Regie:
Dimitri LogothetisScenario:
Dimitri LogothetisCamera:
Gerardo Mateo MadrazoMuziek:
Adam DornActeurs:
Alain Moussi, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, Christopher Lambert, Sara Malakul Lane, Mike Tyson, Sam Medina, Sunan Suthipo, Brian Shaw (meer)Streaming (1)
Samenvattingen(1)
Nadat hij Tong-Po in een sensationeel gevecht verslagen heeft zweert Kurt Sloan nooit meer naar Thailand terug te gaan. Maar dan wordt zijn bruid Liu gekidnapt. De meester van het ondergrondse vechtcircuit, Moore, chanteert Sloan en dreigt dat hij Liu alleen levend terug zal zien als hij opnieuw de ring instapt voor een gevecht op leven en dood. Zijn tegenstander is de gigantische, vernietigende vechtmachine Mongkut. Geholpen door Master Durand, die zelf nog een appeltje te schillen heeft met Moore, en een groep criminelen die hij in de gevangenis heeft ontmoet, probeert Sloan Liu te redden zonder aan Moore’s eis toe te geven. Verschillende bloedige confrontaties volgen, maar de macht van Moore is ongekend en er lijkt geen ontkomen aan de ‘Death Match’. (Three Lines Pictures)
(meer)Recensie (2)
The beginning is batshit crazy. I felt similar like when watching Hot Shots and wondered whether someone wasn’t pulling my leg. Honestly, Alain Moussi did not show his best and unfortunately, his taciturnity and lack of good acting didn’t save the film as a whole. Luckily, it does not stand only on him. The creators know very well he is not that great to just build the whole movie around him. So they brought along Jean-Claude Van Damme, who is once again blind but finally has some scenes that entertain and please all his fans. Then there is the extremely awkward Christopher Lambert, who overacts more than a dog pack in a dog documentary. Anyhow, his scenes entertain and do not ruin the movie. Alongside this crew there is also Mike Tyson and the Icelandic mountain of a man Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, who fit right in. Plus, you will enjoy a lot of fights – there are more fighting scenes than dialogues – so in the end I think three stars is just enough. The movie is full of extremes but if you’ve watched a number of similar movies, you will not be disappointed.
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Jean-Claude Van Damme, Christopher Lambert, Mike Tyson, and The Mountain from Game of Thrones in the sequel to Kickboxer? That doesn't sound bad at all. At least to a certain group of fans. What could go wrong? Unfortunately, everything. The whole point of arena fights is that you just have to root for the protagonist. You can't do it without that. For it to work, it has to win your sympathy somehow. Alain Moussi may have a good physique, but he lacks Van Damme's charisma and distinctive style. That was the basis of the first Kickboxer, which was extremely dilettantishly shot but had its charm thanks to JCVD. While Kickboxer Retaliation constantly tries to visually stun you (a fight in a prison in one long take, a fight in a mirrored room lit up with ultraviolet light, a fight on the roof of a moving train - there are, god knows, two of those!), it fails to captivate you. The characters are bland and unmemorable, the action is devoid of juice, tension, emotion, escalation and proper timing – instead of living it, you rather survive it. The final fight with The Mountain is so drawn out that I almost fell asleep during it. The non-action scenes are confusingly narrated and oddly edited. It can be appreciated only by hardcore MMA connoisseurs, who can be satisfied with seeing their favourite fighters on screen. Better watch Brawl in Cell Block 99 instead. It has a very similar plot and is the best exploitation film of the year.
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