Kickboxer 2

Kickboxer 2: The Road Back
Directed by	Albert Pyun
Produced by	Tom Karnowski
Written by	David S. Goyer
Based on	Characters by Mark DiSalle and Jean-Claude Van Damme
Starring	Sasha Mitchell Peter Boyle Dennis Chan Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa John Diehl Michel Qissi
Music by	Anthony Riparetti James Saad
Cinematography	George Mooradian
Edited by	Alan Baumgarten
Distributed by	Kings Road Entertainment
Release dates	June 13, 1991 (1991-06-13)
Running time	89 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$1,250,712

Kickboxer 2 (also known as Kickboxer 2: The Road Back) is a 1991 American martial arts film directed by Albert Pyun and written by David S. Goyer. It is the first sequel to the 1989 film Kickboxer, and stars Sasha Mitchell in the role of David Sloane, the brother of Kickboxer's lead character Kurt, portrayed by Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Plot

One year after the events of the first film, it is revealed that kickboxing brothers Kurt and Eric Sloane have been killed by Tong Po in Thailand. David Sloane (Mitchell), the last surviving brother, struggles to keep the family's Los Angeles kickboxing gym afloat. He offers free kickboxing lessons to local kids, often demonstrating a technique he calls the "rock and the river" which allows him to defend against attacks while blindfolded.

Although his will to compete has waned since the loss of his brothers, financial problems eventually force Sloane to fight again in a new organization run by a crooked promoter. His surprising comeback ultimately attracts the attention of Po (Qissi) who, having been defeated by Kurt, seeks to defeat David in the ring and regain his honor. But when Sloane announces his retirement after the bout, Po's manager Sangha (Tagawa) hires a group of thugs to burn down the gym, injuring Sloane and killing one of his young students.

While recovering in the hospital, Sloane is visited by Xian Chow (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 Sloane's most promising students, Brian Wagner, has secured a championship bout and invites Sloane to watch the fight. However, the champion is unexpectedly replaced by Po, who brutalizes the young man and kills him in the ring despite Sloane's efforts to talk the young fighter down. Now with no other recourse, Sloane is forced to accept Po's challenge. In a bloody bout reminiscent of the "ancient way" of fighting in Thailand, Sloane is beaten badly and has clouded vision. Utilizing his "rock and the river" technique, however, David ultimately exacts his revenge and defeats his rival. Having lost his honor, Sangha confronts David in the ring at gunpoint, but David is able to disarm and incapacitate him.

The next day, David unsuccessfully teaches Xian to drive a car. When his students introduce him to the new neighborhood bully, David once again demonstrates the "rock and the river", but the lesson is cut short when the ice cream truck arrives and Xian treats everyone.

Cast

Production history

Kings Road Entertainment president, Stephen Friedman, had wanted to bring Van Damme back for the sequel, but the cost was too high for the budget. David S. Goyer was hired to write the sequel. Director Albert Pyun pushed for the original Tong Po actor, Michel Qissi, to return. To make sure realism would be captured in the kickboxing fights, he hired Jimmy Nickerson as fight coordinator. Pyun met with several well known martial arts teachers before deciding on Dan Inosanto, who was trained by Bruce Lee. Through a discussion during a meeting between Pyun and him, Inosanto suggested Benny "The Jet" Urquidez who was a well regarded pioneer of full contact kickboxing. Pyun met with Urquidez and Mitchell and the deal was made for Urquidez to train and coach Mitchell. Pyun wanted Sasha's approach to full contact to be similar to Urquidez's.

Release

The film was given a limited release theatrically in the United States by Trimark Pictures in June 1991, grossing $1,250,712 at the box office.^[1] HBO Home Video released it on VHS and laserdisc the same year.

The film was released on DVD by Lionsgate in 2003.^[2]

Reception

Even though the film received good reviews from some critics and popularity among fans of the series, in comparison to the 1989 Van Damme original, the film was not initially well received.^[3] 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."^[4] Michael Sauter of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "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."^[5]

References

External links

• Kickboxer 2 at the Internet Movie Database
• Kickboxer 2 at Rotten Tomatoes