Kickboxer 2
Encyclopedia
Kickboxer 2: The Road Back is a 1991 film as the first in what became a series of sequels to the 1989
film Kickboxer
Though Jean-Claude Van Damme
was in the original as Kurt Sloan, he was not in this sequel as the action follows Kurt Sloan's brother David (Sasha Mitchell
), who had to fight against Tiger Tong Po, the former Thai Champion. In this film, Kurt Sloan and Eric Sloan have already been shot dead at the hands of Tong Po following the events of the first film.
While recovering in the hospital, Sloan is visited by Xian Chow (Dennis Chan), who trained his brother Kurt in Thailand. Though David initially wants nothing to do with him, he finally relents and allows Xian to nurse him back to health. Meanwhile, one of Sloan's most promising students (Vince Murdocco) has secured a championship bout and invites Sloan to watch the fight. However, his slated opponent is unexpectedly replaced by Tong Po, who brutalizes the young man and kills him in the ring. Now with no other recourse, Sloan is forced to accept Po's challenge. In a bloody bout reminiscent of the "ancient way" of fighting in Thailand, Sloan exacts his revenge and defeats his rival.
theatrically in the United States by Trimark Pictures in June 1991, grossing $1,250,712 at the box office. HBO Home Video released it on VHS
and laserdisc
the same year.
The film was released on DVD
by Lionsgate in 2003.
wrote "...kickboxers have all the right moves-yet as action heroes, they're practically interchangeable. If any of them is serious about filling Van Damme's shoes, he'd better start working on his style." In the Bad Movie Knights review of the film, there was mixed praise of acting and plot, "...the biggest shock about Kickboxer 2 is Sasha Mitchell himself. Not only is he a decent martial artist but he can actually act" and "..there are too many sequences of David soul-searching and way too much padding in the plot which only gives us the required amount of acting. The action, like the original, is exciting, well shot and indeed provide the mediocre rating spelled out." And Matt Cale of Ruthless Reviews was pitiless, "Any hint of a story is mere pretext -- what we paid to see are oily, well-built men inflict a tremendous amount of pain on each other, with the hope that there will be numerous slo-mo sequences where blood and spit fly through the air", and "...Sasha Mitchell gives an unconvincing, mush-mouthed performance as David Sloan...". Reception as to how a Van Damme sequel was received without Van Damme being in it was summed up by City On Fire, "...Of course the very essence of making a sequel to a Van Damme movie, sans Van Damme apparently pissed off people. I myself am indifferent to the situation but how seriously are we supposed to take a movie, where the main guy's name is Sasha! Especially one who played a pot head on an awful TV show", and "..I for one can say that this qualifies as a guilty pleasure because really, the series is pretty fun".
1989 in film
-Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...
film Kickboxer
Kickboxer (film)
Kickboxer is a 1989 martial arts film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and former world Kickboxing champion, Dennis Alexio. Like Van Damme's previous film, Bloodsport, it showcases Van Damme's martial arts fighting abilities...
Though Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
was in the original as Kurt Sloan, he was not in this sequel as the action follows Kurt Sloan's brother David (Sasha Mitchell
Sasha Mitchell
Sasha Mitchell is an American actor best known for his television roles as James Richard Beaumont on Dallas and Cody Lambert on Step by Step. Mitchell also holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.-Personal life:...
), who had to fight against Tiger Tong Po, the former Thai Champion. In this film, Kurt Sloan and Eric Sloan have already been shot dead at the hands of Tong Po following the events of the first film.
Plot
Several years after his brothers' deaths, David Sloan (Sasha Mitchell), the youngest and last of the great Sloan dynasty, struggles to keep the family kickboxing gym afloat. Although his will to compete has waned since the loss of his brothers, financial problems eventually force Sloan to fight again in a new organization run by a crooked promoter (Peter Boyle). His surprising comeback ultimately attracts the attention of Tong Po who, having been disgraced by Sloan's older brothers, seeks to lure their younger sibling back into the ring. But when Sloan announces his retirement after the bout, Po's manager Sanga (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) hires a group of thugs to burn down the gym, injuring Sloan and killing one of his young students.While recovering in the hospital, Sloan is visited by Xian Chow (Dennis Chan), who trained his brother Kurt in Thailand. Though David initially wants nothing to do with him, he finally relents and allows Xian to nurse him back to health. Meanwhile, one of Sloan's most promising students (Vince Murdocco) has secured a championship bout and invites Sloan to watch the fight. However, his slated opponent is unexpectedly replaced by Tong Po, who brutalizes the young man and kills him in the ring. Now with no other recourse, Sloan is forced to accept Po's challenge. In a bloody bout reminiscent of the "ancient way" of fighting in Thailand, Sloan exacts his revenge and defeats his rival.
