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| From http://images.moviepostershop.com/king-of-the-kickboxers-movie-poster-1990-1020204106.jpg |
Dir. Lucas Lowe
Hong Kong-USA
Ten years before, just after he
has won the kick boxing championship in Thailand, the older brother of Jake
Donahue (Loren Avedon) is killed by
the uber-tough and vicious Khan (Billy
Blanks, possibly influencing a couple of Street Fighter II characters just through his hair and fashion
sense). Jake becomes a cop who plays on the edge, breaking protocols, who goes
back to Thailand after Khan when he discovers his involvement in a series of
martial art snuff films. In terms of look and ideas, The King of the Kickboxers does at least have something to bring to
the table. A gruesome (and ridiculous) premise, some saltier and eyebrow
raising dialogue, and an early nineties aesthetic of bright, primary colours
and really dated fashion. The Street
Fighter comparison is not that far off, and the final climatic battle in a bamboo
cage of death is an admirable attempt at an interesting “boss battle”.
Unfortunately it’s a pretty bland
early nineties martial film outside of this. Including a large segment of the
hero training with comedic humour and a stereotypical blonde love interest, it
never really tries anything interesting or peculiar. For a Hong Kong
co-production, it also feels far too much like the (usually) blander Western
counterparts. Godfrey Ho’s Undefeatable (1993) shows how these early
nineties, American style martial art films can be memorable, and that film has
solid martial arts fighting. The participants in The King of the Kickboxers, particularly Blanks and Avedon, are
good fighters, but the fight style is limited and undermined by how the scenes,
like many Western combat films, break fight sequences into pieces with the
editing and camera shots. Ong-bak (2003)
this is not despite the kickboxing and Thai setting. Also, blameable on the
script, Jake is a completely unlikable arsehole, the snark for a hero like this
pushed too far and making him an irritating individual, undermining the
engagement with the protagonist absolutely needed in films like this no matter
how ridiculous they are. The King of the
Kickboxers is pretty forgettable.
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| From http://www.cityonfire.com/wp-content/uploads/2002/02/KingoftheKickboxers-KeithCooke_LorenAvedon_8bb989b4f05a522d92502e9304708243.jpg |
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