Have you ever wanted to see a version of Karate Kid but with underground death fights and Jean-Claude Van Damme as Mr. Miyagi? Well, then today is your lucky day because we've got the new trailer for Kickboxer: Vengeance, the remake/reboot (who can tell these days) of the 1989 action movie Kickboxer. Jean-Claude Van Damme starred in the original and he returns this time as a mentor to the new main character. Check out the trailer below to see lots of angsty fighting and vengeance.
This trailer comes from Yahoo! Movies, who have the lowdown on the film. A pretty typical trailer for all intents and purposes, it did look like it had some cool fight choreography. It also stars real life professional fighters, so the fights will probably be pretty epic. Plus Dave Bautista destroying dudes while wearing that crazy ponytail is not easily forgotten. The whole thing looks a little cheesy but sometimes a little cheese can be good for a movie. It's nice to see Jean-Claude Van Damme back in an action movie, even if it's in a pass the torch capacity. Sylvester Stallone found a lot of success for doing the same thing in Creed, so who's to say that Van Damme won't too (though Creed is a better made film than from what this trailer is selling).
Instead changing the source material, the new version mostly follows the story of the original. Mixed martial artist Kurt Sloane (Alain Moussi) seeks revenge against Muay Thai champion Tong Po (played by Guardians of the Galaxy's Dave Bautista) after he murders Kurt's brother in a fight. Kurt then finds his brother's Muay Thai teacher Durand (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and begins to learn the ways of Muay Thai in order to avenge his brother and defeat Tong Po. From what was shown in the trailer, there isn't too much of a difference between this and the original, though Kurt's brother was paralyzed from the waist down rather than killed in the 1989 Kickboxer.
For comparison, here is the trailer for the original film which is, again, very similar to the new one. Be warned that there isn't a lot of energy behind this edit so it's kinda slow. Also, take note that the Tong Po in this one has the same hairstyle as Bautista with what most be the most timeless ponytail ever.
Kickboxer: Vengeance is directed by John Stockwell and stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dave Bautista, Gina Carano, Sara Malakul Lane, and Alain Moussi.
