I have "Kickboxer" waiting in my TiVo. Should I have seen it first? It's better to watch something new before I have to save it for later. And yet I could have watched "Kickboxer" and deleted it, and saved the other movie.
So this is my introduction to the series.
I didn't find out for years I liked Jean Claude van Damme. And I was surprised this wasn't him. It looked like him. But it was actually Cody from "Step by Step"--and he wasn't a silly buffoon! David Sloane runs an inner-city gym, and he cares about helping kids who are less fortunate. And that's a problem. He can't afford to pay the bills. He might have to go back to fighting, and a tragedy pretty much decides he will. But he has a very capable teacher.
David's friend Brian wants to fight. And he does some things that are less than ethical.
I was surprised Sasha Mitchell was so good as a fighter--and not bad as an actor either. Now I saw two movies about boxing the same day, and Ving Rhames gave a far superior performance, but Mitchell is good enough.
The real standout performer is Dennis Chan as the man who gets David back in fighting shape.
Humberto Ortiz impressed me as a street kid with an attitude who David might be able to help. I would have been happier if the whole movie had been like the first few scenes, with the focus on David teaching the kids rather than fighting and corruption.
I didn't recognize Peter Boyle, not having ever seen an episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond", but it's just as well. He was not a nice man. And one of his goons was much worse.
Michel Qissi didn't have to say a word. He was a real bad boy in the ring. For those who say boxing isn't violent, you haven't seen boxing like this. THIS is violent.
It's not a masterpiece, but if you like fighting, you might like this.
