zardoz-13 Review of Kickboxer 2: The Road Back

Kickboxer 2: The Road Back (1991)

Standard Issue Heroics Without Jean-Claude Van Damme

[5/10 · 29 November 2016]

Former Calvin Klein model Sasha Mitchell takes over the part vacated by Jean-Claude Van Damme in director Albert Pyun's "Kickboxer 2: The Road Back," co-starring Peter Boyle, Dennis Chan, John Diehl, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, and Michel Qissi. No, Mitchell doesn't play Kurt Sloane. Instead, he plays David Sloane, the youngest of the Sloan brothers. Honestly, I don't recall anybody mentioning David three years earlier in the original "Kickboxer" with Van Damme. Mitchell makes a nice enough guy, but he doesn't conjure up any of that Van Damme charisma. Nevertheless, Hollywood will do whatever it takes to keep a franchise like this one alive and kicking. As martial arts movies rate, "Kickboxer 2" is routine stuff. The David S. Goyer screenplay recycles the original movie's narrative. One of the hero's close friends is destroyed in the arena and our hero vows to even things up for not only his friend, but also for himself. You can see every blow coming at you in the by-the-numbers plot that ripples with no surprises. Apart from Pyun's competent directing, there isn't much of anything else to think about since you've seen this story before. Happily, Dennis Chan reappears. Chan trained Van Damme in the original. He takes on the responsibility of preparing David. The nemesis of the Sloane Clan shows up in a truly preposterous plot reversal. As it turns out, David is managing the gym now that Steve and Kurt once owned. We are told that Kurt got sick of fighting and left the business. David behaves like a true role model. He mentors children at his gym and takes aside one little smart aleck to teach him life's lessons. Unfortunately, David isn't much of a business man, and his friend Jack (John Diehl of "NBC-TV's "Miami Vice") struggles to keep the doors open and the bills paid. An antsy student who trained under David, Brian Wagner (Vince Murdocco), wants to become a contender in the kickboxing world. After our hero turns down an offer from an unscrupulous promoter Justin Maciah (Peter Boyle of "Young Frankenstein") to join him in the kickboxing world, Brian accepts Maciah's offer. Brian trains rigorously and becomes a champion. Maciah's new associate, Sanga (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa of "Rising Sun"), pressures Maciah into switching fighters. Indeed, Maciah breaks some pretty big rules when he allows an unauthorized boxer on his premise. Brian has been matched up with one fighter, but at the last moment, Tong Po (Michel Qissi of "Kickboxer") replaces him. Tong Po, you may remember, was the culprit in the original "Kickboxer" who gave Jean-Claude something to worry about. Pyun likes to reuse footage of feet, hands, knees, and legs battering opponents in rapid succession. Spittle and blood fly during their evocative scenes. The energetic fights salvage this opus. Dennis Chan has some amusing lines, but he doesn't give Sasha the treatment that he inflicted on Van Damme. Altogether, "Kickboxer 2: The Road Back" is strictly standard-issue. Why a gifted actor like Peter Boyle wanted to be in this derivative film is anybody's guess.