DVD Movie Review: Kickboxer: Retaliation

Kickboxer: Retaliation (UK Rating: 15)

Along the way, many things happen that, as you might expect, aren't particularly unexpected. Kurt meets some allies in the form of Iron Mike Tyson and a blind master who appears to have the super human ability to anticipate things that are about to happen… or, as he so wisely puts it, "You have to feel the air move before it moves." Yeah, the dialogue can get pretty corny, but really, is that surprising? There's going to be plenty of flicking fingers and saying "Come get me" littered in the film's 110 minute run time, and it never manages to detract from the fun. Even the most eye rolling lines feel at home here, and it feels pedantic to worry about them otherwise.

The film is expertly shot and even when Sloane is finding himself being bounced off the pavement, like a red ball during four square, it's all really fun to watch. When he's running through disposable enemies like a John Deer on a weed field, the camera is just as much the star. It effortlessly dances around him like a ballerina while he throat checks yet another "Bad Guy #4" and "Courtyard Bad Guy #6" …and the music… whoa! The music is absolutely superb and so well picked that it feels like the producers need to be employed on more mainstream films, just to show them how it should be done.

There are some spots that hinder things a little bit. For all the grittiness of the fight scenes, Sloane and friends seem to have some super-human abilities, even outside of the previously mentioned anticipation skill. While it's all cool watching him as he seemingly runs across the air after jumping off a bike, it breaks the otherwise perfect flow of the scene it's included in. Also, there are a few times when the fighting can get a bit repetitive, and Sloane will use the same move that just yielded no results, but since he needs to appear to have gotten better in what amounts to just a few moments, it suddenly works.

8/10

Great - Silver Award

Kickboxer: Retaliation isn't an Oscar-worthy period piece about a man overcoming the odds, and thank goodness for that. It's the kind of movie someone would watch while shadow boxing the air right in front of them, being careful not to knock over their glass of Sprite or their bowl of jalapeño peppers. The thing that makes it special is how well it does all of it. It's an absorbing film, and one that manages to be both engaging and exciting pretty much the entire runtime. No member of the cast feels out of place, and while there are some questionable moments, they do little more than become noticeable while watching what might be one of the best action movies to come out in years.