There's something about looking to the past and spending time with some simple pleasures. Whether that's reading a good book without any gadgets distracting you, wallowing in the nostalgic glow of some past TV show you can now find on a variety of streaming services, or sitting down to watch the kind of film that used to make some money by heading "straight to video" for eager and undemanding action movie fans. That's why I ended up watching Kickboxer 2: The Road Back recently.
Sasha Mitchell is the leading man this time around. He plays David Sloan, the brother of Kurt and Eric Sloane (characters in the first Kickboxer movie). And, who could've thunk it, David ends up being challenged to a fight by the menacing and dangerous Tong Po (Michel Qissi returning to the role). That's everything you need to know about this martial arts movie that tries to do nothing more than provide a few more fights for those who enjoyed the first movie.
Albert Pyun directs the whole thing competently enough, and this actually feels like a film that gives him a bit more to work with than he would have throughout many other films in his career. The focus is on the fighting, and it's helped by bringing back characters that we're already familiar with, in the shape of Tong Po and the Miyagi-like Xian Chow (Dennis Chan, also returning to the series). David S. Goyer may have gone on to bigger and better things, but he does well here with what's required. It's cheesy, our hero has an unwavering moral compass, and the fights are nicely spread out throughout the 90-minute runtime.
Mitchell is a bit of a bland lead, but he just about looks capable enough when displaying some fighting skills. It's ridiculous to think of any scenario in which he would be able to beat Qissi though, who remains an entertainingly formidable villain, but the film simply gets viewers onside early enough to keep us rooting for the good guy to win. Vince Murdocco plays another fighter, who you just know is going to receive a major beating at some point, but the rest of your enjoyment comes from watching Chan, the superb Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, the equally-superb Peter Boyle, and a small, but worthwhile, turn from John Diehl. Matthias Hues is a second-tier opponent, and Heather McComb has the thankless task of being the only main female character, obviously required to look on as our hero battles with his conscience and trauma on the way to a grudge match.
Not as good as the first film in the series, as expected, and not as interesting or stylish as many other action movies you could choose to watch, but this was more fun than I expected, perhaps because it felt like the shelf-fillers we have lost in the tsunami of constant content that is all just available at the touch of a button. I'm not going to recommend this to people, but I will say that I am much more likely to rewatch this ahead of many big titles that have appeared exclusively online.
6/10
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