Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 16 to 19 of 19

Thread: Kickboxer: Vengeance (Kickboxer remake)

  1. #16
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Variety gives this a decent review...

    ...did NOT expect that.

    This opens next week.

    Film Review: ‘Kickboxer: Vengeance’
    Dennis Harvey
    Film Critic


    COURTESY OF RLJ ENTERTAINMENT
    AUGUST 22, 2016 | 05:04PM PT
    The Muscles From Brussels now mentors a young fighter in this remake of the 1989 action fave.

    After a summer notable for many expensive action-movie disappointments in which even concepts traditionally associated with hands-on stuntwork (i.e. “The Legend of Tarzan”) were overwhelmed by CGI, there’s something refreshing about the admittedly dopey but good-natured, straightforward mano a mano of “Kickboxer: Vengeance.” This de facto remake of the 1989 martial arts favorite, with Jean-Claude Van Damme returning a quarter century later (albeit this time as the hero’s wise elder trainer), improves on the boilerplate original without really changing its essentials.

    This revamp (which ignores several interim direct-to-video sequels Van Damme did not participate in) is a bit shorter, a tad more stylish, and utilizes the same clichés a little less ponderously. Brainiacs need not apply to this otherwise unreconstructed testosterone-a-thon, but of its type, “Vengeance” is well-crafted good fun — and good proof that you don’t need more than two hours or $100 million to give ticket buyers their money’s worth in popcorn thrills.

    A high-water mark for its undistinguished co-directors Mark DiSalle and David Worth, the original film was only JCVD’s third starring vehicle (following some bit parts and a couple fighting villain roles), and despite ****ing reviews was a considerable box-office success. Viewed today, it’s a slick if generic B-plus-grade endeavor whose script and presentation attain an almost “MacGruber”-esque perfection of 1980s tuff-guy cinema stereotypes. Raising it all a notch was the undeniable athletic appeal of “the Muscles from Brussels,” a handsome and personable natural screen presence, if not one blessed with great acting range.

    Representing actor turned director John Stockwell’s most prominent endeavor since the vacation-spot mellers “Blue Crush,” “Into the Blue,” and “Turistas” over a decade ago, “Kickboxer: Vengeance” opens with some gorgeous aerial shots of rural Thailand that herald its technical superiority to the competent but uninspired original. (That extends to the dexterity with which a film largely shot around New Orleans passes for being almost entirely set in Southeast Asia.) The basic narrative is unchanged, although Dimitri Logothetis and Jim McGrath’s script juggles things chronologically so the original’s early progress is framed as a flashback sprung after an opening sequence.

    Otherwise, it’s still the same revenge-driven tale: After his “global karate champion” older brother Eric (Darren Shahlavi) foolishly accepts a lucrative offer from shady ex-girlfriend Marcia (Gina Carano) to fight a “no rules” bout in Bangkok, Kurt Sloane (Alain Moussi) witnesses his sibling killed at the hands of hulking Muay Thai fighter Tong Po (Dave Batista). This is apparently a normal outcome for such illegal underground matches, whose high-stakes gambling spectators expect death or at least grievous bodily harm for their cash. Local police are strangely indifferent to Kurt’s insistence on an investigation; indeed, they try deporting him when he gets too pushy.

    Attempting to take justice into his own hands, he infiltrates Po’s countryside lair, posing as yet another foreign fighter eager to be trained by the master. But he’s swiftly found out and saved by Liu (Sara Malakul Lane), a lone non-corrupt Thai Royal Police detective. Valuing him as the only eye witness willing to come forward about his brother’s death, let alone the whole illegal-death-match syndicate, she deposits him for safekeeping with the surly, reluctant Master Durand (Van Damme). Eric soon realizes only the latter can train him sufficiently to challenge Po.

    At heart, “Kickboxer: Vengeance” is nothing more sophisticated than one long training montage bookended by big fights, with a few additional action sequences (including one involving elephants and ninjas) thrown in along the way. But the packaging is deft enough to at least partially camouflage that simplicity, with director and screenplay thankfully leaving little room for the kind of on-the-nose dialogue and other factors that made the original’s formulaic nature all too plain. With the film’s support cast inevitably dominated by fighters in various disciplines drawn from the UFC and other arenas, there’s more than enough emphasis on one-on-one combat here to satisfy those who rate such entertainments solely in terms of that content. (Which is also the reason the ’89 “Kickboxer” remains well-loved, despite its shortcomings.)

