The modern comic book movie era -- which began in, take your pick, 1998 with Stephen Norrington's surprise hit "Blade", 2000 with Bryan Singer's bonafide blockbuster "X-Men," or 2002 with Sam Rami's four-quadrant phenomenon "Spider-Man -- might've looked a lot different had certain key players signed on to write and/or direct different projects that were in the works at the same time as the films wound up turning superhero flicks into the dominant genre of the 21st century thus far (though that may be changing).
The period between the release of "Blade" and the shocking success of Jon Favreau's "Iron Man" was rife with maneuvering within multiple studios, particularly when it came to the Marvel Universe. 20th Century Fox controlled the rights to the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, Sony owned Spider-Man, Universal had the Hulk and Sub-Mariner, and New Line battled like hell to make an...
The period between the release of "Blade" and the shocking success of Jon Favreau's "Iron Man" was rife with maneuvering within multiple studios, particularly when it came to the Marvel Universe. 20th Century Fox controlled the rights to the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, Sony owned Spider-Man, Universal had the Hulk and Sub-Mariner, and New Line battled like hell to make an...
- 12/10/2023
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
Stars: Vince Murdocco, Mary E. Zilba, A.J. Stephans, Rodrigo Obregón, Johnny Venocur, David Jean Thomas | Written by Addison Randall, Tony Kandah | Directed by Tony Kandah, Martin Morris
L.A. Wars follows Jake Quinn (Vince Murdocco), a disgraced cop who yearns to re-join the LAPD but who makes his living working as a bouncer. But when a bloody turf war breaks out between Carlo Giovani’s established mob family and new thug on the block, Raul Guzman, Jake is called back into action and put deep undercover, getting a job as personal bodyguard to Carlo’s daughter, Carla. As the unlikely duo form a close and romantic bond, Raul senses that in order to take over the streets, he’ll need to do something that’ll force Carlo into his crosshairs, and proceeds to kidnap Carla. But what he didn’t count on was the vengeance of one man army, Jake Quinn…...
L.A. Wars follows Jake Quinn (Vince Murdocco), a disgraced cop who yearns to re-join the LAPD but who makes his living working as a bouncer. But when a bloody turf war breaks out between Carlo Giovani’s established mob family and new thug on the block, Raul Guzman, Jake is called back into action and put deep undercover, getting a job as personal bodyguard to Carlo’s daughter, Carla. As the unlikely duo form a close and romantic bond, Raul senses that in order to take over the streets, he’ll need to do something that’ll force Carlo into his crosshairs, and proceeds to kidnap Carla. But what he didn’t count on was the vengeance of one man army, Jake Quinn…...
- 7/2/2020
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Stars: Mark Dacascos, Matthias Hues, Mike Möller, Brandon Rhea, Mike Leeder, Wolfgang Riehm, Martin Baden, Henry Muller, Verena Konietschke, Bartholomäus Kowalski, Yazmeen Baker, Gerrit Grass, Mathis Landwehr, Sandra Tauro, Susen Ermich | Written by Marco Theiss | Directed by Martin Christopher Bode
Ultimate Justice follows a group of Special Forces operatives who come back together for one last mission when the family of one of their own is threatened. The film starts out with a flashback to Commander Hans Sturm and his team of soldiers, led by Mark Dacascos’ Gus, performing their very last mission. You see their team takes casualties and Gus decides it’s time to end the security teams days and sell the company, Vme, and retire. Jump forward eight years and Strum is now married with a wife and child, living in a huge mansion. One night his home is attacked, his wife raped and killed, and his daughter kidnapped.
Ultimate Justice follows a group of Special Forces operatives who come back together for one last mission when the family of one of their own is threatened. The film starts out with a flashback to Commander Hans Sturm and his team of soldiers, led by Mark Dacascos’ Gus, performing their very last mission. You see their team takes casualties and Gus decides it’s time to end the security teams days and sell the company, Vme, and retire. Jump forward eight years and Strum is now married with a wife and child, living in a huge mansion. One night his home is attacked, his wife raped and killed, and his daughter kidnapped.
- 11/13/2017
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Clip It: Each day, Jon Davis looks at the world of trailers, featurettes, and clips and puts it all in perspective. Prior to Kickboxer: Vengeance, there have been five Kickboxer movies. After Jean Claude Van Damme relinquished the titular role in the first Kickboxer, Sasha Mitchell took over the lead role for three movies. Mark Dascasos starred in Kickboxer 5: The Redemption in 1995. And that is the last movie in this Kickboxer universe. In 1989, the year the first Kickboxer came out, Lloyd Dobbler (Say Anything...) told Diane's dad that kickboxing was "the sport of the future." He was right. It's 2016, and mixed martial arts are more popular than they've ever been. And now we have a full-on Kickboxer reboot in Kickboxer: Vengeance. The movie looks fun. I expect to hear inspirational music and see lots of kicking. That's all I want out of a movie about kickboxing. If there's more than that,...
