Kurt and Tong Po

Kickboxer features one of the best villains I've seen in any Van Damme film. Despite this Tong Po barely features in the film. He turns up at the start to hand Eric “The Eliminator” Sloane's ass to him and then hardly features until the final confrontation with Kurt. Perhaps this careful rationing plays a part in the success of the character. In the same way that Tong Po is only present to Kurt through flashbacks to the original fight we are left to let our imaginations run riot about him.

The first chance we get to see Tong Po is the best shot of the film. Perhaps even one of the best shots featured in any Van Damme film. Kurt has been sent to get some ice and is wandering around in the catacombs of the Bangkok arena. He happens upon a dark and abandoned corridor with a light just up ahead. The noise of the crowd fades in comparison to an ominous rhythmic series of thuds. We don't know the source of the noise is but it sounds like it could be Godzilla approaching Bangkok to take on Eric “The Eliminator” Sloan. Up ahead we can see a black rope of hair flailing out through a doorway.

At this stage we are still in the dark about the horrors that lie in this room ahead and this fleeting enigma is what makes the shot so good. Even when we are dragged out of our morbid nightmares about what could lie ahead we are not disappointed by what we see. Kurt is met with a real life monster slamming his thigh against a 3ft thick pillar of concrete. The concrete is beginning to give way, debris cascades from the ceiling and Kurt stands there paralysed with fear. The monster Tong Po can sense he is being watched and turns to greet Kurt with a feral snarl and makes the universal snapping gesture with his hands.

A successful villain is the product of careful construction. The first seed is planted here. We have seen him performing an awesome feat of strength. When Eric “The Eliminator” Sloan ignores his brother's warnings a sense of impending doom builds and adds to the picture of Tong Po that we are constructing in our minds. We know how dangerous he is and so does Kurt. We are powerless to do anything other than watch Eric “The Eliminator” Sloan meet his fate and so is Kurt. Tong Po adds to our sense of how dangerous he is by proving to be vastly superior in the ring to Eric “The Eliminator” Sloan.

Kurt is well aware that his brother has met his match and throws in the towel. But in addition to his prowess Tong Po is also a vicious and evil man. He lets us know all about this when he kicks the towel away and smashes an elbow into Eric “The Eliminator” Sloan's spine. Kurt squeals and whines as Tong Po rips the American title belt in half. His heavily accented English is a treat: “HEY ASSHOLL! CAN'T DO THAT!”

Tong Po then disappears for most of the remainder of the film. He turns up later when his henchmen kidnap Mylee. He rapes Mylee and then releases her. This confused me a great deal. I'd noticed that in the credits that the character of Tong Po is listed as performed by himself. It would be a brave and stupid move to play yourself in a film where you are a rapist in addition to committing a couple of other unsavoury acts. Eventually after about twenty years of confusion I discovered that the credits are mistaken and that Tong Po is a fictional character played by Michel Qissi.

Tong Po turns up again later and fights Kurt the ancient way. This gives him a chance to lick some broken glass which looked pretty badass to me as a young boy. Since Tong Po had his henchmen kidnap Eric “The Eliminator” Sloan Kurt is reduced to being slapped around and taunted by Tong Po. This sense of injustice crops up in many Van Damme films. Sure enough when Eric “The Eliminator” Sloan turns up and gives it the white warrior schtick Kurt soon shows everyone who's the top dog. This is the main weakness of Tong Po. The transition from a vicious and powerful villain to a hapless pussy-cat is instantaneous.