I am an unabashed fan of Jean-Claude Van Damme. For a period in the early 90s, I would see every one of JCVD’s films theatrically while my dad tried to cover my eyes during the simulated sex scenes. He failed and i am the bewb-obsessed cinephile that writes for you daily here at JoBlo.com. Needless to say, I feel a little bit of my movie soul weep each time a remake of a Van Damme movie is announced and the new KICKBOXER is no exception.
The 1989 action flick starred Van Damme as a man who journeys to Thailand to avenge the death of his brother at the hands of the evil Tong Po (Michel Qissi). Forget the plot, all you need is the promise of underground fighting and hands dipped in broken glass and a drunken dance sequence with Van Damme that will forever live in infamy. Followed by numerous awful sequels, KICKBOXER remains one of the fun, early classics from Van Damme’s career.
The Hollywood Reporter says that not only is the KICKBOXER reboot still in development but director Stephen Fung (TAI CHI HERO) and producer Ted Field now have a trio of stars for the project. Stuntman Alain Moussi, who has worked on X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST, WHITE HOUSE DOWN, and PACIFIC RIM, will take over Van Damme’s starring role while GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY’s Dave Bautista and UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre (Batroc in CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER) will appear in supporting roles.
KICKBOXER tells the story of David and Kurt Sloan, the descendants of a well-known Venice, Calif., fighting dynasty. When David wins the Karate World Championship, a promoter lures him to Hong Kong, despite his brother’s protestations that the man is a crook. When Kurt travels to Thailand to meet his brother, he discovers he has died, and seeks his revenge.
It is unknown who will take what role, but I would venture to guess Bautista and St. Pierre will play the brother to Moussi’s Kurt Sloan and the wquivalent of Tong Po, respectively. Since both actors have played good and bad guys in the past, it is a toss up as to who will play who. I definitely get a direct to Redbox vibe off of this project, but with Bautista likely to get more popular with the release of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, this movie could get a big boost.
Hopefully they do the right thing and recreate this scene exactly as it appeared in 1989.