Kickboxer (1989)
Director: Mark DiSalle, David Worth
Starring: Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dennis Alexio, Dennis Chan
Synopsis:
The brother of a champion kickboxer studies Muay Thai to avenge his brother's defeat.
Impressions:
I find it amusing that only after having seen three of the sequels did I come across the first film in the series. This is a decent JCVD martial arts movie, though far from one of his best. One of the things I enjoy about Van Damme's movies is the excuse they come up with for his accent. (In this one, he was the son of an American father but born and raised in Europe.) There was a nice vibe going with the two Sloane brothers, but for plot reasons, the one gets sidelined for most of the film, so that relationship didn't get explored more. I liked Dennis Chan as Xian and Michel Qissi does a good job of being an imposing villain. One interesting bit of trivia is that Jim Cummings dubs for Freddy Li in an uncredited role. (If you've got an ear for voice actors, it's unmistakable and even if you don't, it's bound to stick in your head.) The incidental fight scenes are pretty good and the final showdown is solid. If you're a JCVD fan, you should like this well enough, but I wouldn't call it a must see.
50/50