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Kickboxer (1989)
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Overview
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Directors:
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Release Date:
8 September 1989 (USA)
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Tagline:
An Ancient Sport Becomes A Deadly Game. [US Movie Poster] more
Plot:
Kurt Sloan is the corner-man for his brother, U.S. kickboxing champion Eric Sloan. When Kurt witnesses...
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(6 articles)
Revolving Video Podcast Episode 15: Profoundly Stupid
(From LateFilmFull. 27 July 2009, 10:20 AM, PDT)
"A Look Back The At 'No Retreat, No Surrender' Trilogy"
(From LateFilmFull. 2 July 2009, 11:28 AM, PDT)
(From LateFilmFull. 27 July 2009, 10:20 AM, PDT)
"A Look Back The At 'No Retreat, No Surrender' Trilogy"
(From LateFilmFull. 2 July 2009, 11:28 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Jean-Claude Van Damme goes Muay Thai-style!
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Jean-Claude Van Damme | ... | Kurt Sloane (as Jean Claude Van Damme) |
 | Dennis Alexio | ... | Eric Sloane |
| Dennis Chan | ... | Xian Chow |
| Michel Qissi | ... | Tong Po (as Tong Po) |
 | Haskell V. Anderson III | ... | Winston Taylor (as Haskell Anderson) |
| Rochelle Ashana | ... | Mylee |
| Ka Ting Lee | ... | Freddy Li (as Steve Lee) |
| Richard Foo | ... | Tao Liu |
| Ricky Liu | ... | Big Thai Man |
| Ho Ying Sin | ... | Huge Village Man #1 (as Sin Ho Ying) |
| Tony Chan | ... | Huge Village Man #2 |
| Brad Kerner | ... | U.S. Announcer |
| Dean Harrington | ... | U.S. Announcer |
| Mark DiSalle | ... | U.S. Reporter |
| Richard Santoro | ... | U.S. Reporter |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
105 min | Germany:94 min | Spain:93 min | Spain:97 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Iceland:16 |
South Korea:15 |
Philippines:R-18 |
Australia:M (cut) |
Australia:R |
Netherlands:16 |
Norway:18 (video premiere) |
UK:18 |
USA:R |
West Germany:18
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Michel Qissi was a technical advisor/choreographer when he overheard the production crew say they were looking for a tall oriental-looking guy with a background in Muay Thai. He volunteered, and got the part of Tong Po.
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Goofs:
Continuity: Towards the end of the second round, there is one sequence where Tong Po punches Kurt in the stomach 4 times, punches him in the face 3 times, punches him in the face 13 times rapidly, punches him in the stomach 9 times rapidly, and then does this double-fist type of move on his face. Tong Po's hands are covered in broken glass. In all probability, Kurt's face and stomach would resemble raw hamburger meat at this point, but he only has one major cut on his face and one on his stomach, both of which occurred earlier in the fight.
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Quotes:
Xian Chow:
This is stone city. Where many ancient warriors come. While you train here, listen!
Kurt Sloane: Listen to what?
Xian Chow: Just listen. With your mind, your heart, your whole being.
Xian Chow: You must learn to be faster than any punch or kick, that way won't get hit.
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Kurt Sloane: Listen to what?
Xian Chow: Just listen. With your mind, your heart, your whole being.
Xian Chow: You must learn to be faster than any punch or kick, that way won't get hit.
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in Manta, Manta (1991)
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Soundtrack:
Feeling So Good Today
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (84 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Kickboxer (1989)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Different Versions! | Darkangel2 |
| Palm tree scene | heu_bah |
| Kurts Fashion | scmod |
| wardrobe malfunction | JeeJeeJones |
| Tong Po vs Ivan Drago | coreyterminator |
| brother was an *beep* | djmmaplewood |
Recommendations
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Nah, you're not interested in "Kickboxer," the Jean-Claude Van Damme martial arts movie set in the exotic and mysterious Thailand and focuses in on the brutal sport of Muay Thai, are you? You're not going to miss Van Damme's hammy acting, his trademark splits, or his harsh (although according to some sources, inaccurate) training and portrayal in and of the Thai sport of Muay Thai, are you?
