I liked the original with Charles Bronson & Jan Michael Vincent, but this one stands on it's own in my opinion. Statham does a great job in the role, and the new protogé plays his part well. The graphic death could be toned down a lot more, as with the gratuitous sex scenes which limit the amount of folks I would recommend this movie to. I definately like this ending better than the first one. Overall, it is a good action movie for the guys, but both my friend and I agree that our wives would not enjoy it at all.