Kickboxer

Released the same year as Cyborg, 1989, Kickboxer is the story of two brothers who were separated when their parents got divorced and though there were raised in two different countries remained closely bonded to one another. When Eric, Dennis Alexio, is paralyzed in a brutal kickboxing contest in Bangkok, his younger brother Kurt, Van Damme, swears revenge and sets out to train in the ancient art of Muay Thai kick boxing so that he can take down the reigning champion, Tong Po (Michel Qissi) and avenge his brother.

There are two unique features to Kickboxer, Van Damme gets a writing credit and second he is only in four combative action sequences and the first three are very short. In this film Van Damme tries to capture the magic of some of the older Hong Kong martial arts movies that featured elaborative training sequences. The majority of the movie is spent watching Van Damme develop into a make-shift Thai fighter. He is trained by a small older Thai man, Xian (Dennis Chan). Xian pushes Van Damme through a series of elaborate exercises and rigorous training sequences to grow his skill. This is reminiscent of the flash back sequence in Bloodsport that featured an intense training regime, except the training in this film is shot over longer sequences and is much more elaborate, however the intent is the same. The training sequences gives the audience a chance to see how physically impressive Van Damme can be without having to involve another combatant in the scene. On the other hand Chan’s character does personally engage in a large portion of the training similar to his character’s equivalent, Tanaka, in Bloodsport.

Along with the unique features there are some common themes amongst the fight choreography in this movie. In the four action sequences Van Damme utilizes many of the same movements seen in his first two films. He throws very big round house kicks and very few punches. In the first fight scene featuring Van Damme he is a small rural shop defending Xian's neice, and his love interest, from the local thugs that are extorting her for protection money. He makes quick work of these two thungs using mostly straight kicks and some the environment to his advantage. In the next fight scene he is in a bar fight with a bunch of young Thai fighters. Important to note abou this scene is the incredibly awsome dance moves he displays prior to fighting. We get to watch a special treat as the rythimcally giften Van Damme shows off some awesome moves (as you can see above - thanks to my boy Gabe for the gif). When it comes to the fighting he does his usual kicks and incorporates a new split move. He is able to kick two men on either side of him in the face by doing a jumping into the air and doing a split so that he brings his legs up high enough to reach these men’s faces. In the third fight scene he is facing an experience Thai boxer in the ring and the scene consists of nothing by kicks to the body. The men trade kicks to the ribs until eventually Van Damme’s opponent cannot with stand Van Damme vicious body blows.

The final fight scene is more elaborate and features Van Damme and Qissi fighting with shards of glass glued to the bandages wrapped around their hands. In this scene Van Damme incorporates more body movement. He throws some punches, tries to work in some knees and elbows which are big elements in Muay Thai, but in the end the big shot of the scene is the jumping spinning round house that he has done in all three of his movies thus far. However the final blow was a straight kick the face with the heel making contact. This kick gave Van Damme the chance to showcase and his balance and flexibility.

Overall Kickboxer’s action sequences were an improvement from Cyborg, especially in that the final fight, which was not a complete disappointment. The training sequences attempted to compliment the choreographed fight sequences, but fell short.