MovieChat Forums > Kickboxer: Vengeance (2016) Discussion > Does Anybody Think This Film Sucks?

Does Anybody Think This Film Sucks?

posted 8 years ago by MercerHeller
9 replies | jump to latest

Just saw Kickboxer Vengeance and this was one of the most uneventful films I've seen in a long time. I was flat out bored watching it and struggled to get through it.

Considering this is a remake of Kickboxer, I wasn't expecting much except for some decent action scenes but the filmmakers couldn't even get that right. All the fights throughout this film feel boring and tedious at best. Not one action scene filled me with excitement. Even the finale with Tong Po was forgettable.
And Alain Moussi has not one ounce of charisma as the lead. I didn't think an actor could give a performance that's worse than Van Damme's from the original film.

And what was up with the terrible dubbing for Jean Claude? One minute he's speaking normal and then he speaks in a completely different voice that sounds nothing like himself. And this not only happens once or twice, but throughout the whole film.

I hate to say it but this is basically a soulless remake with no heart. Now I'm gonna have to watch the original to get this trash out my mind.

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[–] simian_ninja 8 years ago

I'm watching it now, there seems to be little to no heart and soul. Say what you want about the original 80's cheese, maybe it's just me reflecting, but those films seemed to have at least a little heart.

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Death is the standard breach for a complex prize.

[–] MercerHeller 8 years ago

Say what you want about the original 80's cheese, maybe it's just me reflecting, but those films seemed to have at least a little heart.

Not only did the original have heart, it had more emotion throughout the film. Van Damme's Kurt Sloane convinced and showed me that he really cared and wanted to avenge his brother by making Tong Po pay. That tree scene from the original with the master reminding him about his brother and then he destroys the tree with those kicks is just iconic. This new guy comes off as if his brother's death didn't overall affect him that much. He barely even emotes during his brother's death. And with his acting so terrible, I didn't care on whether he wanted to avenge his brother or not as it didn't seem convincing.

Another thing I just thought about is the training scenes from the original were so much fun to watch. In this remake, they're uninteresting. I guess that has more to do with the music then anything. I certainly won't be looking forward to Kickboxer Retaliation.

Heath Ledger's Joker Is Unimpressive And Forgettable

[–] Torico 8 years ago

That's exactly what I was thinking watching it, no heart or emotion to it, just felt like a rushed straight to video film. They seriously don't make movies like they used to, where an action movie can tell a story and has it's calm moments to add life to it.

[–] MrE26 8 years ago

Yeah, pretty awful. The original was basically a terrible film but it had a lot of charisma & silliness to it which elevated the film. This is just a cheap rehash with none of that.

The lazy dubbing of van Damme is incredibly poor (I presume couldn't be bothered to come in & redo those lines) the elephant fight had the most comically distracting visual effects I've seen in a long time, the completely out of nowhere romance was just kinda randomly thrown in there to show some tits (she is lovely though) & the training lacked any buildup or escalation at all.

They've made changes to the structure of the story, which is understandable but pretty much all of them are for the worse. For example, why have Eric trained by Durant first? That takes away from Durant's character & it means both brothers have then done exactly the same thing. One's just better at it. Odd decision.

Just a really sloppily made film. I did enjoy the cameo from the original Tong Po though, that was a nice touch.

[–] joeymike21 8 years ago

for sure it was a bad movie and poor acting and missing a story and the fights where kinda unreal but somehow i enjoyed it

[–] alucardvenom 8 years ago

Yeah, I agree with most points others have made. It suffered too much from "modern fighting movie". Original wasn't superb movie, but it had lot of heart, bit of drama, bit of seriousness and bit of camp and good fight scenes to make it overall enjoyable. Not to mention it had JCVD's charisma, which this new guy had not.

I didn't like Kurt at all. He has little to no personality. If he didn't kept reminding me he wants to avenge his brother, I would completely forget about it and just think he wanted to prove he's better fighter. Didn't make sense for Eric to go and train with JCVD. He's suppose to be cocky American champ who thought he could easily beat anyone.

Tong Po... Batista did an ok job, and he looks intimidating because he's huge, but he felt too much like stereotype of a "ruthless but honorable warrior" that you can see in pretty much any modern fight movie. If he hasn't died at the end, and they made sequels, I am sure he would become a good guy. You know, totally not Boyka from Undisputed 2.

JCVD was funniest and best part of the movie, but he didn't have personal connection with Tong Po or his boss like he did in original. He's basically just a guy who trains random people... for some reason. I love Xian in original, he didn't want to train JCVD at first, but decided to because he realized Kurt won't back down and will only get himself killed. He also wasn't huge fan of Tong Po's boss.

That sex scene with cop was too random. It was just there for the sake of sex scene. No connection between characters, and it almost happens the next scene after two met. Makes no sense. In JCVD movie, it has build up, and it adds little extra dirt on Tong Po when he rapes her, but it also adds extra emotional baggage on Kurt because Tong Po now hurt him twice.

[–] Ray_Tango 8 years ago

I thought it was passable entertainment as a DTV film. Certainly better than Van Damme's recent DTV films like Pound of Flesh and Enemies Closer. However, it pales in comparison to the original. It's not even close.

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[–] torndownunit 8 years ago

The biggest problem I saw is that the lead was not only a horrific actor, but had absolutely no charisma whatsoever. I was rooting for the bad guys over him. The original might have been a campy movie, but had the formula of rooting for the underdog down, and worked. Not saying a good lead would have saved this garbage, but it would have helped if I wasn't cringing every time the 'hero' opened his mouth.

[–] Fusion72 8 years ago

The choreography, atmosphere, direction and acting were truly laughable. Like yourself I was bored, because basically, there was such a weak storyline; they setup the vengeance plot then spent 50min with the lead training flat out, no subplots, nothing.