Kickboxer

Kickboxer (1989) was another in a long line of star vehicles for the "Muscles from Brussels". In this picture J.C.V.D. plays the younger brother of a unbeaten American kick boxer who lusts for some real competition. So he decides to go to the home of Muay Thai kick boxing, Thailand. There he realizes that he doesn't know squat about the true art of kick boxing. He learns a painful lesson. His younger brother decides to learn Muay Thai and avenge his brother's honor.

Not a bad movie. Entertaining and a good time waster. But for some reason the producers decided to franchise out this series. The rest of the films are a mixed bag at best. The more they made the least interesting they became until the final results were unwatchable. As always with these films the first film is usually the best of the bunch. Jean-Claude plays his character with a thick euro-accent (I forgot how they explained it). He's physically impressive so it's kind of hard to swallow his naiveté about fighting and what not. Or well. Fun for all.

Recommended.

When it comes to those musclebound heroes who were so popular in the eighties/early nineties, you kind of remember their breakthrough roles. 'The Terminator' is still a classic to this day and you can see how it catapulted Arnold Schwarzenegger into super-stardom. The same can be said for 'Rocky' and 'Die Hard' for Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis respectively. It was fair to say that Jean Claude Van Damme hadn't done much before he starred as the lead in 'Kickboxer' (and a brief turn as the Predator before he threw a hissy-fit on set doesn't count – seriously, look that up). In 'Kickboxer' he plays a ballet dancer who turns professional kickboxer to avenge the crippling of his (also kickboxer) brother in the ring at the hands of a psycho. No, really. That's the plot.

Okay, so you can expect a certain amount of training, in-ring fighting and romantic love interest thrown in there for good measure. That's all taken for granted in pretty much any film. However, all these tropes can't hide the fact that Van Damme isn't really that great actor. Okay, so he's hardly improved dramatically over the years, but he's definitely got better to justify his casting as a lead. Here, he can barely look like he understands other characters' lines, let alone form a facial expression that relates to them. I guess what I'm trying to say it that, even if 'Kickboxer' isn't the worst film ever made, it's quite hard to see how this was a springboard for his rise to stardom.

I suppose he was cast simply because of his looks (which my girlfriend tells me are pretty hot back then – not to mention other areas of his anatomy!) and his ability to throw a kick or two. That, he can do for sure. Yes, the film-makers may have felt the need to overlay a sound effect reminiscent of you hitting a sponge sofa really hard over every punch, but you can tell he's really got the moves in the ring.

'Kickboxer' is a classic. Everything about it should make it bad – reading back over this review I can see how scathing I sound. And yet, after watching it, I really don't feel like I've wasted my time and even enjoyed much of it. Yes, it's quite silly in places and the songs played over (alleged dramatic moments) sound like something Trey Parker and Matt Stone would spoof in 'South Park.' Plus the overall story plays out like a slightly more violent 'Karate Kid' movie, but it's still fun. You'll have seen it all before and know exactly where it's going, but if you're a fan of JCVD, or are just happy to sit through martial arts movies or general eighties overblown cheese, you should find some enjoyment here.

Well not as good as Bloodsports, but i think this is the next best movie of van damme, very good action.

A Classic scene when van damme is dancing in the bar drunk, thats one part i will never forget too damn funny!! that part is worth the price of the movie

this is the one of my favorite van dam movies. I think that it is also one of his best films. We watch his character train throughout the movie for a fight at the end. The martial arts throughout are very well done. This is one of those films you can watch every time it is on TV. If you like martial arts movies you will probably enjoy this one. The movie though is all about the final fight. Like many other films of its type. All in all van dam is great and if you want to see a film based on the martial arts that doesn't have Druce Lee or Jackie Chan or Jet Li in it then this movie is one for you. The story is pretty simple but the fight scenes are worth it so go for it. 7 out of 10.

It has been made a lot of sequels in this series,but this one is the only that is worth watching. It is kind of like Rocky,in the sense that he traines all the movie for a fight in the end. The fight scenes are hardcore and the one at the end is quite cool. This cant be compared to the best movies of Jackie Chan and Jet Li,but it is still a good martial arts movie.

One of Van Dammes best to date.