Amazon.com video review:
A well-oiled Jean-Claude Van Damme makes his starring debut in
what may be one of the few kickboxing films to be based on a true
story. The Muscles from Brussels plays Frank Dux, the first Westerner
ever to win the extreme "whupfest" known as the Kumatai (a
long-running, no-holds-barred fighting tournament in Hong Kong). While
a bit deficient in the script department (to say the least), this
undeniably exciting flick succeeds by letting Van Damme play to his
strengths: namely, minimal acting and a lot of impossibly acrobatic
splits while kicking people in the head. A guilty-pleasure
testosterone blast of the highest order, with a memorable villain (the
massive Bolo Yeung from Enter the Dragon),
and a multitude of well-choreographed fight scenes. An
embarrassed-looking Forest Whitaker cameos as a hapless (and
non-kickboxing) cop. --Andrew Wright
