Kickboxer: Vengeance (2016)

Review

90min

Genre:      Action

Director:   John Stockwell

Cast:        Alain Moussi, Dave Bautista, Jean-Claude Van Damme…more

Writers:    Dimitri Logothetis and Jim McGrath

-Synopsis-

An American in Thailand seeks to avenge his brother’s murder at the hands of a brutal Muay Thai champion, with the help of an enigmatic master he will learn the ways of the ancient art and in the process discover himself in this remake/reboot of the 1980s Van Damme camp cult classic.

After amassing an impressive list of credits as a stunt performer in recent films like ‘Pacific Rim’ and ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’, not to mention minor acting roles in smaller productions; Canadian martial artist and stuntman Alain Moussi get’s his shot at leading man glory and the chance to bring his take to one of the roles which made his co-star Jean-Claude Van Damme a global name.

‘Kickboxer: Vengeance’ is pretty much a straight remake of the 1989 film, ignoring the several little-know sequels not involving the “The Muscles from Brussels”, but given the sequel plans for this film and a new franchise, it also puts it in reboot territory. And trying to make an entertaining new version of, let’s face it, a camp 80s showcase for an up-and-coming  talent, shouldn’t be much of a struggle, but director John Stockwell couldn’t have approached this project in a worse way.

There’s so much disappointment involved with this lazily put together excuse for a martial arts flick that it would be easier to make a list of what’s good about it, but let’s try to break down some of the issues; like many recent straight-to-video action films, ‘Kickboxer: Vengeance’ takes advantage of familiar names and faces in the martial arts world, particularly retired MMA stars and active UFC fighters, but it makes the mistake of giving them dialogue and requiring them to act.

To be fair though, most of the “actors” in the film don’t fare much better, including Alain Moussi in the starring role of “Kurt Sloane” who’s unconvincing in the parts that don’t require flipping and ass-kicking, and there are way too many of those. Only Van Damme, who trades the “Sloane” role for the unconventional Muay Thai “sensei”, brings any charisma to the dreary proceedings, with Dave Bautista adding a little menace in the role of the fearsome antagonist “Tong Po”.

However all of this could be overlooked if the film had any charm or some of the camp quality of the original, but it takes itself painfully seriously with almost no humour whatsoever and too many cringeworthy dramatic scenes, which are painful to watch and break up the film’s momentum while adding absolutely no depth.

So surely ‘Kickboxer: Vengeance’ will be saved by being action-packed full of extraordinary fight sequences right? why else would you bother to make the film? But that’s perhaps the biggest disappointment of all; sure there are quite a few acrobatic fight and chase sequences, but considering how the martial arts genre has evolved since the 1989 original, this a major let down.

Clearly the filmmakers here have tried to re-create the magic from recent Asian cinema which has revitalised the genre; but the acrobatic chases are a pale imitation of Tony Jaa in the ‘Ong-Bak’ series, and the fights have none of ferocity and inventiveness of ‘The Raid’ series, or indeed  Tony Jaa’s work. Even the final fight adds virtually nothing to the original, and Alain Moussi in general seems to be coasting in what is ultimately a waste of his martial talents.

It’s perhaps unsurprising that ‘Kickboxer: Vengeance’ has actually done well in foreign markets, particularly in Asia where the Van Damme name and legacy still holds some weight, which is disappointing considering the vastly superior work which comes from the region.

With the sequel ‘Kickboxer Retaliation’ in production and set for a 2017 release, we can only hope they lighten the mood or go all-out with the action; but aside from a couple of half-decent fight scenes and a good chase, this is one of the year’s worst releases and a truly forgettable remake.

The Bottom Line…

A sloppily put together remake/reboot which relies heavily on name recognition and the reputation of Jean-Claude Van Damme; ‘Kickboxer: Vengeance’ is disappointing on virtually every level and only manages to entertain in the all-too-rare occasion of a decent action set-piece, arguably one of the clearest illustrations of how not to approach a remake… or perhaps avoid them altogether.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Kickboxer (1989)

This film which helped to launch an international action star career for its leading man; Jean-Claude Van Damme stars as a young martial artist in Thailand, who learns the ways of Muay Thai from an eccentric master to avenge his brother who was paralysed at the hands of a fearsome Thai champion.

Directed by Mark DiSalle & David Worth and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dennis Chan and Michel Qissi among others.

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