Bullet Points: Kickboxer: Retaliation

I am not sure I can think of another movie reboot that properly paid homage to the original source material the way Kickboxer: Vengeance did.

Kickboxer: Vengeance’s updated tale of Kurt Sloane and Tong Po benefitted greatly by the presence of the man who started it all way back in 1989… Jean-Claude Van Damme. Kickboxer: Vengeance, with the blessing of Van Damme himself, laid the groundwork not only for a renewed Kickboxer franchise, but for the action movie career of the star of the film, Alain Moussi.

Now I absolutely loved Kickboxer: Vengeance and my anticipation for the sequel, Kickboxer: Retaliation, was off the charts. But that anticipation was not without concern… Was I hyping up the movie too much in my mind? Would Alain Moussi fall victim to a sophomore slump? Would the fact that Kickboxer: Retaliation had to tell its own story be a blessing or a curse?

There was only one way I was going to find out…

• Save The First Dance For Me: When we last saw Kurt Sloane in Kickboxer: Vengeance he was doing his best impression of the dance number from the original Kickboxer, as Kickboxer: Retaliation begins we see Kurt and his wife Liu (Sara Malakul Lane) dancing on a train car. This romantic interlude is interrupted by some baddies who take Liu away and we get our first fight scene of the film as Kurt battles the abductors inside and on top of the train! The whole scenario (which had a real James Bond feel) ends up being a dream sequence (or was it a vision?) that Kurt experiences when he is momentarily knocked out in a fight in Las Vegas… a fight he ultimately wins. After the big victory Kurt and Liu plan a night out on the town, but Kurt obviously wants to get cleaned up first. When Kurt gets out of the shower he is greeted by two men claiming to be U.S. Marshals… they seem very aware that about a year earlier Kurt killed a guy a Thailand (that guy being Tong Po). When Kurt questions the validity of their identity, he gets tasered for his trouble and next thing you know…

• Indecent Proposal: …Kurt finds himself back in Thailand. He is shackled and lying on a floor naked, getting hosed down. The first face he sees is that of Crawford (Sam Medina), Crawford was Tong Po’s right hand man and now finds himself working for a crime boss by the name of Thomas Moore (Christopher Lambert). There are people in Thailand, Moore included, who hold a grudge against Kurt Sloane for what he did to their beloved champion Tong Po. But Moore is a businessman at heart and he offers Kurt one million dollars tax free to defend the title he won from Tong Po against his performance enhanced monster Mongkut (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson). If Kurt refuses, he will spend the rest of his life in a Thailand prison. Kurt wants no part of Moore or his money, so prison it is…
• Jailhouse Rock: As I said before, a lot of people in Thailand are not big Kurt Sloane fans and unfortunately for Kurt a lot of those people are Kurt’s fellow prisoners. So on his very first day in prison, Kurt finds himself a target. Kurt goes all Babe Ruth on the first few guys who step to him, calling his shot and telling them exactly what part of their anatomy he will be breaking. Kurt is a total badass here as he takes out inmates left and right in what looked like a video game come to life. This does not sit well with the warden and Kurt’s back is whipped to shreds for his unruly conduct despite the fact that he was merely defending himself. Kurt is not off to a good start and things seem to get even worse when he inadvertently interrupts the meditation session of a tough as nails inmate Briggs (Mike Tyson)…. this leads to an epic encounter between Kurt Sloane and Briggs that ends up getting both men whipped for their troubles and in a strange and somewhat sadistic way serves as a bonding experience for the two.  Briggs begins working with Kurt and training him like he has never been trained before. But Briggs isn’t the only one inside the prison who can help Kurt train…
• The Blind Master: Master Durand (Jean-Claude Van Damme) was also thrown in prison for his involvement in the death of Tong Po. In addition to his imprisonment, Thomas Moore had Master Durand blinded. This impairment added another dimension to the Master Durand character and one could not help but think back to the classic Zatoichi character and the numerous blind masters depicted in Hong Kong films while watching the now blind Durand. Durand’s impairment also adds another dimension to the training that Durand can provide Kurt and help him hone some untapped skills.

• The Main Event: As you might suspect Kurt eventually agrees to face the monster among men, Mongkut (Moore having Liu kidnapped pretty much sealed the deal). To its credit Kickboxer: Retaliation gives the final fight between Kurt Sloane and Mongkut ample time, as the two men are introduced at the original Muay Thai temple in Thailand, there was still 30 minutes left in the film. I knew at that point this one was not going to be like a Mike Tyson main event when he was in his prime, this one was going to go the distance. Kurt is accompanied by Master Durand and Liu, while Mongkut has his science nerd handler at his side along with Mongkut’s case of injectable performance enhancers. Crawford serves as the master of ceremonies, like he did in the final fight in Kickboxer: Vengeance. Kurt gets his ass handed to him for most of the first round by his 6’10” 400 lb. opponent. The second round incorporates blades into the mix and by the end of that round Kurt is dead… LITERALLY… KURT SLOANE DIES! This can’t be how it ends?!? Fortunately for the audience and Kurt, Liu snags one of the super adrenaline shots that Mongkut uses and injects it into her husbands chest and Kurt has a new lease on life… LITERALLY! Kurt Sloane has risen from the dead, the crowd is going wild for “The White Warrior” chanting “Nuk Soo Kow” as we enter the third and final round.

Kickboxer: Retaliation solidified everything I felt after watching Kickboxer: Vengeance… Alain Moussi is the man! Kickboxer: Retaliation was a home run performance for Moussi, who has the look, the skills and the personality to go far in the action movie world.

The addition of Christopher Lambert gave the villainous side of things more depth as you had the mind games and manipulation of Thomas Moore paired with the physical threat of Mongkut. Spoiler alert… I was glad that the eccentric and dangerous Thomas Moore survived Kickboxer: Retaliation, because that means he can come back with an even more diabolical plan for revenge in the next one!

Mike Tyson was a fun addition to the cast and last but not least you can not undervalue the importance of having Jean-Claude Van Damme involved in these movies. Van Damme’s legacy legitimizes the films and when it is all said and done I believe Master Durand will end up being among the most memorable characters in Van Damme’s filmography.

Even a blind man knows what is coming next, some Bonus Bullet Points…

• Opening Credits: There are scenes from both 1989’s Kickboxer and 2016’s Kickboxer: Vengeance in the opening credits sequence.
• Enter the Moose: When Kurt’s attempted rescue of his kidnapped wife takes him to Moore’s swanky penthouse, he finds himself tangling with two thong bikini wearing female assassins in a hall of mirrors not unlike the classic scene from Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon.
• Durand on Death: “Death has its benefits. You will save lots of expenses.”
• Welcome Back: I was glad to hear that the musical stylings of Adam Dorn returned for the sequel, I loved his music from the original and would buy both soundtracks if they were available.
• Art Imitates Life:  Kickboxer: Retaliation threw a new character into the mix, Master Durand’s son Travis. Travis was played by Van Damme’s real life son Nicolas Van Varenburg.
• Sales Pitch: “When you agree to fight for me, you will instantly go from choking on your own vomit to comfort, wealth and provocative sensual amusement.” – Thomas Moore
• Closing Credits: The closing credits treat us to some outtakes and even some Alain Moussi nunchaku action, but they end with sort of a cliffhanger as we see Kurt Sloane step into the ring and challenge for the world light-heavyweight championship. Is that where the third film will pick up?