Van Damme at his best!! A true classic from better days.

Rating: 8/10 (5 October 2009)

I first saw Kickboxer on VHS back in the early 1990s. It was a great time to be a kid. Street Fighter II was huge! Ninja Turtles was still booming and there was a big martial arts craze going on at the time. So there was nothing cooler than renting an R-rated Van Damme movie! Kickboxer comes from a long line of classics that spawned from the 80s and early 90s. It was truly a great time for movies and Hollywood had not yet burned itself out like it has today.
For this film, Van Damme is in full form fresh from his breakthrough performance in Bloodsport. This time around, the plot is that of classic martial arts revenge and even more cool training. The best thing about this type of movie is that it doesn't try to be anything more than it already IS, and for that it truly succeeds. Van Damme demonstrates his classic (long forgotten) charisma that once made him a mega-star. Not because he was an amazing actor, but because he had so much HEART.
The fight scenes are some of the best ever filmed. Van Damme really shows off his impressive physique and his unique martial arts form this time around. Nothing was cooler than Van Damme’s famous air born spin kicks.
Kickboxer is not perfect, but it is very enjoyable and is always a big reminder of how cool these types of movies used to be before both Hollywood and Van Damme sadly burned themselves out.
Awesome movie!! 8 out of 10 Classic!