A motivational revenge tale of Muai Thai

Rating: 8/10 (20 January 2009)

KICKBOXER is deservedly a cultmovie. Featuring a rising, ascending Van Damme, it has the note of unassuming intimacy and confidentiality and discretion of the older martial arts flicks. As a quite naive youngster, Van Damme has charm, niceness and even a certain naturalness. He made a few movies better than KICKBOXERand also many far worseso what I'm saying is that KICKBOXER has a place of pride in his career.
Van Damme shows us a very nice persona in this action flicka nice youngster, set to learn Muai Thai from a master, Xian (Dennis Chan) in order to avenge his brother. This is the plot of tens of action movies; like the vast majority, this one seems drastically lowbudgeted, and it's made worth especially by the Asian performerssuch as the already mentioned Muai Thai master Dennis Chan, and his niece Rochelle Ashana ('Mylee' in the movie). The master can be funny when he so chooses.
Most of the film details Van Damme's training; Xian takes him sometimes to the Stone City, to put him in line with the atmosphere of a place once visited by the ancient warriors. Also, by very harsh methods, Xian teaches Van Damme how to stretchusing things that would make a professional hangman pretty envious. Xian's lesson to Van Damme is that, in order to learn kick-boxing, you have to learn more than just kick-boxing. There's a widerhumanreality. But rest assuredthe flick is thoroughly straightforward, you'll be spared lectures of Oriental wisdom.
Van Damme's adversary is Tong Po, a Neanderthalian brute, very skilled, very strong, and extremely basehe rapes Mylee before the match.
KICKBOXER is a nononsense fights flick, leaner than most others.