Cast
- Sasha MitchellSasha MitchellSasha Mitchell is an American actor best known for his television roles as James Richard Beaumont on Dallas and Cody Lambert on Step by Step. Mitchell also holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.-Personal life:...
as David Sloan - Peter BoylePeter BoylePeter Lawrence Boyle, Jr. was an American actor, best known for his role as Frank Barone on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, and as a comical monster in Mel Brooks' film spoof Young Frankenstein ....
as Justin - Dennis Chan as Xian Chow
- Cary-Hiroyuki TagawaCary-Hiroyuki Tagawais a Japanese-American actor.In addition to his extensive film work, he has appeared on television in Star Trek: The Next Generation - "Encounter at Farpoint" , Thunder in Paradise , Nash Bridges , Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding , and Heroes . He also provided the voice of Sin Tzu for the video game...
as Sanga - John Diehl as Jack
- Michel QissiMichel QissiMichel Qissi is a Moroccan-Belgian actor, perhaps best known for his role as Tong Po in the 1989 martial arts film Kickboxer.-Biography:Qissi was born in Oujda, Morocco and moved to Brussels, Belgium as a child. He began training in boxing at seven years old, and became an amateur champion in his...
as Tong Po - Heather McCombHeather McCombHeather McComb is an American actress.McComb started acting at age 2 in a commercial for Publisher's Clearing House. When she appeared in the telefilm Generation X in 1996, she became the first actress to portray the X-Men character of Jubilee on screen...
as Lisa - Vince MurdoccoVince MurdoccoVince Murdocco is a Canadian actor and former kickboxer. He won a North American Cruiserweight Kickboxing Championship in 1990.- Filmography :* Wolf Canyon as Jhonny Willkes* Canes as Uniformed Cop...
as Brian Wagner - Vincent KlynVincent KlynVincent Klyn is a New Zealand born actor who has appeared in a number of 1980s and 90s era motion pictures. His most notable role was the 1989 film Cyborg directed by Albert Pyun.-Early life:...
as Thai Thug - Gene LeBellGene LeBellIvan Gene LeBell is a former American Judo champion, instructor, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, and professional wrestler born in Los Angeles, California. LeBell has worked on over 1,000 films and TV shows, and has authored a number of books.In 2000, he was promoted to 9th Dan in US Ju-Jitsu...
as Referee - Don FamiltonDon FamiltonDon Familton is an American boxing trainer and actor. He resides in Culver City, California.As a young man, Familton coached volleyball for the Hollywood YMCA before going on to coach football for several high schools and junior colleges. Later, he became a boxing trainer for the YMCA, where he...
as Brian's Cornerman - Matthias HuesMatthias Hues-Biography:Hues was born in Waltrop, Germany, and was raised on a ranch by his doctor-father Josef...who, according to the younger Hues, did not even own a television set. Matthias 's first Hollywood acting role was as Yuri in the film No Retreat, No Surrender 2...
as Vargas - Humberto Ortiz as Joey
- Emmanuel Kervyn as Kurt Sloan
- Joe Restivo as Ring Announcer
- Brian Austin GreenBrian Austin GreenBrian Austin Green is an American actor, best known for his portrayal of David Silver on the television series Beverly Hills, 90210, a role he played from 1990 to 2000. Green also starred in the sitcom Freddie and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Since 2009, he has appeared in a recurring...
as Tommy - Brent Kelly as Carl
- Annie O'Donnell as Brian's Mother
- Robert Gottleib as Lou Lescano
Release
The film was given a limited releaseLimited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
theatrically in the United States by Trimark Pictures in June 1991, grossing $1,250,712 at the box office. HBO Home Video released it on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
and laserdisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
the same year.
The film was released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
by Lionsgate in 2003.
Reception
With comparisons to the 1989 Van Damme original, the film was not initially well received. TV Guide opined, "From its opening moments it's obvious that KICKBOXER 2 is struggling under the leaden weight of humorlessness. This is the movie that absolutely no one wanted to see: a kickboxing movie that takes itself dead serious." Michael Sauter of Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
wrote "...kickboxers have all the right moves-yet as action heroes, they're practically interchangeable. If any of them is serious about filling Van Damme's shoes, he'd better start working on his style." In the Bad Movie Knights review of the film, there was mixed praise of acting and plot, "...the biggest shock about Kickboxer 2 is Sasha Mitchell himself. Not only is he a decent martial artist but he can actually act" and "..there are too many sequences of David soul-searching and way too much padding in the plot which only gives us the required amount of acting. The action, like the original, is exciting, well shot and indeed provide the mediocre rating spelled out." And Matt Cale of Ruthless Reviews was pitiless, "Any hint of a story is mere pretext -- what we paid to see are oily, well-built men inflict a tremendous amount of pain on each other, with the hope that there will be numerous slo-mo sequences where blood and spit fly through the air", and "...Sasha Mitchell gives an unconvincing, mush-mouthed performance as David Sloan...". Reception as to how a Van Damme sequel was received without Van Damme being in it was summed up by City On Fire, "...Of course the very essence of making a sequel to a Van Damme movie, sans Van Damme apparently pissed off people. I myself am indifferent to the situation but how seriously are we supposed to take a movie, where the main guy's name is Sasha! Especially one who played a pot head on an awful TV show", and "..I for one can say that this qualifies as a guilty pleasure because really, the series is pretty fun".