- 9/3/2016
- by Jon Davis
- Hitfix
Headmon Entertainment and Acme Rocket Fuel, the company behind the upcoming proposed reboot of the "Kickboxer" film franchise, have reportedly already lined up funding for the sequel.
In fact there's also a working title in place - "Kickboxer 2: Retaliation". This is a surprise as the first film, "Kickboxer: Vengeance," has yet to begin production. 'Vengeance' is a remake of the original 1989 martial arts cult classic which helped launch Jean Claude Van Damme's career.
In that film Van Damme played Kurt Sloane, a man looking to avenge his brother (Dennis Alexio) who was left paralyzed by an unrelenting fighter. Alain Moussi takes on the Kurt Sloane role, while Van Damme returns to portray his mentor Master Durand.
Dave Bautista, Gina Carano, and Ufc champion George St. Pierre are also onboard for the film which is aiming for a late 2016 release.
Source: Cinema Blend...
In fact there's also a working title in place - "Kickboxer 2: Retaliation". This is a surprise as the first film, "Kickboxer: Vengeance," has yet to begin production. 'Vengeance' is a remake of the original 1989 martial arts cult classic which helped launch Jean Claude Van Damme's career.
In that film Van Damme played Kurt Sloane, a man looking to avenge his brother (Dennis Alexio) who was left paralyzed by an unrelenting fighter. Alain Moussi takes on the Kurt Sloane role, while Van Damme returns to portray his mentor Master Durand.
Dave Bautista, Gina Carano, and Ufc champion George St. Pierre are also onboard for the film which is aiming for a late 2016 release.
Source: Cinema Blend...
- 11/27/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Hollywood executive are a forward-thinking bunch. Production on the Kickboxer remake hasn.t even begun yet but Headmon Entertainment and Acme Rocket Fuel, the companies behind the shoot, have now revealed that funding is in place for the sequel. In fact, they.ve already ear-marked a title for the follow-up too, revealing that it will be called Kickboxer 2: Retaliation. Clearly, Acme Rocket Fuel . which I still can.t decide is either the best or worst name for a burgeoning studio that I.ve ever heard . want the Kickboxer franchise to be the lynchpin of their slate. Both Kickboxer Vengeance and Kickboxer 2: Retaliation will be the first two projects for them. However, most of the money to finance Kickboxer 2: Retaliation is coming from Headmon Entertainment. There.s a nice buzz growing about Kickboxer Vengeance. The original 1989 Kickboxer film is probably the dictionary definition of a cult classic,...
- 11/26/2015
- cinemablend.com
Headmon Entertainment and Acme Rocket Fuel must be feeling pretty confident about their Kickboxer remake, which apparently is now being called Kickboxer: Vengeance. The upcoming film is still in post-production and doesn't even have a set release date yet, but the production companies have announced that funding is already in place for a sequel that will be titled Kickboxer 2: Retaliation. Directed by... Read More...
- 11/25/2015
- by Jesse Giroux
- JoBlo.com
Jean-Claude Van Damme is known for kicking serious ass on-screen, but one of his finest cinematic moments happened on the dance floor. At the prompting of Conan O'Brien during Tuesday night's episode of Conan, the actor recreated his infamous, dorky moves from the 1989 martial arts classic Kickboxer.
O'Brien sets up the dance in the above clip, telling his guest that it's one of his favorite movie scenes. He then rolls the footage, which features Van Damme decked out in a black tank-top and khakis, grooving to Beau Williams' "Feeling...
O'Brien sets up the dance in the above clip, telling his guest that it's one of his favorite movie scenes. He then rolls the footage, which features Van Damme decked out in a black tank-top and khakis, grooving to Beau Williams' "Feeling...
- 5/13/2015
- Rollingstone.com
Jean-Claude Van Damme will pass the Kickboxer mantle over to Alain Moussi in the upcoming reboot...
The planned reboot of the Kickboxer movies remains active, but there's been a bit of a casting shuffle.
Already on board the film are Alain Moussi, Dave Bautista and Georges St Pierre. But the plan was originally for Tony Jaa to take on a role, namely an updated version of Master Chow from the original film. Jaa, however, has now dropped out of the project.
His replacement might just be familiar though: that'd be the star of the original, Jean-Claude Van Damme. Producer Ted Field confirmed the news, saying that "we are so excited to have Kickboxer roll into production and to have Jcvd in the role of Master Chow, passing the torch to Alain, to have him lead the franchise for a new generation".
Field also promised "non-stop" action and "never-before-seen stunts".
The...
The planned reboot of the Kickboxer movies remains active, but there's been a bit of a casting shuffle.
Already on board the film are Alain Moussi, Dave Bautista and Georges St Pierre. But the plan was originally for Tony Jaa to take on a role, namely an updated version of Master Chow from the original film. Jaa, however, has now dropped out of the project.
His replacement might just be familiar though: that'd be the star of the original, Jean-Claude Van Damme. Producer Ted Field confirmed the news, saying that "we are so excited to have Kickboxer roll into production and to have Jcvd in the role of Master Chow, passing the torch to Alain, to have him lead the franchise for a new generation".
Field also promised "non-stop" action and "never-before-seen stunts".
The...
- 12/2/2014
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Matt Edwards Sep 30, 2016
As the new Kickboxer film arrives in UK cinemas, we look back at the first five (count 'em!) films...
Did you guys know there are now six Kickboxer movies? The 'remake', Kickboxer: Vengeance is released in the UK today. But here's our look back at the first five films...
Kickboxer is my favourite Jean-Claude Van Damme film. It may not be his best film, but it is my favourite. It’s a film I used to watch a lot as a kid and one that’s a great deal of fun to revisit.
Kickboxing champion Eric Sloane (Dennis Alexio) is tired of thrashing the competition in the Us. The best fighters, he’s told, are competing in Thailand. Eric packs up his championship belt, his gloves, his gentleman’s moustache and corner-man/brother Kurt (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and heads over to Bangkok in hope of a decent bout of fisticuffs.
As the new Kickboxer film arrives in UK cinemas, we look back at the first five (count 'em!) films...
Did you guys know there are now six Kickboxer movies? The 'remake', Kickboxer: Vengeance is released in the UK today. But here's our look back at the first five films...
Kickboxer is my favourite Jean-Claude Van Damme film. It may not be his best film, but it is my favourite. It’s a film I used to watch a lot as a kid and one that’s a great deal of fun to revisit.
Kickboxing champion Eric Sloane (Dennis Alexio) is tired of thrashing the competition in the Us. The best fighters, he’s told, are competing in Thailand. Eric packs up his championship belt, his gloves, his gentleman’s moustache and corner-man/brother Kurt (Jean-Claude Van Damme) and heads over to Bangkok in hope of a decent bout of fisticuffs.
- 6/10/2014
- Den of Geek
‘Batman vs. Superman’ movie: Batsuit, Batmobile revealed — Will the world ever be the same again?? (photo: Brooding Ben Affleck as Batman in ‘Batman vs. Superman’) Batman vs. Superman director Zack Snyder has used his Twitter account to post a couple of monochrome shots taken on the set of his upcoming DC Comics flick, ahem, epic. One, posted yesterday (May 12, 2014), shows a half-covered Batmobile, featuring the accompanying tweet: "Could be time to pull the tarp … Tomorrow?" Oh, the suspense! The Internet is on fire. Comic book nerds are having Twitter orgasms. Since yesterday morning, Snyder’s Batmobile tweet has been retweeted 16,150 times and favorited another 9,733 times. For comparison’s sake: In the last four hours, the New York Times‘ tweet linking to a report about the Syrian government using chlorine gas in attacks has been retweeted all of 47 times. Even more pressing news such as "Alec Baldwin Arrested After Biking the...
- 5/13/2014
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Earlier today (Aug 19th) one of my all-time favourite directors, Albert Pyun, announced via his Facebook and Twitter pages that he would be stepping away from movie-making and all that it ensues, due to health reasons… He’s since expanded on the problems with his health in a further post on his Facebook page, that I urge everyone whose ever enjoyed an Albert Pyun movie to read.
Hi Everyone – sadly I’m going to have to shutdown my facebook and other movie related efforts including Director’s cuts attending film festivals and screenings due to my health issue. I have to take the time to address this condition as its a long term but not life threatening. I’ve had some heart issues but through Cynthia, that was being stabilized and in control. But this new one is not as dangerous but far more widespread across my entire body and...
Hi Everyone – sadly I’m going to have to shutdown my facebook and other movie related efforts including Director’s cuts attending film festivals and screenings due to my health issue. I have to take the time to address this condition as its a long term but not life threatening. I’ve had some heart issues but through Cynthia, that was being stabilized and in control. But this new one is not as dangerous but far more widespread across my entire body and...
- 8/19/2013
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
From Wednesday 4th September till Sunday 8th September, the 8th annual B-movie, Underground and Trash Film Festival (Butff) will once again be held in the city centre of Breda in the Netherlands.Butff is a small and intimate, but unique international film festival. Not only is the festival a paradise for B-movie trash and underground movie lovers from around the world, it also provides a diverse line-up of unique acts and performances by musicians, poets, artists and other performers. You won’t find a festival similar to Butff anywhere else in Europe.
This year the theme is Evilution – crazy doctors, poisonous garbage dumps and radioactive radiation can produce the most gruesome creatures – featuring movies in which filmmakers will show you their wildest ideas. Butff also venture into the wonderful world of the smaller creatures on earth with a lecture and film about insects.
The big draw for me personally is...
This year the theme is Evilution – crazy doctors, poisonous garbage dumps and radioactive radiation can produce the most gruesome creatures – featuring movies in which filmmakers will show you their wildest ideas. Butff also venture into the wonderful world of the smaller creatures on earth with a lecture and film about insects.
The big draw for me personally is...
- 8/1/2013
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
This past weekend saw Marvel reveal “Phase 2″ of their film line-up at the San Diego Comic Con so I thought what better film to pick for today’s Movie of the Day than a movie based on a Marvel character. Only this film is one of the most vilified, yet at the same time celebrated, of the early Marvel movies, Captain America.
I know what you’re thinking “Hang on, Captain America only came out last year”. Well yes, That Captain America movie came out last year, but there have been numerous other Captain America films released over the years – a Republic serial, two TV movies in the 70s starring Reb Brown and the movie that is my pick for Movie of the Day, 1990′s Captain America.
Directed by prolific talent Albert Pyun, who in the late 80s and early 90s was an unstoppable force in low-budget movie making – Cyborg,...
I know what you’re thinking “Hang on, Captain America only came out last year”. Well yes, That Captain America movie came out last year, but there have been numerous other Captain America films released over the years – a Republic serial, two TV movies in the 70s starring Reb Brown and the movie that is my pick for Movie of the Day, 1990′s Captain America.
Directed by prolific talent Albert Pyun, who in the late 80s and early 90s was an unstoppable force in low-budget movie making – Cyborg,...
- 7/17/2012
- by Phil
- Nerdly
Chicago – You’re probably going “Huh? There was another Captain America movie? Before Chris Evans?” Believe it or not, yes. Before people like Bryan Singer and Sam Raimi turned the Marvel-verse (and really all of Hollywood) on its head by proving that superheroes could not only be profitable but critically viable as well, there were some honest train wrecks, including an incomplete version of “Fantastic Four” and an awful adaptation of “Captain America,” recently released on DVD to tie in with the success of “Captain America: The First Avenger.” Don’t get them confused.
Blu-Ray Rating: 1.5/5.0
Honestly, even looking at the case, much less seeing a minute of footage, clarifies the differences between the high-budget 2011 blockbuster and the 1990 movie that was supposed to be a summer movie tentpole but ended up going straight-to-video and was essentially forgotten by history. There’s a reason many of you probably didn’t know...
Blu-Ray Rating: 1.5/5.0
Honestly, even looking at the case, much less seeing a minute of footage, clarifies the differences between the high-budget 2011 blockbuster and the 1990 movie that was supposed to be a summer movie tentpole but ended up going straight-to-video and was essentially forgotten by history. There’s a reason many of you probably didn’t know...
- 9/10/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
David Goyer already has a successful career writing for movies, his credits include “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight”, the “Blade” movies, “Jumper”, and “Kickboxer 2”, to name a few. He also wants to write books, which as it turns out, looks like a pretty solid career move. Deadline reports that Warner Bros. has give Goyer a seven-figure deal for the rights to his the sci-fi trilogy he is writing with Michael Cassutt. Goyer will adapt “Heaven’s Shadow”, the first book in the series, for the studio under his Phantom Four flag. The trilogy begins when an object is discovered heading for earth. Initial panic gives way to a competition between governments to be first to intercept what they believe is a breakaway meteor. What the astronauts discover leads to an encounter with alien forces that are a threat to humanity. It is the first book that Goyer has written and last spring,...
- 8/24/2010
- by Brent McKnight
- Beyond Hollywood
Albert Pyun's (Kickboxer 2 & 4) notoriously horrible Captain America is now up on Hulu. The film stars Matt Salinger as Steve Rogers/Captain America, who must save the President from his arch-nemesis Red Skull. We recommend watching with friends and beer for optimum enjoyment. I'd say we've learned a thing or two about comic book movies by now, but then Wolverine makes me wonder. Thanks to /Film reader Oscar for the tip. View the film on Hulu, or embedded after the break.
- 1/4/2010
- by Devindra Hardawar
- Slash Film
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