Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently featured in training scenes and other sequences in addition to fights. Martial arts films commonly include hand-to-hand combat along with other types of action, such as stuntwork, chases, and gunfights. Sub-genres of martial arts films include kung fu films, wuxia, karate films, and martial arts action comedy films, while related genres include gun fu, jidaigeki and samurai films.
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg, known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor. Born and raised in Brussels, his father enrolled him in a Shotokan karate school at the age of ten, which led Van Damme to hold the rank of 2nd-dan black belt in karate, and compete in several karate and kickboxing competitions. As a teenager, he won the middleweight championship of the European Professional Karate Association in 1979 and the Mr. Belgium bodybuilding title in 1978. With the desire of becoming an actor in Hollywood, he moved to the United States in 1982, where he worked on several films, until he got his break as the lead in the martial arts film Bloodsport (1988).
Major Guile is a fictional character from Capcom's Street Fighter series of fighting games. He debuted as one of the original eight World Warriors in 1991's Street Fighter II and appeared in the game's subsequent updates. In the games he is portrayed as a major in the United States Air Force who is seeking to avenge the death of his Air Force buddy Charlie at the hands of the villainous dictator M. Bison.
Bloodsport is a 1988 American martial arts film directed by Newt Arnold. The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, with a supporting cast of Leah Ayres, Forest Whitaker, Donald Gibb, Roy Chiao, and Bolo Yeung. The film centers on Frank Dux, a United States Army Captain and ninjutsu practitioner who competes in an underground full-contact martial arts tournament called the Kumite in Hong Kong. Based on Dux's real-life claims, the film was marketed as a true story. It was one of Van Damme's first lead roles and showcased his abilities, launching his career as a mainstream action star.
Sasha Sergei Mitchell is an American actor and martial artist best known for his television roles as Cody Lambert on Step by Step and James Beaumont on Dallas. He also played the role of David Sloane in three of the five installments of the original Kickboxer film franchise. Mitchell has a black belt in taekwondo.
Kurt Robin McKinney is an American actor and martial artist. McKinney played Jason Stillwell in the 1986 martial arts film No Retreat, No Surrender.
Kickboxer is a 1989 American martial arts film directed by David Worth and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Former world kickboxing champion Dennis Alexio is also featured. The plot revolves around Kurt Sloane seeking revenge on the fearsome kickboxing champion Tong Po who paralyzed his brother Eric Sloane. The film is regarded as the first movie to bring Muay Thai to a global audience.
Kickboxer 4 is a 1994 American direct-to-video martial arts film directed by Albert Pyun. The film is the fourth entry in the Kickboxer film series. This was the last film to star Sasha Mitchell, who reprises his role as David Sloan.
Bloodfist is a 1989 American martial arts film directed by Terence H. Winkless, starring Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Rob Kaman, Billy Blanks and Cris Aguilar. The plot sees an American former kickboxer travel to Manila, where he re-enters competition to avenge the murder of his brother and fellow fighter.
Scott Edward Adkins is a British actor and martial artist. He gained prominence with his villainous portrayal of the Russian prison fighter Yuri Boyka in the American martial arts film Undisputed II: Last Man Standing (2006), a role he reprised in its sequels Undisputed III: Redemption (2010) and Boyka: Undisputed (2017). He has since made films in a variety of genres, such as crime dramas, martial arts movies, war films, action thrillers, sci-fi actioners and action comedies, mostly as the lead.
Kickboxer 2 is a 1991 American martial arts film directed by Albert Pyun and written by David S. Goyer. The film is the second entry into the Kickboxer film series, and stars Sasha Mitchell in the role of David Sloan, the brother of Kickboxer's lead character Kurt, portrayed by Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Darren Majian Shahlavi was an English actor, martial artist and stuntman.
Redemption: Kickboxer 5 is a 1995 American direct-to-video martial arts film starring Mark Dacascos and directed by Kristine Peterson. The film is the fifth entry in the Kickboxer film series and the first to have a plot that does not revolve around a member of the Sloane family. It instead revolves around a character named Matt Reeves, said in dialogue to be a friend of the Sloane family.
Universal Soldier is a series of military science fiction action films. The franchise began in 1992 with Universal Soldier and as of 2012 comprises six entries. The films centered on the character of Luc Deveraux until Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning, which focuses on a new protagonist named John.
The combat sport of Muay Thai has been featured in media, including film, television, manga, anime and video games. It gained international attention when Yodtong Senanan led the Nak Muay Team against Osamu Noguchi's Kickboxer Team on October 16, 1972. It has heavily influenced the sport of kickboxing, and is used in mixed martial arts (MMA), where athletes train in its techniques.
Michel Qissi is a Moroccan Belgian actor, filmmaker, and martial artist best known for his action films. Qissi is the co-founder of The World Cinema Combat Federation (WCCF), an organization he formed with Grand Master Beom Jhoo Lee which teaches fight choreography in filmmaking.
Dimitri Logothetis is a Greek-American filmmaker and actor.
Kickboxer: Vengeance is a 2016 American martial arts film directed by John Stockwell, and starring Dave Bautista, Alain Moussi, Gina Carano, Georges St-Pierre, and Jean-Claude Van Damme. It is the sixth film in the Kickboxer franchise and also serves as a reboot. The film has a similar premise as the first film in the franchise. The film was released in select theaters and on VOD by RLJ Entertainment on September 2, 2016.
Alain Moussi is a Canadian actor, stuntman, and martial artist trained in jujitsu, kickboxing, and karate. He plays the lead role of Kurt Sloane in the reboot of the Kickboxer series, Kickboxer: Vengeance (2016) and Kickboxer: Retaliation (2018), a role that was originated by Jean-Claude Van Damme, who portrays his mentor in the films. Moussi also played the lead role in the action film Jiu Jitsu (2020), the role of Charlie Nash in the web series Street Fighter: Resurrection (2016), and Batman in the first season of the television series Titans (2018).
Kickboxer: Retaliation is an American martial arts film directed and written by Dimitri Logothetis. It is the seventh in the Kickboxer film series and a direct sequel to the 2016 film Kickboxer: Vengeance, also written by Logothetis. The film stars Alain Moussi, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Christopher Lambert, Ronaldinho, Mike Tyson, Rico Verhoeven and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson. Aside from Moussi and Van Damme, Sara Malakul Lane and Sam Medina reprised their roles from the previous film.
