MovieChat Forums > Kickboxer (1989) Discussion > It is Rocky IV except the boxing also in...

It is Rocky IV except the boxing also includes kicking

posted 8 years ago by phroday-421-53375
9 replies | jump to latest

Still enjoyable for all the regular JCVD movie reasons. However, having watched this again for the first time in forever, it is very clear that the story is a slightly modified version of Rocky IV.

Dude's friend is a big deal in the US.
Friend fights a foreign competitor in what should be a regular old match.
Friend gets killed/crippled in the fight by a foreign beast of a man.
Dude trains to fight the Beast.
Dude defeats the Beast.

....wait, that's the general plot of Bloodsport too. I need to do some research.

[–] creatorof2002 8 years ago

Yes I figured this out back in 1989 its a pretty standard trope.

BUT one thing BETTER about Rocky 4 is that if they had filmed it like Kickboxer The evil Russians would have blackmailed him to force him to let Drago win by threatening the life of his son or wife or maybe Drago would have raped Adrian.

Kickboxer would have been better if there had been no kidnap blackmail plot and instead he was just an underdog fighting a long hard upward battle like Rocky in Rocky 4, and raping his girlfriend added nothing good to the plot.

[–] MaximRecoil (4066) 6 years ago

This movie is mostly Rocky IV with some Karate Kid mixed in (the eccentric old Asian man trainer with unconventional training methods, plus the protagonist having never competed before and going on to win). The part about them using coercion to get him to throw the fight has been done in lots of TV shows and movies.

[–] twinA (4826) 6 years ago

It's almost as if the makers of the movie made no attempt at hiding the fact, embracing these tropes because, hey, it's Van Damme, they know their audience and he puts butts in seats by kicking it, yeah!

[–] actionkamen (23176) 6 years ago

I can't imagine how kicking butts somehow make them be put into seats. Lol. That was very funny!

[–] twinA (4826) 6 years ago

[Thumbs up] "\_'(^=^)'_/"

[–] R_Kane (15828) 6 years ago

Well, if Rocky IV akso has broken shards of glass on the combatants’ fists AND ALSO allowed for massive blows from
inner elbows and inner knees, then, yeah, you’re right. Blows from those joints are all but impervious to pain, and are very destructive. Being cut by glass? You bleed more than with a glassless punch. What do you know about Mui Thai? The answer is, “nothing.” Oh, for the uninitiated: Mui Thai is real (Thai) kickboxing, not American “kickboxing.”

[–] twinA (4826) 6 years ago

Great point, R_Kane. If there is anything fighting movies have taught me its that always anticipate the moves of the combatant proficient in the art of Mui Thai. I assume these fighters have mighty strong, durable leg muscles, giving them great physical balance and range afforded in the lower body, providing them an advantage in an encounter against someone who has only focused on the core areas of the torso.

[–] MaximRecoil (4066) 6 years ago

"Well, if Rocky IV akso has broken shards of glass on the combatants’ fists AND ALSO allowed for massive blows from
inner elbows and inner knees, then, yeah, you’re right."

No, I'm right, as-is. Only an idiot can't see the parallels among major plot points between Kickboxer and Rocky IV, and only an idiot would point out differing minor details as though they make the two movies fundamentally different. By that "logic", no movie ever borrowed from another movie, because there are always details that are different, even in a shot-for-shot remake.

"Blows from those joints are all but impervious to pain, and are very destructive. Being cut by glass? You bleed more than with a glassless punch. What do you know about Mui Thai? The answer is, “nothing.” Oh, for the uninitiated: Mui Thai is real (Thai) kickboxing, not American “kickboxing.” "

Your non sequitur is dismissed, simpleton. See above.

[–] Interlepos (1784) 2 years ago

Well, Rocky was no ordinary dude. He was the heavyweight champion. Big difference.