'Kickboxer: Vengeance' Trailer: Jean-Claude Van Damme Trains A New Fighter Out For Revenge

In the later phase of his career, Jean-Claude Van Damme doesn't really seem to care much anymore. He had a bit of a resurgence after making fun of himself in JCVD and he might get a chance to do that again with an Amazon series that would have the actor playing an exaggerated version of himself as an undercover spy posing as a washed up action star. But now he's just doing all the bad things that older action stars do, by returning to their once successful franchise in a role that passes the torch to a younger star.

Kickboxer: Vengeance sees Jean-Claude Van Damme playing mentor to a man named Kurt Sloane (Alain Moussi) looking to get revenge on the fighter (Dave Bautista) who killed his brother in an underground kickboxing ring. That's the same plot as the original movie, and you know exactly how it's going to play out. But if you need confirmation, watch the Kickboxer Vengeance trailer after the jump.

Here's the Kickboxer: Vengeance trailer from Yahoo:

Kickboxer: Vengeance is coming off a debut at the Fantasia Film Festival, and a review from Birth.Death.Movies may not be the positive reaction that the filmmakers were hoping for, but it sounds like this will be a fun movie to watch after a few drinks. Evan Saathoff writes:

As Sloane's reluctant trainer, and also what appears to be a reluctant actor in general, Van Damme embraces his inner weirdness here and works on a level that makes little sense yet is a joy to behold. He isn't mugging as in his television commercials or Welcome to the Jungle. Instead he comes off as extremely bored and apathetic, shrugging through a movie that totally deserves it, as if he's in the theater making fun of it right along with us. He looks good, his fights are great, but his secret weapon is the bald extent to which he does not give a shit. You don't even get to see his eyes in the film. When JCVD wants to give you a window to his soul, he just takes off his hat.

Whatever this film's intentions, I had the benefit of watching it in a theater filled with drunken French Canadians, and for us there was no confusion as to whether or not we were watching a comedy. It probably doesn't play quite as well on a computer screen at home, but if you're interested in watching JCVD turn in some truly hilarious late-era work, I highly recommend you give this one a shot.

Of course, this movie was never going for awards or even huge box office. All this movie has to do is pull in all the Kickboxer fans and spectators who live UFC for this movie to make a profit. That's why there's already a sequel called Kickboxer: Retaliation on the way that begins production soon.

Here's the official synopsis for Kickboxer: Vengeance from the Fantasia Film Festival:

Eric Sloane is a kickboxing champion at the top of his game. His older brother, Kurt, follows him everywhere as both his trainer and manager. Together, they're unbeatable. When Eric is approached to fight Thai champion Tong Po, he can't wait to finally prove to the world that he's the one and true champion, even though his brother is against it. What was supposed to be a mere formality turns into a nightmare when Kurt witnesses Eric's death. While the desire for revenge grows inside, he knows full well he's no match for Tong Po. He therefore decides to track down his brother's old trainer in the hopes of finally getting his revenge and, who knows, perhaps even becoming the new "Nok Su Kow" in the process.

Kickboxer: Vengeance arrives on August 19th.