MINDLESS MUSINGS

***SPOILER ALERT***

(Only if you actually believe Van Damme loses)

I have been trying to understand why I find Bloodsport enjoyable after uncountable rewatches, yet I have only watched Kickboxer again a few times; and that was only because someone else wanted to watch it. After watching it in the cinema I remember feeling somewhat underwhelmed and it never made the go-to list like Bloodsport.

As an amateur screenwriter I am aware of certain rules that should be abided by if you want to drag your audience into your story and hold them there until the end. Two rules come directly to mind when thinking about the difference between these films:

1: The more formidable your antagonist (bad guy) the better your protagonist (hero) will appear.

2: The stakes need to be raised as the story progresses.

Both films tick both of these boxes, and it might even be noted that Kickboxer ups the ante further than Bloodsport. I agree with this description but herein lies what I believe to be the flaw in the Kickboxer story strategy: yes, the stakes are raised, but they are all over the bloody shop!

Bloodsport achieves this ratcheting up in an uncomplicated linear way:

• Frank Dux (Van Damme) wants to win the Kumite to honour his shidoshi (Tanaka) – clear goal.
• It is a no rules fighting tournament where people have been seriously injured or killed – dangerous? yeah!
• The reigning champion (Chong Li) is a fearsome fighter who ruthlessly killed a man in the last tournament – getting scary!
• On the 2^nd day of the tournament Chong Li hospitalises Jackson and Frank vows to avenge him – anticipation rising.
• On the final day Chong Li kills his semifinal opponent – shit just got real!
• Going into the final fight we see Chong Li conceal a pill in his waistband as he mounts the stage – an extra dash of treachery to spice thing up.
• Great fight and Frank overcomes Chong Li’s ferocity and dirty tricks – a glorious victory!!!

Kickboxer follows a similar path, but goes apeshit with the increasing of the peril:

• Eric Sloane, a heavyweight kickboxing champion from the US fights Thailand’s undefeated champion (Tong “The Tiger” Po). Kurt (Van Damme) is Eric’s brother and cornerman.
• Tong Po utterly destroys Eric. When Kurt throws in the towel Tog Po kicks it away and continues his vicious beating. Kurt winds up paralysed from the waist down – motherfucker!
• So, we are watching a revenge flick, great. Kurt is skilled at karate, but he needs Muay Thai Mr Miyagi to get him up to Tong Po’s level by the 3^rd act of the movie – no problem, we’ll go with it. I’m still in at this point.
• Kurt is planning to avenge his brother by fighting a devastating smashing machine – Yeah, that’s scary!
• As Kurt wins his way to a shot at Tong Po things start to get a little complicated.
• Tong Po’s manager (Freddy Li) arranges to have the fight fixed and Kurt is the designated loser – Tong Po just lost a little of his menacing mojo for me.
• Tong Po beats and rapes Mylee (Kurt’s sweetheart) – Mega-motherfucker!!!
• Freddy Li’s goons kidnap Eric in order to blackmail Kurt into losing the match – things are getting a little convoluted.
• Kurt is instructed to go the distance with Tong Po and then lose if he wants to save his brother – this is gunna suck.
• Did I mention they will be fighting the “ancient way”, meaning both fighters wrap their hands in rope, coat them in resin and dip them in broken glass. Sounds brutal!!! – bit of pity poor old Kurt can’t fight back.
• Now instead of watching Kurt pit his new skills against the awesome Tong Po, we must squirm through a relentless session of a cat toying with a mouse (torturing more like it) – okay we hate Tong Po, we get it.
• The shattered glass knuckles was a clever raising of the stakes, but with Kurt being just a punching (or is it mushing) bag I think it misses the mark.
• Tong Po’s destructive power was demonstrated before his fight with Eric. He was kicking a concrete pillar with his shins, and the concrete was losing – Terrifying!
• So instead of seeing if Kurt can overcome such overwhelming kick-assery, we are left watching how much punishment he can take – Is this some kind of sado-masochistic fetish shit?
• Oh, and 1 more bit of foreshadowing. Just after Eric got obliterated by Tong Po, he and Kurt were lucky enough to be rescued by a US special forces dude (Winston Taylor). Who knew that would come in handy later on? – are you still with me?
• While Kurt is being turned into mince meat, Winston and Kurt’s Trainer (Xian Chow) find and rescue Eric – call me simple, but I just came here to watch Van Damme struggle and then kick the bad guy’s ass.
• When Kurt finally sees that his brother is safe, he unleashes some “how dare you cripple my brother, rape my girl, kidnap my brother, blackmail me to passively get pulverised by your concrete breaking shins, shattered glass knuckles, Muay Thai hardened elbows, knees and forehead” revenge! – I will admit if felt good at the time.
• After being absolutely pummelled for what seemed like an eternity, Kurt shows us that Mr Miyagi – sorry Xian Chow is the greatest teacher ever! Kurt issues a flogging of epic proportions and even continues the beating as Tong Po opts for cheating and using weapons. It truly was a comeuppance to behold – I’m pretty sure we all walked out feeling triumphant.

But it faded fast, and I had no idea why for a long time. Now…Just look at the length of the two breakdowns!

Frank had to use his skill, wit and tenacity to overcome an extremely dangerous and malevolent opponent.

Kurt was headed down the same path and things got really fierce when the shattered glass knuckle portion was added! The Mylee assault added to our hatred of the bad guy. Suddenly the fight was taken out of his hands. Kurt is essentially powerless. All his training, hard work and desire for retribution come to nought. The Muay Thai version of Rocky v Drago is turned into a circus of corruption and pseudo-military hijinks.

In the quest to add a twist to a proven formula Kickboxer got lost somewhere. The stakes were raised; they were also moved to the left a little, then raised again, dropped slightly, touch your toes, spin around…. Hey, the good guys won!

Tong Po was just as frightening as Chong Li, but the contest was ultimately taken out of his and Kurt’s hands until the last minute. What a waste.