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| RLJ Ent.; Not Rated; 90 minutes; Amazon |
Based on the 1989's Kickboxer which also starred Jean-Claude Van Damme, Kickboxer: Vengeance centers on Kurt Sloane (played by Alain Moussi) seeking out Muay Thai trainer Master Durand (played by Jean-Claude Van Damme) to help train him to fight the deadly Tong Po (played by Dave Batista).
Kurt's brother Eric, the World Karate Championship, had travel to Thailand to fight Tong Po in a big event, but was killed during the fight. Now Kurt is seeking avenge his brother's death by challenging Tong Po to a fight to the death!
A sequel, titled Kickboxer: Retaliation, has already been filmed and is scheduled to be released sometime in 2017. A third film called Kickboxer: Syndicate will start production early next year.
Final Thoughts: I grew up watching a slew of '80s action flicks, including the original Kickboxer and the direct-to-video sequels that were released throughout the 1990s. If I remember correctly, there were three sequels starring Sasha Mitchell as the younger Sloane brother. From my understanding, there was a fifth film that killed off the last Sloane brother at the very beginning, then the rest of the movie focused on a different character.
Kickboxer: Vengeance follows the same storyline from the original film; though this time Eric Sloane is killed off instead of being injured. Jean-Claude Van Damme plays the mentor/trainer role and he gives a likeable performance. The rest of the cast give bad performances; some of them can barely read their lines.
It was clearly obvious from the opening scene that the film was shot on a micro-budget. The cinematography isn't the best, and the fight scenes weren't shot very well.
Overall, Kickboxer: Vengeance is another unwanted remake/reboot from Hollywood. Maybe with a tighter script, smarter casting, a bigger budget, and a better director, the film could have been decent. Unfortunately, Kickboxer: Vengeance is a bland imitation of the original that is only saved by Van Damme's presence.
*I received a complimentary screener in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
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