"KEEP BUSTIN'."

Kickboxer: Vengeance trailer

I’m excited about this one. KICKBOXER: VENGEANCE is a remake of KICKBOXER, and it for sure is a new franchise because they’re about to start shooting a sequel called KICKBOXER: RETALIATION. In this one, Alan Moussi (stunt double for Henry Cavill in IMMORTALS, The Miz in THE MARINE 3, Jason Clarke in WHITE HOUSE DOWN, Hugh Jackman in X-MEN: APOCALYPSE and Jai Courtney in SUICIDE SQUAD) takes on the JCVD role of Kurt Sloan, whose brother (now played by the late Darren Shahlavi) is paralyzed (now killed I bet) in the ring by the vicious Thai fighter Tong Po, originally played by Van Damme’s friend Michel Qissi, now the great Dave Bautista (credited as David here, so it’s his serious actor role I think).

Van Damme replaces Dennis Chan’s mentor character, and this seems promising in the trailer, because it appears to be one of these more interesting character actor performances Van Damme has been getting to do when he plays supporting roles.

It looks like they have most of the most famous elements of the original film, although I doubt they’ll have the famous dancing scene.

I love the format of the fighting tournament movie, and it’s a good way to get in those MMA cameos (Georges St-Pierre, Fabricio Werdum, Cain Velasquez) without it being forced. I also noticed T.J. Storm from BLACK COBRA in there. The braids are easy to spot. If you remember hearing Tony Jaa and Scott Adkins were in it, forget it, they were replaced by Van Damme and Shahlavi, respectively.

Carano seems like probly a non-fighting role, and not necessarily great acting, but it’s kind of a reunion for her because the director is John Stockwell who did her movie IN THE BLOOD, which I enjoyed. Stockwell (yes, the actor who is in CHRISTINE) doesn’t have a perfect track record as a director, but at his best he has a good balance of an artful eye and the lowbrow, so I think he’s a good choice.

Important credit: the fight choreographer/stunt coordinator is Larnell Stovall (NEVER BACK DOWN 2 and 3, FALCON RISING, UNIVERSAL SOLDIER: DAY OF RECKONING, UNDISPUTED 3). That bodes well.

IMDb lists the U.S. release date as August 19th. That’s a Friday. And Youtube lists this as the “theatrical trailer.” Does that mean this a real theatrical release? I hope so!

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18 Responses to “Kickboxer: Vengeance trailer”

  1. I think we are going to get a classic here.

  2. The non-animated movies that could potentially save this uneventful Summer are this one, BLOOD FATHER, SUICIDE SQUAD and the one with Viggo living out in the woods and trying to get custody of his kids before Frank Langella does. So here’s hoping the movie lives up to the awesome footage and the promise of it’s own potential.

    I heard Sasha Mitchell was talking to Alberty Pyun about creating another entry in the original KICKBOXER series. Don’t know what happened with that but if it becomes a buddy picture with KICKBOXER 5’s Mark Dacascos as the co-star I’ll see that too.

  3. “Limited theatrical release” in the US, apparently.

    Had no idea this just screened at Fantasia Fest, where it’s got some, uh, mixed reviews.

  4. But came these “mixed reviews” from the target audience or just the usual “Unironic 80s style action movies are lame” crowd?

  5. That’s a good point, CJ.

  6. I just hope this remake doesn’t have the love interest get raped.

  7. Also, who’s seen this?

  8. Just had it confirmed that Van Damme has had his voice dubbed in this.

    But never mind, guys, it’s not like he has an incredibly distinctive voice that’s seen as absolutely unique or anything.

  9. Karlos, like Van Damme ADR’d his own voice or it’s another person all together? Or they mean he is dubbed when it’s playing in non English speaking countries? Who confirmed it? Why?

  10. Most of his dialogue dubbed by someone else. At least, this is what was present on the print shown at FF recently.

    This was confirmed by one of the reviews and also by Mike Leeder over at the Kung Fu Fandom forum, who saw the film.

    No idea as to why/who or whether JCVD’s voice will make a special guest appearance later in the day closer to release.

  11. None of this story makes any sense to me. lol

  12. I know someone who saw it at FF. They didn’t mention any dubbing but did bring up that Van Damme surprisingly got quite a lot to do in it.

  13. There is a quote from “Splash Magazine” (whatever that is) that says “There hasn’t been such an over-the-top martial arts action film since the great Bruce Lee.” It’s clear that this person has never seen a martial arts movie or a Bruce Lee film.

  14. The reviews that are trickling out have me thinking, who would’ve guessed a Kickboxer remake could be SO polarizing?

    And yes, JCVD is definitely dubbed for at least part of his performance. No idea who did it, though. For the sequel I suggest the voice Charles Nelson Reilly used in The Cannonball Run II.

  15. I don’t understand the dubbing enough to call shenanigans. Maybe he was trying an accent and failing?

  16. I just asked in Twitter.

  17. It’s definitely not JCVD’s voice in some of the film. As to why that is, I have no idea.

    I’ve been told by someone in the know that it could’ve easily been fixed post-production – 2 hours of JCVD in a booth to re-record dialogue – but everyone had moved onto the sequel and it was deemed quicker to simply get someone in to dub his voice.

  18. According to this article:

    http://variety.com/2016/film/news/kickboxer-vengeance-premiere-jean-claude-van-damme-1201849655/

    Details of the third installment were discussed:

    “Producer Rob Hickman said the third film, “Kickboxer: Syndicate,” is lined up to shoot in February…”

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