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Kickboxer (1989)

Rate: 8
Viewed: 5/12, 1/20

Kickb
5/12: Kickboxer is Jean-Claude Van Damme's second film and, despite the excellent-looking poster, isn't very good, acting or martial arts-wise.

Sure, there are nice moments, but they're few and far between. Rooting for Tong Po to beat Van Damme's character, I consider him a better villain than Bolo Yeung in Bloodsport, but he's largely wasted in the poorly choreographed final fight.

What happened at the end looks to me, for the majority of the time, Tong Po had beaten Kurt Sloane to a pulp. But somehow, he dug deep to overcome his physically damaged body and managed to defeat his nemesis.

Meanwhile, there are many cheesy scenes, especially with Kurt's brother. The story is silly as hell, and these guys are in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand. Stupid, crazy things happen there, and it isn't America where common sense prevails. By the way, the heavyweight world championship belt looks fake; in fact, it's probably a weightlifter's belt for all I know.

All in all, if you have to pick, go with Kickboxer over Bloodsport.

1/20: Raising my rating from '4' to '8', I have to say Kickboxer is an excellent martial arts picture with an imposing villain.

The Muscles from Brussels, Jean-Claude Van Damme was probably the best martial arts star of the 80's and the early 90's. That much is obvious in Bloodsport, Kickboxer, and Lionheart as he shows off his mastery of fighting skills and impressive physique.

What I like about Kickboxer is the story, especially how Van Damme's character came from the United States to Thailand, which is nice to look at, to witness the permanent paralysis of his brother, a kickboxing world champion (Dennis Alexio), at the hands of Tong Po (Michel Qissi).

Then, it's the Muay Thai training that's the most fascinating part where Van Damme shows off his splits and later his dancing skills. Finally, the match between him and Tong Po is epic with both guys having their hands hemp-roped and coated in resin before dipping into the broken glasses even though the injuries inflicted on each other will have to be fatal.

All in all, although I'll choose Kickboxer over Bloodsport, both are definitive Jean-Claude Van Damme pictures.