Quick Reviews: Kickboxer- Retaliation

As the year comes to a close, I need to clear out my Netflix Queue.  This is one I picked based on the sheer randomness of the star power...

Our hero is back in America after surviving his fight with Po (Batista) in the last Film.

Faster than you can say 'What was the point of showing this MMA Fight,' he is kidnapped and taken back.

The man behind it is a crazy billionaire played by Richard Lynch.

Wait- he died in 2012 and this was shot in 2016.  Oh no...

That's Christopher Lambert?!?!?!?

...anyways, he is mad that our hero left after killing his big draw.  His new draw- The Mountain- is an even-larger version of Ivan Drago, complete with all of those steroids.

Trapped in Prison until he agrees to fight, our hero meets a slew of random people including a Southern UFC fighter, a Brazilian Soccer Player and...Mike Tyson.

I guess Mike Piazza, Lawrence Taylor and Pele were busy.

Can he withstand all of the training he'll need to win this fight (but not the last fight he won easily)?

Will the final battle top the last Film's?  Will he topple The Mountain?  Could this shot be more epic?

To find out, watch the Film on Netflix like I did.

A curious mix of old and new.  The Film is definitely aware of what an '80s Film should be like.  It probably helps that the Director is Dimitri Logothetis, the man behind Slaughterhouse Rock.  For better or worse, this often feels like a somewhat-updated throwback Film.  It made sure to keep the casual misogyny of the '80s too.  Without SPOILing too much, the Film has two Female Leads (not counting the Sexy Assassins).  One gets to fight for about 20 seconds (but not win), while the other is just there to drive the Plot.  Agency- what's that?  Besides that, the Film is mostly a series of random teases.  You get a brief fight with Tyson against our hero, one against Van Damme and than a random Lambert sword fight against Van Damme.  Speaking of Van Damme, he tries for understated and cool, but mostly just sounds like he's giving about 20% all the time.  The Film feels like it was made for people with ADHD too, as they must have a fight scene every 4-6 minutes.  The Lead is alternately a great fighter (dispatching no names with ease) and one who needs to learn a dozen brand new styles.  For instance, he loses a fight to Tyson to show that he needs to train.  No offense, but I'm supposed to buy that a 51-year old Tyson (who retired in 2005) can beat a 36-year old Moussi (who played Nightmare Batman on Titans!)?  Sure.  It isn't a great Film.  It is fun.  It has good moments.  It can be epic, but it can also be over-the-top (not always in a good way) and silly.  At least one guy gets to do his signature happy Acting...

A pretty entertaining, if shallow Film.  It definitely wants you to think that it has heart and some deeper meaning, but it's just an excuse for lots of kicking and punching.