Kickboxer: Vengeance (2016)

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.

KICKBOXER: VENGEANCE is a remake of the Van Damme hit that now posits the ageing action star as mentor rather than pupil. The lead role is taken by the nondescript Alain Moussi, who fails to make much of an impression either in the acting or action stakes; imagine what Scott Adkins would have made of a role like this! In any case, this is a weaker film because it lacks the heart of the original; the Van Damme movie was a cheap and cheesy affair that nonetheless involved the viewer on an emotional level, whereas this film is glossier and shallower.What this film does boast are a series of efficient fight scenes with the action quotient ramped right up. There are extra characters and extra sub-plots throughout, with the Thai police involved and battles with masked goons in the streets. The fights aren't amazing but they do the job and remind one of the glory days of Tony Jaa in the likes of ONG BAK at times. Ironically, the big set-piece action with villain Dave Bautista is less engaging, although the final extended bout is good gruesome fun. Van Damme doesn't really seem bothered here in a laidback role, and Gina Carano has no fight scenes, which is criminal. Watch out for martial artist Darren Shahlavi in his last screen appearance before his sudden death.

"Kickboxer: Vengeance" (2016) has the same formula plot as the original, but none of the fun. There are several problems with this movie. To be sure, I pretty much anticipated the plot about the two brothers attending a kickboxing fight in Thailand, one of the brothers getting severely injured and killed, and the other brother (Kurt Sloane played by Alain Moussi) taking revenge. However, "Kickboxer: Vengeance" makes the mistake of being too serious about its subject matter with the result that all of the fun and amusing macho posturing of the original gets drained away from this film. In addition, Alain Moussi's Kurt Sloane is simply not as appealing as the youthful Jean Claude Van Damme (JCVD) playing the same role back in 1989. JCVD had more of a charismatic screen presence, because in 1989 he came across as the easy-going Belgian immigrant who just wanted to be liked. Worse still, JCVD's Master Durant (who is meant to be training Kurt Sloane in the latest Kickboxer film) seems to be tired and incapable of lightening up. As a result, watching these two actors on screen becomes a depressing experience. The film has other problems which go beyond the main characters. The original Kickboxer had a better sense of location and featured ancient ruins and even played Hertzog's Thai music. That approach works far better than rap songs and dimly lit interiors, which are replete throughout this movie. Lastly, the plot of "Kickboxer: Vengeance" is quite outdated and not very topical for 2017. It's worth remembering that the original Kickboxer was a child of the 1980s, where unapologetic macho behaviour was considered the norm. The cultural context has changed considerably since then. For one thing, many would not agree with model Sara Malakul Lane (who is the love interest in this movie) being given nothing to do except to show up for the sex scenes. The macho behaviour which got Kurt's brother into so much trouble also makes more sense in the 1980s context (as I remember those times, boys often felt the need to prove their masculinity in order to win acceptance) than today. As a result, this latest instalment of Kickboxer is not only gloomy and boring, but also out of date in the sense that it reflects a set of values that are no longer relevant in today's society.

Ah well, once the student now the teacher. And it seems that JCVD is doing the transition with ease. Not so easy is our main actor here. Well unless you're saying he's easy pray for Bautistas character. But Bautista, who has proved to be phenomenal in Guardians of the Galaxy, does not have much to do here, apart from looking mean and fighting from time to time (in such a fashion that he does seem unbeatable).Then you have Gina C. who is so underused it hurts as much as if she threw a punch in your face. At least then you'd know why you hurt though ... Seriously though, there are many things that are wrong with this movie, but if you came here to see people fight, there's been worse movies. The choreography may not be top notch, but it does fulfill all the requirements. We also get a female police something (she's investigating and stuff) as a love interest, who probably wonders why she took acting lessons ... anyway easy on the eyes and really not challenging (no pun intended), with very predictable turns ... (if IMDb is correct a sequel is supposed to come out in 2017 ... you can't wait either, right?)