Of course you do. The Muscles From Brussels goes Thai in this 1989 adventure, with the Belgian actor exploring the martial arts fundamentals of Muay Thai, the national sport of Thailand, which has gained wider recognition in the West because it's the de facto fighting style for mixed martial arts and Thai-native newcomer Tony Jaa seeks to promote his tiny country's greatest commodity for a worldwide audience. But this is a Van Damme movie, first and foremost. True he's no great actor, but there's something about his work here that makes me want to watch "Kickboxer" again and again.
First things first, what is Muay Thai? As already stated, it's the national sport of Thailand, where the fighter will condition his body so that his arms and legs become weapons capable of delivering blows, kicks in particular, that are three times as powerful as that of any ordinary martial artist. He'll also use his feet, fists, shins, and elbows too. If one wants to go all out, two guys will get in a ring and have themselves a rope-fist fight, where the fighters' wrists are bound in rope and covered with broken glass. Isn't that mean and nasty?
To begin "Kickboxer," Van Damme is Kurt Sloane, brother of Eric (Dennis Alexio), the top kickboxer in the United States. Tiring of the generic competition of his native soil, he travels with brother Kurt to Bangkok, where he hopes to dethrone the current champ Tong Po (Michel Qissi), who has a reputation for fighting dirty. Kurt first sees this towering mountain of flesh and muscle kicking the hell out of a support beam in the locker room; that's the first clue to Kurt that Eric shouldn't get in the ring, but he's not listening.
And Eric fights anyway, against baby brother's warnings.
To make long stories short, Eric takes quite a beating in the ring but a series of illegal blows delivered after Kurt throws in the towel cripple Eric for life. So what went wrong? According to some sources, American Kickboxing is a watered-down form of Muay Thai, so it's no wonder Tong Po got the upper hand so quickly on Eric, who despite his excellent training and peak physical condition, only landed a few lucky punches on the towering fighter. Apparently, Muay Thai is strictly for street fighting, not something for refined martial artists like Kurt and Eric.
To teach Tong Po a lesson in humility, Kurt contacts American Winston Taylor (Haskell V. Anderson III) to seek out a venerated Thai master, Xian Chow (Dennis Chan), to learn the art of Muay Thai, and so the training begins. Kurt first puts aside his already-planted Karate training and strengthens his body, kicks tree stumps until the scar tissue prevents any kind of feeling aside from invincibility, learns a little about Asian spirituality, and even flirts with Chow's niece Mylee (Rochelle Ashana). What it all culminates in, of course, is a no-holds-barred "Rocky IV"-style showdown using the ancient rope-fists between Kurt and Tong Po.
As someone who knows next to nothing about Muay Thai (in fact, much of what I know comes from Wikipedia and the special features section of the "Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior" DVD), I found "Kickboxer" to still be quite entertaining. It's brutal stuff, really, so it's no wonder Muay Thai is gaining such greater notoriety in the United States. As Kurt Sloane, Van Damme is good (despite his acting limitations in showing emotions), his performance notwithstanding, and none of the other performers are really worth speaking of either, but Tong Po is a nasty villain and his one speaking line "You bleed like Mylee; Mylee good f**k" sends chills down the spine.
The fights are another thing and are what this feature co-directed by Mark DiSalle and David Worth seems to specialize in. The fights are spectacular (as with any martial arts movie that features Van Damme doing his trademark splits and 360-degree flying spin-kick), which does include one sequence where Kurt gets drunk, starts dancing, and takes on the patrons at a bar.
This "Kickboxer" - it's a kick, just don't let it "kick" you in the head too much with its lackadaisical script and lame-brain plotting.
7/10