I'm not going to sugar coat this review...but make no mistake about it this is a fantastic movie.

Rating: 8/10 (1 July 2014)

Sure, the movie can be cheesy at times, the dialogue a bit silly and the acting about as far from Oscar worthy as you can get, but then again, does Oscar worthy mean anything anymore? At any rate Kickboxer is a fantastically fun film to watch. It attempts to (and does successfully) explore the story of a man seeking Vengeance, learning to better himself and discovering ancient methods of training to fight that much of the world had forgotten ever existed.
Jean-Claude Van Damme is in his prime here. Strong, powerful and about as masculine as a human male can get. In real life, Van Damme's combination of training methods brought something to film screens around the world that had never been seen before. A classically trained black belt in Karate, combined with a Kickboxing career and formal training in ballet. Yes, ballet. It sound like such an odd combination and yet it translates beautifully into a man who would become a world famous action star. Capable of amazing feats involving balance, flexibility and fighting combined with a muscular, ripped physique and dare I say a perfect set of facial features that make him insanely attractive. It's just astonishing and the only other actor I could even consider comparing him to would be Arnold Schwarzenegger. Although I think Schwarzenegger has better acting skills, he and Van Damme share that amazing unique set of god given talents both physical and mental that set them apart from almost every other action star that's ever lived. Now that I'm done drooling over Van Damme, back to the movie review.
It truly is a fantastic, male oriented action film the likes of which Hollywood rarely turns out anymore. The film starts off with a light hearted happy feeling as Kurt (Van Damme) accompanies his older brother Eric to a fight where Eric, already a champion Kickboxer defeats yet another opponent and then announces his next fight will be in Thailand. Eric, on a high from all of his wins fails to realize that Thailand's champion is a ruthless fighter named Tong Po who's backed by the Asian mafia.
When Eric finally faces off against Tong Po, Po not only defeats Eric but permanently and intentionally paralyzes him so that he will never fight again. In this instant, the light hearted feeling of the film is gone. Kurt and Eric are two Americans alone in a foreign land with no friends and no idea where to turn next. But Kurt knows one thing for certain, he wants revenge against Tong Po and he's willing to get it at any cost.
After a lucky meeting with a fellow American (a former war vet who chose to remain living in Thailand rather than return to America) Kurt's hopes of seeking out his revenge are brought to life. At first reluctant, Kurt's new friend eventually introduces him to Zion. A master Martial Artist who has long since retired from training, but he hears Kurt's story, he sees Kurt's passion and sees something Different in Kurt. After a little coaxing and a few rather amusing tests, Zion agrees to train Kurt to take down Tong Po once and for all. At this point the movie takes on a whole new feel again, an often surreal and very serious tone reflecting mans connection with nature, with the past and with the ancient warriors who came before them.
I won't go any further in my review, not because it will spoil the ending but because it would spoil everything else in between that leads up to a fantastic Rocky Style finale. It's all those parts in the middle though, all those moments all those genius bits of story that make this movie so worth watching. Oh the ending is good and well worth it but I assure you, watching Kurt train, watching him learn, face his fears and even fall in love. It's all of that, that's what really makes this movie.
As a final note which I always live to add to my reviews, watching this film is like watching a Bruce Lee movie or a Chuck Norris film. It's so easy to understand why an entire generation fell in love with martial arts and new generations continue to do so to this day.