Kickboxer 2 (1991)

In Kickboxer we saw how Kurt Sloan (Jean Claude Van Damme) was victorious in his fight against the brutal Tong Po (Michel Qissi). But Tong Po is not so easily defeated and in a burst of rage guns down the champion as he prepares to leave Thailand. For Tong Po's manager Sangha this is a disgrace that he cannot bear for the kickboxing championship can't be regained unless he can goad Kurt's younger brother David (Sasha Mitchell) into the ring to fight Tong Po for the title. Under the watchful eye of his brother's trainer Xian (Dennis Chan) he must enter the ring and face the lethal kickboxing skills of Tong Po risking everything including his life to avenge the insane violence of the deadly Thai fighter.System Requirements:Starring Cary Hiroyuki Tagawa Dennis Chan Heather McComb John Diehl Michel Qissi Peter Boyle Sasha Mitchell Vince Murdocco Directed by Albert Pyun Running time: 90 minutes Copyright Lion's Gate 2003Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: R UPC: 031398837428 Manufacturer No: 15614 Product Description

Kickboxer 2: Better Than the Original?

There seems to be a lot of contention about the superiority between Kickboxer 1 and 2. I have come to like Kickboxer 2 more than Kickboxer 1. I think the scripting of part 2 is better, however the climatic fight scene in Kickboxer 1 is superior to Kickboxer 2. But, the journey to the final fight is more entertaining in 2 than in 1. March 20, 2008

Eh....It's Alright I guess

"Better than Kickboxer" raves the L.A. Times! Well now you know how much stock you can put into a movie review from the L.A. times.
Anyhow, what do you do when you can't lure Van Damme back to do your sequel? Well, duh! Naturally you go and get Sasha Mitchell. You also conveniently kill off Van Damme's character(Tong Po was a sore loser and killed him and apparently his brother and Dennis Chan's niece). In this film, Sasha Mitchell plays the younger brother of Van Damme. This doesn't make too much sense considering in the first film, Van Damme stated that his older brother(played by Dennis Alexio) was all the family he had. Anyway, Mitchell runs a martial arts gym that's just on the verge of going under. Seems that in Thailand they haven't been able to shake off the dishonor of having their best fighter losing to Van Damme, and want to regain it by having villain Tong Po come to America and fight with Mitchell. By burning down his gym and other scare tactics, they finally get them both in the ring. Dennis Chan, who trained Van Damme in the first film, is also lured to America to train Mitchell. My God, who will win?? It's not without it's entertainment value, but it's not terribly good, and some of the scenarios are hard to swallow, even for a cheap action film. Mitchell doesn't do too bad of a job and actually is a likable guy. Peter Boyle has a constant look of, "what the hell am I doing in this movie?". And Dennis Chan is just going through the motions, but isn't quite as charming this time around. Once again, Tong Po is played by white guy in Asian makeup, Michel Quissi, and he seems to have lost some of his menace. The movie was directed by schlockmeister, Albert Pyun, and that name speaks volumes if you're familiar with it. The fight scenes are decent, but Pyun has this thing about playing them out almost entirely in slow motion. Padding out running time perhaps? All in all the movie painlessly passed the time while I did laundry. Watch for the King Diamond shirt! December 30, 2007

Not nearly as good as the first Kickboxer, but still enjoyable

Ok, here is the story. Cody from the television show Step by Step plays Van Damme's brother, David Sloane. Apparently Van Damme's character was shot by Tong Po because Tong Po couldn't accept losing. David doesn't want to fight because both of his brothers died from fighting. But I thought his other brother was just crippled? Anyways, David's school is going to close down because he can't pay the rent. So he decides to fight. He wins and then says that the kickboxing organization that Peter Boyle is running is crooked. So Peter Boyle's character is obviously mad, and has David beat up. Then Van Damme's teacher from the first movie comes back. Why? Because. Seriously, "because" is the only reason I can come up with. So all of a sudden Tong Po shows up and kills David's friend. Maybe Van Damme's teacher from the first Kickboxer is a psychic and knew Tong Po was going to show up and that is why he came to train David? But why did he look surprised when Tong Po showed up?

Sound cheesy? Ding ding ding! You are right, it is very cheesy. I was a big fan of Step by Step so maybe that is why enjoyed this movie, I dunno. It is kind of boring, and the fights aren't very good, but there are so many good actors and they all do a good job. The actors are really the only thing that saves this movie. cody is the man. Well, his kicks are kind of weak, but he is still the man in my eyes, and nobody can convince me that he isn't!

2.5/5 December 17, 2007

better than the original

Kickboxer 2 followed up the first successful Kickboxer, but minus Van Damme. David Sloan (played by Sasha Mitchell) is now the focus, the apparent 3rd brother of Kurt and Eric Sloan from the 1st movie. Sasha Mitchell may not be anywhere as close to Van Damme in the athletic department, but that doesn't hurt Kickboxer 2 at all. Sasha Mitchell is a better actor and as a whole, Kickboxer 2 does a better job than the 1st movie in that department. The story is pretty decent too - this time both characters (good and evil) are out for revenge. The evil is Tong Po, who returns from the 1st Kickboxer, played by Michel Qissi. He only has one line in the movie and doesn't appear until much later on, but it is a grand appearance. Matthias Hues (Death Match, Blackbelt, No Retreat No Surrender 2) also has a role in the movie, fighting David early on in the ring, the 1st of 3 fights in the movie. Vince Murdocco (Ring of Fire, To Be The Best) is also one of the main characters, who fights Tong Po, the 2nd fight in the movie. This match is all in slow-motion, but it is the only slow motion fight I have ever enjoyed, creating a sense of suspense that supports a main element in the story. The final fight of course is between David and Tong Po, which is about 5-1/2 minutes in length. It is mostly slow-motion once again, but is still quite entertaining and bloody, with broken glass glued and taped to the fists (same used in the 1st Kickboxer).

Kickboxer 1 is definetly a Van Damme classic. Kickboxer 2 began a different path, but in no way did it succeed in being a bad martial-arts film. I highly recommend this if you want to see some good fights backed by a decent story. August 19, 2006

KICKBOXER 2 is a Hit!!

KICKBOXER 2 has great fighting and action, with a good story. This continues with Sasha Mitchell (Step By Step), as Jean Claude Van Damme's younger brother. Instead of returning, Van Damme went to make the movie 'Double Impact.' Peter Boyle (Everybody Loves Raymond) and Dennis Chan (Kickboxer) are great additions to THE ROAD BACK. The KICKBOXER stories are really raw for the action movies of that time period. Sasha Mitchell probably does his best performance of his career. After enjoying this, continue with KICKBOXER 3 & 4! April 5, 2006

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