How is it that Hollywood writers and directors are able to make Dave bautista a dominant force yet when Dave had his last wwe run they made him look stupid???? Anyway kickboxer franchise returns as well as the original kickboxer Jean- Claude Van Damme, the story of a American muay Thai champion who against his brothers wishes goes to Thailand to fight their muay Thai champion Tong PO (bautista) during the fight tong PO kills Eric in front of watching brother Kurt. Kurt then vowels to get revenge and ends up at his brothers training master durand (van damme) There is some nice 80s touches with the classic training montage and overall its a good film with some excellent fight scenes. kickboxer vengeance is worth watching yeah its not gonna break any box office records but will still be a success with a great cast and homage to the original. Stay for the post credits as you don't want to miss the treat.

It was funnier, more commercial, but not necessarily more interesting, I imagined that this would be a Kickboxer sequel, but it's a remake ... nor Van Dame (always beautiful) saves... I liked the little dance at the end in honor of Van Dame... But very weak...

'KICKBOXER: VENGEANCE': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A reboot/remake to the 1989 cult classic martial arts flick, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Van Damme returns to play the central character's mentor, while stuntman (turned martial arts actor) Alain Moussi stars in the film, as Kurt Sloane (the role that Van Damme played in the original movie). The story is once again about kick boxer Kurt Sloane wanting revenge for his brother's brutal beating, at the hands of a lethal Muay Thai champion. The film also costars WWE star (turned actor) Dave Bautista, Gina Carano (a former MMA star, turned actress), Georges St-Pierre (a former MMA star, turned actor), Sara Malakul Lane (a Thai model, turned actress) and the late Darren Shahlavi (a former stuntman, turned late martial arts actor). It was directed by actor, turned director, John Stockwell; who's directed such other B-movie cult classics as 'BLUE CRUSH', 'INTO THE BLUE' and 'IN THE BLOOD' (also starring Carano). The script was written by Dimitri Logothetis (who also co-wrote and directed the 2014 martial arts flick 'WINGS OF THE DRAGON'; also starring Moussi), and first time screenwriter Jim McGrath. The film received a direct to Video on Demand (and select indie theaters) release, and it's received mixed reviews from fans. Although it's extremely cheesy, I enjoyed it.

After winning the World Karate Championship, Eric Sloane (Shahlavi) accepts a generously paid offer to travel to Thailand; and compete in an underground fight there. Eric's brother Kurt (Moussi) is extremely worried about the fight, and he attempts to talk his brother out of it. After Eric doesn't listen to him, Kurt travels to Thailand to watch the fight; and he arrives just in time to see his brother brutally murdered (in the fight) by his merciless opponent Tong Po (Bautista). Kurt then wants revenge, and he asks his brother's mentor there, Master Durand (Van Damme), to train him. Durand reluctantly agrees.

The movie is pretty amateurish and cheesy; I'm actually amazed it was funded with a $17 million budget. Stockwell has made much better looking films than this, and so have several of the actors (Van Damme, Bautista, Carano, etc.). Still it is a great homage to the very cheesy, and extremely amateurish, original (which I'm a big fan of); and it's great that they got Van Damme to finally come back to the series (which has spawned multiple other sequels before this). I kind of wish it would have been more professionally made, but I also kind of like how campy it is. I enjoyed it.

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