The Kickboxer Sequels Reviewed

Before recording our Van Damme episode I decided to watch all of the films in the Bloodsport, Kickboxer and Cyborg franchises. Below are my thoughts on all of the Kickboxer sequels. These reviews and more can also be found on our Letterboxd page letterboxd.com/mtfeature

Kickboxer 2: The Road Back

"Kickboxer 2" is a bland movie. It lacks any of the charm of the first movie and while I think Sasha Mitchell is fine in the movie it's hard to match up to what Van Damme had done in the original film. It's also strange that the fights are shot almost completely in slow motion. It kind of drains any potential energy from the scenes. Also shoehorning Tong Po into the story was a mistake. While I appreciate the interest in keeping this within continuity there just wasn't any way the fight between Mitchell and Tong Po was going to be anywhere as good as the fight in the first film. In the end it's really not a poorly made film and I think Pyun is really good at getting the most out of a budget it just lacked any real excitement.

Kickboxer 3: The Art of War

I always say if you're gonna make a direct to video sequel you may as well go as far off the rails as you can and just make an entertaining movie. Kickboxer 3 is a solid attempt to do just that. In this third film Sloane is now in Rio where he befriends two street children. One of them is kidnapped to be sold into slavery so Sloane must take down the entire operation and free the girl. Kickboxer 3 is really not a good movie. Mitchell seems to have slipped into Step by Step mode with his character as he plays him as much less intelligent and more goofy than in the previous film. I also take issue with the fact that Sloane uses guns in this one. It's called Kickboxer. The reason we watch this movie is to see him take out guys with guns using only marital arts. Despite the issues I had it's still much more entertaining than the second film even if it's for the wrong reasons.

Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor

It's kind of like Bloodsport meets Kickboxer. Sasha Mitchell is back again as David Sloan and this time he is recruited out of prison by the DEA to infiltrate Tong Po's mexican fortress which appears to be more of a desert resort. David's wife has also been taken by Tong Po and is being used as a sexual slave on his complex. The only way David can gain access to Po's complex is to take part in a secret tournament between the worlds best fighters. There are many things about Kickboxer 4 that are laughable. For one the original actor who played Tong Po didn't return for the fourth film so they have some other guy with a prosthetic on his forehead which makes him appear to have no eyelids. Maybe the prosthetic blinded his sight so badly that it is also to blame for the fact that Po wouldn't recognize Sloan, a man he fought only a few years earlier and whose family he absolutely loathes. Also, when did Sloan begin working for the DEA? This movie is only 2 years after the last one so did he go to prison the minute he returned from Rio? I guess Pyun decided to just ignore part 3 and do a direct sequel to his original sequel. There's also a few random softcore scenes in this one which feel so out of place I couldn't help but laugh. Basically, this is another bad sequel that is really stupid but also a lot of fun. There are some entertaining fight scenes as well which always help.

Kickboxer 5: The Redemption

So Sloan of the previous 3 sequels is now apparently dead. It could also be that Sasha Mitchell was arrested the same year this film was made for domestic abuse but maybe that's just a coincidence. Anyway, as far as the film goes it's nothing special. Mark Dacascos plays a kickboxer out to avenge his friends death which ultimately brings him to South Africa. I do have to say that the martial arts in this film are much better than anything given in the other sequels so maybe for that reason it could get a slight edge over the others. Of course it's still not a very good movie but is fine as throwaway entertainment.