KICKBOXER is one of my favourite Van Damme movies. It has many classic moments, from the heightened revenge plot, to those classic, tortuous training sequences to the outstanding ending, one of the best-filmed fights of all time. It's a classic feel good movie. This sequel is none of those things and is in most respects an awful film. Van Damme passed on the chance to reprise his role, so we're saddled with the spurious 'missing brother' claim and the resultant film must be one of the most pointless ever made.
In essence, Tong Po didn't die at the end of the first film. He's back and seeking revenge, along with some loyalist Thais (a nation cast as the bad guys here, somewhat unusually). Mitchell, playing Van Damme's brother, ends up fighting Tong Po in a severe re-match, but before then there's lots of boring stuff about 'doing what's right', following one's path and all that nonsense. The first hour of the film is boring and the action sequences are few and far between; even they are mishandled. In one ring match, we watch as Mitchell beats the hell out of his opponent, with slow-motion blood sprays and the like; he's portrayed as a sadistic bully-boy, and this is the guy we're supposed to root for! Mitchell reaches a new low for an action hero in a genre already populated by guys cast for their brawn rather than brains.
Much of the blame for this film's failure must rest at the door of Albert Pyun, who really is one of the poorest directors in modern cinema. Absolutely all of the films I've seen that he's directed have been bad: I'm thinking CYBORG, TICKER, OMEGA DOOM, DOLLMAN, along with many others. In none of those films has the direction been good. Here, he shows himself to have no idea of pace or how to handle a decent fight scene, often shooting on the other side of the ropes in the ring battles! Sure, the blood and gore quotient is upped from the first movie, but it goes to show that that alone doesn't make a decent film.
In one, single respect does KICKBOXER 2 surpass the original, and that's in the casting. This film has an excellent cast. It's a shame they're not put to better use. The likes of Peter Boyle are here, along with Dennis Chan reprising his role from the first, even though he's utterly wasted. There's an early turn for Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as a stock bad guy, and man-mountain Matthias Hues pops up for a match. Michel Qissi also returns as the villainous Tong Po, but even though he looks the same he has none of the power or impact that his character had in the original; that goes to show how Pyun's direction sucks. In the end, this film is a wasted opportunity and time would be better spent watching the first film again rather than sitting through this mess.
In essence, Tong Po didn't die at the end of the first film. He's back and seeking revenge, along with some loyalist Thais (a nation cast as the bad guys here, somewhat unusually). Mitchell, playing Van Damme's brother, ends up fighting Tong Po in a severe re-match, but before then there's lots of boring stuff about 'doing what's right', following one's path and all that nonsense. The first hour of the film is boring and the action sequences are few and far between; even they are mishandled. In one ring match, we watch as Mitchell beats the hell out of his opponent, with slow-motion blood sprays and the like; he's portrayed as a sadistic bully-boy, and this is the guy we're supposed to root for! Mitchell reaches a new low for an action hero in a genre already populated by guys cast for their brawn rather than brains.
Much of the blame for this film's failure must rest at the door of Albert Pyun, who really is one of the poorest directors in modern cinema. Absolutely all of the films I've seen that he's directed have been bad: I'm thinking CYBORG, TICKER, OMEGA DOOM, DOLLMAN, along with many others. In none of those films has the direction been good. Here, he shows himself to have no idea of pace or how to handle a decent fight scene, often shooting on the other side of the ropes in the ring battles! Sure, the blood and gore quotient is upped from the first movie, but it goes to show that that alone doesn't make a decent film.
In one, single respect does KICKBOXER 2 surpass the original, and that's in the casting. This film has an excellent cast. It's a shame they're not put to better use. The likes of Peter Boyle are here, along with Dennis Chan reprising his role from the first, even though he's utterly wasted. There's an early turn for Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as a stock bad guy, and man-mountain Matthias Hues pops up for a match. Michel Qissi also returns as the villainous Tong Po, but even though he looks the same he has none of the power or impact that his character had in the original; that goes to show how Pyun's direction sucks. In the end, this film is a wasted opportunity and time would be better spent watching the first film again rather than sitting through this mess.