Scenes of the Week: Broken Glass Everywhere
If there is one thing that has always stuck with from watching Kickboxer as a youngster so many years ago it is the sight and sound of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Kurt Sloane and Michel Qissi’s Tong Po fighting in the ancient way. Of course that gives the audience the visceral scene of the two combatants dipping their hemp rope wrapped hands into resin and then broken glass. With such a memorable scene it is no question that it shows up again in the form of remakes and parodies. This week’s Scenes of the Week takes a look at three different versions of fighting in the ancient style.
The Original – Kickboxer – 1989’s Kickboxer is easily on the Mount Rushmore of JCVD films, not to mention that it includes one of the best villains for the Muscles from Brussels. Watching two grown men duke it out with broken glass stuck to their fists will always been cinema gold in my book. The epic Kurt Sloane/Tong Po fight starts out with the two combatants with glass fists and the fighting is as brutal as you would expect. As great as the fighting is with the glass fists, the fight manages to get even more intense after the pair remove the hemp, but it is definitely not as a memorable look. I can’t recommend Kickboxer more, mainly because the scene has stuck with me for so long… however, I have to remind myself no matter how tasty broken glass looks, I can’t lick it like Tong Po.
The Remake – Kickboxer: Vengeance – It is tough to follow up a classic movie with a worthy remake. The 2016 film Kickboxer: Vengeance does a lot of things right, like having a likable lead in the Kurt Sloan role with Alain Moussi and an imposing behemoth in the Tong Po role with Dave Bautista. Some of the most important aspects to Kickboxer: Vengeance are the nods to the original with JCVD playing the mentor and even a Michel Qissi cameo. You better believe that Kickboxer: Vengeance includes the final fight to be done in the ancient style… but why did they have to make that glass look even tastier.
The Parody – Hot Shots! Part Deux – Slapstick parody films are not everyone’s cup of tea. Even if you don’t find them funny, you have to give them credit for the creativity, and 1993’s Hot Shots! Part Deux Is no exception. While Hot Shots! Part Deux pulls from several films, like the Rambo series natch, there is one scene that is a straight parody of Kickboxer. Who would have thought that a Charlie Sheen/James Lew match could be some damn funny? And kudos to a movie that shows a fighting scene with something on the fists that I can actually eat!
