Everything Action Theater: Kickboxer (1989)
Celebrating its 35th anniversary this weekend, you can watch the Jean-Claude Van Damme classic Kickboxer in the latest Everything Action Theater. JCVD stars as Kurt Sloane, a martial artist who accompanies his brother Eric (Dennis Alexio), the heavyweight champion of kickboxing, to Thailand for a match against the undefeated Tong “The Tiger” Po (Michel Qissi). Tong Po brutally defeats Eric, leaving him paralyzed, and Kurt vows to train and get revenge. The movie came out the year after Bloodsport and further established Van Damme as a martial arts and action star, although reviews at the time were not kind. The movie spawned several sequels, with Sasha Mitchell, aka Cody from Step by Step, stepping in for 2, 3, and 4 as David Sloane and Mark Dacascos starring in the fifth movie. A reboot series, with Van Damme in the mentor role and Alain Moussi starring as Kurt Sloane, began in 2016. You can watch the original movie below, thanks to the Internet Archive.
