There are more of us out there 😉 I haven't sat down with his older stuff yet—but Hard Target is definitely my favorite... mostly because of all those tiny details I started noticing back in '93 when it first hit theaters. Even then, I knew this director had a very specific, very interesting style. Face/Off was particularly great, and Mission: Impossible 2 too—that final sequence where the action kicks off with the mask removal set to rock music... I think that’s something John Woo was just waiting for an excuse to unleash, and he nailed it (especially that shot of Cruise popping a wheelie on the bike and blasting the car... the editing alone deserves a perfect score). My only gripe would be the moment Cruise kicks the gun out of the sand—the ending where he circles around, takes him down, and lands that headbutt is more than enough on its own. But John Woo tends to focus heavily on the faces of the leads—both heroes and villains, who rarely die easily—while the side characters just pass through before they get taken out 🙂 Anyway, a massive bravo to that master of action!
Ugh, another giveaway next week right when I'll be away from my desk 😢 @Anthony Smith3...hats off to you for putting this together! By the way, I'm hoping we see some Jean-Claude Van Damme in the lineup eventually... I basically consider myself a walking encyclopedia on the subject 👍
I really dig the poster... top tier. You've got Cage looking absolutely wired for a high-speed chase—and the female lead isn't exactly shy about showing some skin... it's a solid, useful 🙄
Man... this looks like it could be intense and incredibly good. I’ve always had a soft spot for high-octane action and those tight, gripping thrillers... kudos to them!
It’s a solid film—pretty engaging. It features a few of our own talented folks, and seeing such high-quality work coming from us... well, hats off to them.
Of course it’s good... I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised myself since my expectations were pretty low, but still... 🙂 My favorite part has to be when JD runs into Dolph—that dark, moody atmosphere is perfect... you've got the fire crackling in the background, Dolph is rambling on incoherently, and you can just feel that a fight is inevitable 🙂)) Even though JD seemed a bit unmotivated at times, he managed to pull it off...
analogpanther55 said:I picked mine up at the Mall of America. There are actually two versions of Kickboxer—one that leans harder into the action and fight scenes, and another that focuses more on the dialogue. You probably have the action-heavy one, which explains why that specific conversation is missing. If I recall correctly, the uncut version runs about 97 minutes, while the 93.1 FM edit or similar cuts run shorter. You might want to check http://www.ofdb.de—it lists all the different versions released...
First off, I have to give you props—a woman buying "Kickboxer"... respect.🙄
It actually just occurred to me that I originally bought the German release, and I think that was the one with the dialogue included... but they had trimmed the final blow where she knocks out Tong Po with a kick and holds him... that part was cut, so I ended up returning it... honestly, who knows what they're doing anymore...☕
analogpanther55 said:I find edited movies incredibly frustrating too—but then again, how can you expect to see a movie with scenes of murder or assault on TV at 8:00 PM? Every film carries a rating like PG-12, PG-16, or R, and that dictates the broadcast time. Since networks have to fill their programming slots, they have to adjust the films to fit those specific windows... so I don't think these debates are really necessary; it's just the way things work. Besides, American TV stations didn't even censor scenes until just a few months ago—I remember being shocked myself by what gets aired during prime time (I mean the slot before 10:00 PM)... many of those films wouldn't even be allowed on German TV until after midnight.
As for the Kickboxer situation, I think you might not have searched thoroughly enough—I own the UNCUT, R-rated version, which I bought last year in Vienna, and it definitely includes the conversation scene mentioned.
Are you absolutely certain that scene exists? I bought that DVD in Denver and it isn't there...🤷 Actually, I’ve bought two different versions of Kickboxer in Austria (returned one), and in both cases, certain scenes were missing—specifically the one I mentioned...
I get it if they're cutting scenes that are purely gratuitous violence, but if they leave in the parts where people are tearing each other apart with blood spraying everywhere and a few perfectly executed kicks... it just doesn't make sense.
I did a little searching, but I couldn't find a specific general thread about this—so I’ll ask the moderators to move this to the appropriate section if a new one isn't necessary...
So, what has always bothered me is exactly what the title suggests. It started bothering me most when I was just a kid in San Diego, watching movies in the theater that had been heavily edited... it was awful. It really hit me when I watched a version of Heavyweight that was completely butchered; I even complained about it on the radio once, but the theater managers called in live immediately to claim it wasn't true... can you believe that?👎
Then, back when the Van Damme mania took hold and I was buying everything on VHS over in Germany... you wouldn't believe it—everything was shortened and watered down. To be fair, there was fine print stating it was edited, but you still never actually owned the full version. To me, it’s a disgrace. When I buy something, I expect the whole thing... it’s like being sold half a book or half a car!