    Needless to say, character complexity and acting finesse are not in high demand here, though everyone acquits themselves well enough, one minor but irritating exception being Sam Medina as a ring MC with the manner of an overbearing carny barker. The handsome Moussi, who’s primarily worked as a stuntman before, makes an affable protagonist with a convenient vague resemblance to his name co-star (though he’s considerably taller).

    JCVD himself is allowed to be a little too cool for school, as he rarely doffs shades or pork pie hat — though when he does finally shrug off his shirt, there’s no question who would win the “Lowest Body Fat Ratio” prize amongst 55-year-olds worldwide. Perhaps already-in-production sequel “Kickboxer: Retaliation” (which adds Christopher Lambert and Mike Tyson to the mix) will let him show a little more humor, though there’s a nice in-joke bit where Master Durand is markedly unimpressed by Moussi demonstrating his own one-time specialty, the splits.

    Otherwise, “Vengeance” shows a reasonable light touch, though it’s disappointing when a bar scene teases yet does not turn into a reprise of the ’89 edition’s most fondly remembered scene, in which a drunken Van Damme demonstrated his booty-centric “disco dancing” skills. All the more clever, then, that Stockwell springs a closing-credits surprise that is sure to send audiences out smiling.

    Film Review: 'Kickboxer: Vengeance'
    Reviewed online, San Francisco, Aug. 8, 2016. (In Fantasia Film Festival.) Running time: 90 MIN.
    Production
    An RLJ Entertainment release of a Radar Pictures, Acme Rocket Fuel production, in association with Headmon Productions, The Exchange. Producers: Dimitri Logothetis, Rob Hickman, Allen Knudson, Samuel Cory Timpson, Nicholas Celozzi, Ted Field. Executive producers: Larry Nealy, Steven Michael Swadling, Peter Meyer, Lee Williams, Benjamin Friedberg, Mike Weber, Lisette Ross, Thomas Van Dell, Rick Morse, Brian O’Shea, Nat McCormick, Jeff Bowler, David Bautista, Jonathan Meisner, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Alastair Burlingham, Anders Erden, Tim Smith, Ken Nutley, Stephen Cagnazzi, Scott Rudmann, Benjamin Friedberg, Jim Finkl, Alexander Tabrizi.
    Crew
    Director: John Stockwell. Screenplay: Dimitri Logothetis, James McGrath. Camera (color, widescreeen, HD): Mateo Londono. Editors: Chris A. Peterson, Carsten Kurpanek.
    With
    David Baustista, Gina Carano, Cain Velasquez, Fabricio Werdum, Sara Malakul Lane, Alain Moussi, Georges St-Pierre, Jean-Claude Van Damme, T.J. Storm, Sam Medina, Hawn Tran, Matthew Ziff. (English, Thai dialogue)
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  2. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    Our latest ezine offering

    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  3. #18
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947

    First forum review!

    This reboot is all about JCVD who steals the show from a stable of MMA fighters that are 2 decades his junior. Cain, Werdum, & GSP are mostly negligible and Gina is completely wasted (she plays a villainous promoter so has no fight scenes.) Newcomer Moussi in the lead is in great shape - heck they are all in great shape. This is a pec, gun and washboard show - borderline ****erotically so. There's one other female character other than Gina, a hot cop love interest who does a short topless love scene but that in no way makes up for all the beefcake. Bautista is the villain, doing what he always does.

    The fights are plentiful with lots of gratuitous blood spitting. The sequences aren't long, mostly one move, one cut, but Moussi pulls off some crazy aerial kicks. He has skills and potential. And there are swordfights, even a swordfight finale, which gets a little dumb because once the sword are dropped, no one bothers to pick them up again even though they are in reach in the shots.

    Thailand is shown off fairly well, except the whole underground fight scene is dumb like usual. The fight-to-the-death spectators are casually attired and only one row deep. And Thailand has a great fight scene - you can watch Muay Thai anywhere. It bugged me that in this film, they called it Muay Thai and didn't observe the traditional bows or music. Plus Muay Thai is a modern sport. The lethal stuff is Muay Boran and the sword work is Krabi Krabong. The filmmakers went to the effort of having a lot of dialog in Thai, you'd think they'd do just a tad more research.

