Kickboxer (1989/Lionsgate Blu-ray)

 

Picture: B-     Sound: B-     Extras: D     Film: C-

 

 

One of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s few hits during his peak years, it took two directors (Mark DiSalle & David Worth) to make Kickboxer (1989) and it is the kind of bad film that actually did some business, but was at a point where all understood that he was either going to move onto larger projects or see his career stall in B-movie hell.  It did just enough business to help him get larger films, but his bad choices (on and off screen) meant that would only be temporary and things would soon grind to a halt.

 

We have previously looked at a pan & scan DVD of the film, which you can read more about at this link:

 

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/5670/Van+Damme+Collector's+Set+(Lionsga

 

 

Needless to say the goofy tale of that next big sport that was not the next big thing (thanks to films like this, but not kickboxing shows up routinely in action films) has his character visiting Thailand to be part of a championship and settle a personal score.  Though the film has been issued as long as 105 minutes, this version is only 97 minutes.

 

The 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image is a bit strained and color challenged throughout and though we do not have to tolerate bad CG effects (funny how they turn up in films that don’t need them), there is still a lack of depth and detail that makes this seem like an old, early HD master.  The DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) lossless 5.1 mix is an upgrade from the old analog Ultra Stereo mix (a lesser version of Dolby-A type noise reduction) that shows how strained and flawed the mix is.  It is also the best this film is ever going to sound.  There are no extras.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo