and The Quest(1996).

The film stars Alain Moussi in his debut role as Kurt Sloane. This Kurt Sloane should not be confused with the one Van Damme played in the 1989 film Kickboxer. The only fact common with these two films is the fact that Kurt's brother was killed by Tong Po. The original Tong Po was played by actor Michel Qissi who is of Moroccan descent. In this new film, prominent W.W.E. wrestler David Michael "Dave" Bautista Jr. takes the character of Tong Po.

Van Damme plays the role of Muay Thai training instructor, the same role which was played by Hong Kong actor Dennis Chan in the 1989 film.

Verdict: the 1989 film had a very good plot. This film has a very simple and straightforward story. The part where Xian Chow trains Kurt in the traditional Muay Thai manner along with all the black humor thrown in, is lacking in this film. Haskell Vaughn Anderson III also played a prominent role in the 1989 film as Winston Taylor, the Vietnam war veteran who helped Kurt. In the new film there is no such character.

Though the fight scenes and fight choreography are top-notch, the fights are a hybrid of Kickboxing, Capoeira, Brazilian Jui-jitsu and mixed martial arts. The pure ancient technique of Muay Thai is lost. You should also know that there is a tradition Muay Thai dance done before a kickboxing fight(as done by Tong Po in the 1989 film when he fought Eric Sloane).

The film has some very soft sex scenes for adult viewers. Gina Joy Carano and Sara Malakul Lane are the only two prominent women in the film. Georges St-Pierre who is a mixed martial art legend makes a brief appearance in the film along with the late actor Darren Majian Shahlavi. This film is credited as being Darren Shahlavi's last starring role. At the end of the film when the end-credits role we see the words: "The producers wish to acknowledge the passing of Darren Shahlavi whose talent and hard work will be missed".

Though this new addition will never equal the original Kickboxer film, you should definitely watch it for the new generation of fight choreography and as a Van Damme fan, to pay homage to him for all the hard work he has done as a fight choreographer himself in his earlier films.