Kickboxer: Vengeance

The story is thin, but they've made it work poorly in this movie, making the short film feel long. Flashbacks in a fairly uneventful 90 minutes: why.

The slow motions and multiple camera angles instant replays do more bad than good for the fights.

The fake elephant bits were hilariously bad.

At least JCVD seems to be having some fun, and Bautista is cool, but I'm not invested in the main character at all.

The credits are the best thing about this movie.

Its Kickboxer what did you come into this movie thinking? The first one was cheesy what did you expect from this one? This movie is all you remember the original being, pure awesomeness entertainment with some great action who cares about dialogue plot twist and all that other crap people write in reviews to sound like they know something.

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.

WHILE THE MOVIE MIGHT NOT GIVE AS MUCH AS AN IMPACT AS THE ORIGINAL, I FOUND MYSELF WATCHING THIS NEW VERSION IN DELIGHT. Alain Moussi shows his talent and lives up to his Martial prowess. JCVD playing the new mentor is also a delight, although doesn't give the same feel as the original's local Master. I agree to this change because it has already been done. Dave Bautista plays Tong Po and offers a new and physically tougher version of a once feared enemy fighter. All in all this movie is a refreshing view to a genre that is slowly disappearing from the world of Cinema. But I will always welcome this Genre back as it shows the viewers the importance of training, improving, working and learning. All these which is sorely lacking in todays Movies.

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...