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Kickboxer

  • 19891989
  • RR
  • 1h 37m
IMDb RATING
6.4/10
55K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Jean-Claude Van Damme and Michel Qissi in Kickboxer (1989)
Home Video Trailer from HBO Home Video
Play trailer0:31
1 Video
99+ Photos
  • Action
  • Sport
  • Thriller

Kurt Sloane must learn the ancient kick boxing art of Muay Thai in order to avenge his brother.Kurt Sloane must learn the ancient kick boxing art of Muay Thai in order to avenge his brother.Kurt Sloane must learn the ancient kick boxing art of Muay Thai in order to avenge his brother.

IMDb RATING
6.4/10
55K
YOUR RATING
  • Directors
    • Mark DiSalle
    • David Worth
  • Writers
    • Mark DiSalle(story by)
    • Jean-Claude Van Damme(story by)
    • Glenn A. Bruce(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Jean-Claude Van Damme
    • Dennis Alexio
    • Dennis Chan
Top credits
  • Directors
    • Mark DiSalle
    • David Worth
  • Writers
    • Mark DiSalle(story by)
    • Jean-Claude Van Damme(story by)
    • Glenn A. Bruce(screenplay by)
  • Stars
    • Jean-Claude Van Damme
    • Dennis Alexio
    • Dennis Chan
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 146User reviews
    • 60Critic reviews
    • 33Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Kickboxer
    Trailer 0:31
    Kickboxer

    Photos156

    Jean Claude Van Damm and Haskell Vaughn Anderson III
    Haskell V. Anderson III in Kickboxer (1989)
    Haskell V. Anderson III in Kickboxer (1989)
    Jean-Claude Van Damme and Michel Qissi in Kickboxer (1989)
    Jean-Claude Van Damme in Kickboxer (1989)
    Jean-Claude Van Damme and Shô Kosugi in Black Eagle (1988)
    Jean-Claude Van Damme and Michel Qissi in Kickboxer (1989)
    Jean-Claude Van Damme, Sasha Mitchell, and Michel Qissi in Kickboxer (1989)
    Jean-Claude Van Damme and Michel Qissi in Kickboxer (1989)
    Jean-Claude Van Damme in Kickboxer (1989)
    Jean-Claude Van Damme and Michel Qissi in Kickboxer (1989)
    Jean-Claude Van Damme in Kickboxer (1989)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Jean-Claude Van Damme
    Jean-Claude Van Damme
    • Kurt Sloaneas Kurt Sloane
    Dennis Alexio
    Dennis Alexio
    • Eric Sloaneas Eric Sloane
    Dennis Chan
    Dennis Chan
    • Xianas Xian
    Michel Qissi
    Michel Qissi
    • Tong Poas Tong Po
    Haskell V. Anderson III
    Haskell V. Anderson III
    • Winston Tayloras Winston Taylor
    • (as Haskell Anderson)
    Rochelle Ashana
    Rochelle Ashana
    • Myleeas Mylee
    Ka Ting Lee
    Ka Ting Lee
    • Freddy Lias Freddy Li
    • (as Steve Lee)
    Richard Foo
    • Tao Liuas Tao Liu
    Ricky Liu
    • Big Thai Manas Big Thai Man
    Ho-Ying Sin
    • Huge Village Man #1as Huge Village Man #1
    • (as Sin Ho Ying)
    Tony Chan
    • Huge Village Man #2as Huge Village Man #2
    Brad Kerner
    • U.S. Announceras U.S. Announcer
    Dean Harrington
    • U.S. Announceras U.S. Announcer
    Mark DiSalle
    • U.S. Reporteras U.S. Reporter
    Richard Santoro
    • U.S. Reporteras U.S. Reporter
    Louis Roth
    • U.S. Reporteras U.S. Reporter
    Nickolas James
    • U.S. Reporteras U.S. Reporter
    John Ladalski
    • U.S. Refereeas U.S. Referee
    • Directors
      • Mark DiSalle
      • David Worth
    • Writers
      • Mark DiSalle(story by)
      • Jean-Claude Van Damme(story by)
      • Glenn A. Bruce(screenplay by)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    Kurt Sloan is the corner-man for his brother, U.S. kickboxing champion Eric Sloan. When Kurt witnesses his brother become maliciously paralyzed in the ring by Thailand champion Tong Po, Kurt vows revenge. With the help of Xian, a kickboxing trainer who lives in a remote area of Thailand, Kurt trains for the fight of his life. —Peter Katzman <pkatzman@bu.edu>
    • thailand
    • muay thai
    • revenge
    • rape
    • bare chested male
    • 70 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • An Ancient Sport Becomes A Deadly Game. [US Movie Poster]
    • Genres
      • Action
      • Sport
      • Thriller
    • Certificate
      • R
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Dennis Alexio, who plays Eric Sloane, was a World Light Heavyweight and World Cruiserweight kick boxing champion in real life.
    • Goofs
      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.
    • Quotes

      Tong Po: [after beating Kurt senseless in a round of kickboxing] You bleed like Mylee! Mylee... good fuck!

      Kurt Sloane: Nooo!

    • Crazy credits
      Goodbye to Bugs (Last words on the screen at the end of the credits.)
    • Alternate versions
      In the UK Prism DVD release, as well as cuts already detailed. The scene where Eric is talking to Kurt about his upper body strength, then referring to his legs being like toothpicks has been inexplicably completely removed.
    • Connections
      Edited into Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor (1994)
    • Soundtracks
      The Streets of Siam
      Written by Paul Hertzog and Craig Copeland

      Performed by Stan Bush

      Produced by Paul Hertzog

    User reviews146

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    Jean-Claude Van Damme goes Muay Thai-style!
    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
    helpful•14
    5
    • dee.reid
    • May 9, 2006

    FAQ1

    • What are the differences between the R-Rated Version and the German Version?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 8, 1989 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Vidio (Indonesia)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Karate Tiger 3 - Der Kickboxer
    • Filming locations
      • Bangkok, Thailand
    • Production company
      • Kings Road Entertainment
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,500,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $14,697,005
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $4,134,098
      • Sep 10, 1989
    • Gross worldwide
      • $14,697,005
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 37 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Ultra Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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