"Never surrender, never say die, you got the heart of a Hero"

Rating: 8/10 (5 September 2017)

As a 40-ish now, i was there (& aware) when Jean-Claude Van Damme became an action star with the mega-hit (& masterpiece of the genre) "Bloodsport", a movie that only saw the light of the day, because JCVD fought for it to be released.
"Kickboxer" was his next project, now as established leading star and this time also as the co-writer & the director / choreographer of the intense (& realistic) fight sequences bringing with him the successful team behind "Bloodsport": Mark DiSalle & David Worth (here as co-directors) plus the executive producers Menahen Golan & Yoram Globus, the two heads of the, at the time prolific, Cannon Group.
The story is simple: after K.O'd every opponent in the American Kickboxer League, the confident, but pompous champion Eric Sloane (played by Dennis "The Terminator" Alexio, a real life heavyweight kickboxing champion) accepts a match in Thailand, but by the rules of Muay Thai, against their undefeated and "national treasure", Tong Po (played by Van Damme's real life buddy, Michel Qissi). Eric's entourage consists only of his supportive younger brother, Kurt (Jean-Claude Van Damme) as his personnel trainer. When the savage techniques in the ring of the bloodthirsty Po, causes his brother to became paralyzed, Kurt vows for revenge and with the help of a former American Marine (Haskell V. Anderson III) & a Muay Thai secluded Master, Xian Chow (Dennis Chan), they must prepare him for an underground fight that may cost Kurt's own life...
Re-watching "Kickboxer" nowadays it's like drinking from an old Scotch bottle, a fine & genuine product of its time, when action & martial arts movies had, in fact, heart & soul and the viewers enthusiastically cheered for their subdued heroes on the screen and booed the stereotyped (but always effective) villains.
"Kickboxer" may not be the most original flick of its genre, it had the obvious influences that came from "The Karate Kid" to "Rocky IV" and JCVD's previous "Bloodsport", but for sure this movie delivers way high on the entertainment / excitement level. Even if the critics (as always) disliked it, Van Damme is good in the main role and proves again that besides his martial arts' skillful techniques, he surely can act and sweat charisma way better than most of the nowadays cardboard cutouts / wooden / soulless 'action stars'.
On the technical / artistically level, "Kickboxer" looks good for its tight budget: very competent photographed (some of the shots are even beautiful filmed); the choreography of the fights is raw & realistic; the soundtrack mainly performed by Stan Bush is motivational, catchy, cheesy and a pleasure to sing-a-long; Tong Po became an unforgettable baddie in the "action movies' best villains" universe & last, but not least, Van Damme's drunk dancing & fighting thugs at the same time, it's one of the most iconic scenes from the 80's action flicks.
"Kickboxer" is a movie that is worthy of its own cult status and deserves to be forever revisited.