    This franchise already has a sequel in the works. I'll watch that if JCVD is on board. I've really grown to admire JCVD. When he first started out, he annoyed me. But now, he's aged really well, matured like good cheese. He even dominates the end credit dance scene which Moussi tries to spoof (if you've seen the original, you know).
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

  4. #19
    Join Date
    Jan 1970
    Location
    Fremont, CA, U.S.A.
    Posts
    47,947
    SEPTEMBER 08, 2017 3:11pm PT by Ashley Cullins
    Hollywood Docket: 'Kickboxer' Trial; Pacquaio Lawsuit Knock-out; Filmchella Fight


    Lester Cohen/WireImage

    A roundup of entertainment law news.

    Movie mogul Ted Field is set to stand trial next week in a legal fight over a $500,000 loan he solicited for a remake of Kickboxer, the 1989 film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.

    Central Films Media, run by Fernando Sulichin (Snowden), sued Field and Radar Pictures in 2015, and early this year added fraud claims, alleging that it issued a bridge loan for the film after Field was "extremely aggressive" in soliciting the money and that he breached their agreement by failing to repay the loan on time.

    In a trial brief filed Thursday, Central Films attorney Mathew Rosengart calls field a "self-proclaimed former billionaire, but now serial fraudster."

    During Field's deposition, which Rosengart notes the court had to compel, he testified that there was still $375,000 outstanding on the loan. The filing also notes that the mogul's attorney Jonathan Freund told The Hollywood Reporter in January that "[Sulichin] is going to get paid. The film was profitable."

    On Friday, Freund told THR "the contractual obligation has been fully satisfied."

    The initial loan aside, Central Films is also pursuing punitive damages of at least $1.5 million, arguing that Field has been defrauding people with malice. "Field's scheme to bilk investors with callous disregard for their rights is part of a pattern, and the time has come for Field and his company Radar Pictures ... to be punished for their misconduct," Rosengart writes.

    Central Films is also asking the court to hold Field personally liable for the alleged conduct, arguing that he "exercised complete control over Radar" and the two are "in effect, one and the same." (The full brief is posted below.)

    Field's Jumanji sequel is set to be released in December, and he currently has several other producing projects in the works including an adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

    The bench trial before Judge Gerald Rosenberg is set to begin Monday.

    In other entertainment legal news:

    — Filmchella founder Trevor Simms is fighting back against a trademark lawsuit filed by Coachella organizers that accuses his new film fest of trying to capitalize on the famous music event's name. Simms, who's currently representing himself, filed an opposition to Coachella's preliminary injunction request on Tuesday. He argues there is no likelihood of confusion because Coachella doesn't engage in film-related activities — and he notes that there are "hundreds of businesses" in the Coachella Valley that use "Coachella" or "Chella" in their names. Simms also argues that Coachella can't support a claim of irreparably injury, whereas an injunction stopping his late-September event would "would be costly with respect to time, money and resources of the venues, promoters, filmmakers, and fans involved." A hearing is set for Sept. 25. (Read the opposition here, and Simms' declaration here.)

    — The nationwide class action lawsuits filed by angry boxing fans and bar owners who claimed Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao hid Pacq’s shoulder injury ahead of their highly anticipated 2015 fight has been knocked out of court by a California federal judge. On Aug. 25, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner dismissed the multidistrict litigation finding fans had "no legally protected interest or right to see an exciting fight, a fight between two totally healthy and fully prepared boxers, or a fight that lived up to the significant pre-fight
    hype." (Read the decision here.)

    — The Barbershop franchise has cut itself loose from a copyright infringement lawsuit. Ronald Dickerson, also known as JD Lawrence, sued MGM, Warner Bros. and Showtime in 2016 alleging that the Barbershop films and TV series infringe his copyright in a stage play called Scissors. The studios successfully shut down a proposed injunction that would have preempted the release of Barbershop: The Next Cut and then moved for the case to be dismissed in October. U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain on Tuesday sided with the studios, finding the works are not substantially similar. (Read the decision here.)
    Kickboxer remake & Pacquiao vs Mayweather
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
    Author of Shaolin Trips
    Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •