KICKBOXER VENGEANCE

KICKBOXER VENGEANCE

KICKBOXER VENGEANCE = C 

I've been looking very forward to this film ever since I heard Jean Claude Van Damme announce it about 2 years ago. In some ways it delivered and in other ways it did not. 

The praise I will give the film is that the fight sequences were extremely well choreographed. If all you are looking for in a film is some kickass fight scenes, this is your kind of movie. The martial arts displayed on screen may be a bit unrealistic as to how they would happen in a real fight, but entertaining they most certainly were.

I also appreciated Van Damme's role in the film. I thought it was clever the way he wore sunglasses and no shots ever showed his eyes up close. This was a sly way of hiding his age. Of course their had to be three scenes to illustrate that even at the ripe old age of 56, that he is still an ass kicker.

Where the film falls apart is in transition and in development. I wouldn't even say that relationships and friendships are underdeveloped. I would say that they aren't developed at all. They just sort of happen. You barely have time to register who the female officer is and in the next scene she's in a sexual relationship with the main character.

The transitions from scene to scene are confusing and at times even counterproductive to what they are trying to convey.

What really makes this film nothing more than average and pale in comparison to the original KICKBOXER (yes this is a remake) is that it lacks heart and emotion.

The lack of development of the characters and their relationships makes it impossible to connect with them or care about what happens to them. Sure, you understand that Tong Po killed Eric Sloan and Eric's brother Kurt wants revenge, but the film fails to make you sense his emotion or want the revenge as much as he did.

It seems to me with the numerous amount of fights throughout the film that the director cared more about having cool fight sequences than he did about creating a story with interesting characters.

For what he was called to do Batista did a decent job of playing Tong Po. He was no Michel Quissi, but he was still decent.

Personally I would have liked to have seen a return of Sasha Mitchell.