I watch American television too, and they cut scenes quite abnormally... personally, I think it should be punishable because it directly affects an actor's popularity. If the average viewer watches an actor in action scenes where nothing actually happens—because it was all cut out—that actor automatically loses appeal because people think, "he's just not that guy"...
I'll just mention Van Damme's "Kickboxer," which used to play on TV constantly here... I can never seem to find that movie in its FULL version??😕
I bought an original DVD that explicitly says "uncut," but what a joke... I have an old VHS tape that contains scenes not found on that DVD or on TV, yet the TV version shows scenes that aren't even on my VHS... Anyone who has watched it as many times as I have knows there is a scene where JC trains with his teacher in the ancient city, and after that, he kicks that palm tree so hard he breaks it! But on the VHS, between those two moments, there is this GREAT, long scene where JC goes to visit his brother in the hospital. At first, the brother explains how strong and muscular his arms are, but slowly he starts falling into depression, realizing he'll never walk again and his legs will be like toothpicks... he starts crying and begging Van Damme to avenge Tong Po for him... After that incredible scene, which really builds the adrenaline, comes the moment where JC breaks the palm tree.🙏 I simply cannot understand why they cut that out, especially since the scene exists right there on my VHS... it's just terrible, truly terrible!!😠
WTF? Is this some kind of joke, or is someone actually negotiating this over there?☕
Actually, nobody has released a real 3D D Fight yet—it would be great to see that quartet unleash some serious mayhem while JC is still in fighting shape following "The Tower"...🙏
Dolph just seems to love being part of these lethal beatdowns...🤣
Has this movie actually hit theaters yet? The trailer looks decent enough... if they managed to pull off a coherent plot mixed with some solid action, it could be a winner. Sylvester Stallone directed The quest and that was fantastic—so I trust he knows exactly what he’s doing here... really looking forward to catching this one! Someone please post your thoughts once you've seen it...🙂
I watched Wake of Death a while back... it was a decent little flick.
Watched the third Universal Soldier today. It’s better—feels more grounded. I got the biggest laugh out of Dolph Lundgren's performance... poor guy gets woken up and he's just stuck there in this internal dilemma, trying to remember what he was supposed to ask Jean-Claude Van Damme, and just when he finally remembers, he gets shot.🤣
Nice... sounds like I just need to grab the Blu-ray Rip, some popcorn, and a cold beer to settle into the recliner.👍
I’m not expecting anything higher than a mediocre score since there's really no way it could go up—but hey, maybe a sequel can actually pull it together! Claude's recent stuff like "In Hell" and "JCVD" were actually pretty decent...🙏
Has anyone seen "The Eagle Path"? I'm not sure if it's even finished being made yet... feels a bit incomplete.
Hmm, sounds interesting based on your description. Is there a version available somewhere in decent quality yet? I really hope there's at least one solid Final Fight... In the duo scene, the fight with Seth is actually great—the only stupid part was when they're scrapping and Jean-Claude Van Damme gets tossed against the wall, then Seth pushes a chair toward Claude (who just watches in disbelief as the chair slides weakly toward him) before quickly stepping aside so it hits the wall instead... haha, honestly, pretty dumb. If that chair had actually hit him, he probably wouldn't have even felt it after everything else that happened. Just a pointless moment that kills the tension...
The Final Fight Emmerich put together in the unit is top-tier. That atmosphere—mud, rain, a few flashes of lightning—it's exactly how a fight should feel. And the best part is when Dolph Lundgren tosses a grenade at the woman and Claude rises up all bloody (weaker without the injection, but fueled by pure rage) to deliver two or three masterful strikes...🙏 When a scene is executed like that, it's worth a thousand times more than those mindless, low-budget trash movies. I can see myself blasting that scene on my home theater setup right after the neighbor starts pounding on my door...🤣
I'm really looking forward to catching the third installment. Personally, I've always been drawn to Jean-Claude Van Damme movies where there’s a massive Final Fight—ideally with rain and fire everywhere in the background... along with plenty of solid plot twists...😉
But Jean-Claude Van Damme's "Hard Target" is definitely a classic—a real standout film. And I have to say, Claude looks incredibly sharp in this one. I've got the original DVD at home (picked it up ages ago $67🤣) so I'll blast it on the home theater... the sound of gunfire hits like a beautiful melody...🙄 The most intense scene has to be when Arnold Voslo guns down the character in the car—that shot where hundreds of tiny glass shards burst through the window in slow motion...🙏