Nearly done. Just two films to go.
This 5th Kickboxer film feels like it throws all lore out of the window. I can’t remember if it even mentions the Sloane brothers at all. They’ve also selected a new bad-guy country: South Africa. The story-line is much the same as the previous four, but they’ve left out damsel-in-distress trope, which is refreshing.
Here’s a brief rundown of the plot:
The new lead character, Matt Reeves, is a do-good kickboxing champ who runs a dojo for kids in LA. Look at this dreamboat.
He finds out that a psychopath (Mr. Negaal) wants to create a new kickboxing league, and if fighters don’t sign up to the new league, their championship victories and titles are null and void. The chances of you being murdered by the psychopath’s henchmen are pretty high too, which happens to Matt’s friend Johnny.
To avenge Johnny’s death, Matt teams up with a former henchman to take down Mr Negaal.
The best bit of the film is definitely the fight scenes that take place inside the luggage handling area of an airport. It’s particularly entertaining in a post-2001 security theatre world.
No steamy/smoky sex scenes. No damsel in distress. No sexual-violence-towards-women-as-a-plot-device. It’s, by 1990s standards nearly feminist.
Some attempts were made to showcase South Africa’s scenery.
2.8 stars?
