My Many MiniReviews

[Lionclaw]

Originally Posted by ShaOW!linDude

I have been extremely patient waiting for this to finally hit dvd. And now it has....right as my unemployment has run out.

MANDRILL (2010) Running time: 88 mins.
Stars: Marko Zaror, Celine Reymond, Alejandro Castillo, Luis Alarcon, Juan Pablo Aliaga, Miguel Angel De Luca, John Francis Meany

"Tres Hermanos" --- Victor Gonzalez, Francisco Castro, Danilo Castro

MA Choreographer: Marko Zaror
Stunt Coordinator: Victor Gonzalez
Dir.: Ernesto Diaz Espinoza

MZ is a hitman known as Mandrill. As a young boy, his mother and father were murdered by a man known as The Cyclops. Mandrill's handler learns that a hit has been issued for his family's killer. Mandrill goes in search of the man's daughter, Dominik (CR), with the intent of using her to find her father and exact revenge. His seduction play backfires and he falls in love with her. But when the opportunity finally arises, he takes revenge. Then he finds himself having made an enemy of the woman he loves who now seeks to exact her own vengeance on him.

Fight #1 --- Mandrill vs 2 bodyguards
This is the opening fight sequence and it's very, very short but it showcases what you're in store for. MZ pulls off a back flip kicking 1 guard on the ascension and the other while descending. Sweet!!!!!

Fight #2 --- Mandrill vs Wasco (MADL)
Takes place at Wasco's villa. Great fight! Very fast, very smooth choreography! MZ delivers a sweet spinning back fist to the back of his opponent's head at one point that sends the guy into a forward somersault. It's so cool!!!!

Fight #3 --- Mandrill vs security personnel
Takes place within the hotel and there are various numbers of guards and locales. There's a 3-on-1 fight in a hallway which has MZ executing a great kick combo. Best fight! A 1-on-1 in the parking garage. Fantastic hard-hitting choreography! Really good exchanges!

Fight #4 --- Mandrill vs more security personnel
This is a fight-on-the-run up and down a stairwell and it's full of great combo's.

Fight #5 --- Mandrill vs Colotho (JFM), Dominik's bodyguard
It's okay. More of a brawl actually. Still, MZ does work in some of his trademark moves. Could've been better.

Fight #6 --- Mandrill vs Tres Hermanos
Great fight!!! Good, intricate choreography delivered with great speed, timing, and execution! 1 foe sets MZ up for the 2nd to attack which sets him up for the 3rd to attack. Kicks are flying all over the place! I enjoyed it so much I wish it were longer.

This is a great action film and fun to watch! MZ is a great screen fighter but he's also a decent actor. There's good chemistry between he and CR which helps to keep the plot from lagging during the middle portion of the movie. But what really makes it fun is the fact that it is also an homage to B-movie/exploitation films and his character's flashbacks to watching scenes from his favorite action hero are good for an enjoyable laugh. (The end credits even contain a list of directors and actors whose films were an influence for the character.)

Marko Zaror is phenomenal to watch on screen. He performs back flips and barrel-rolls like he can't help himself; it's as though he has a physical form of Tourette's or something. For someone so tall he is amazingly agile. And he's as fantastic with his feet as he is with his fists.

GET THIS! GET THIS! GET THIS! And if you've not seen his other films, check out: Chinango; Kiltro; and Mirageman. I may have to watch those again now!

This helps a lot. I'm gonna go ahead and blind buy this, but if I don't like it I'm blaming you.

[ShaOW!linDude]

FIST 2 FIST (aka Hand 2 Hand) (2011) Running time: 93 mins.
Stars: Jino Kang, Bill Duff, Peter Rallojay Woodrow, James Hiser, John Carney, Melissa Tan

Dir.: Jino Kang

(I couldn't find any action/stunt choreographer/coordinator listed in either the opening or ending credits. I guess JK did that as well.)

Ken (JK) and Tokyo Joe (BD) were once partners in crime. But Ken turned in evidence against Tokyo Joe who was sent to prison for a 15 yr. stretch. However, Joe makes parole after only 5 yrs. served and now wants revenge against Ken who has changed into a man concerned with righting his wrongs by giving back to his community.

Fight #1 --- Ken vs chop shop gang
Takes place in a garage where a gang dissembles stolen cars. It's pretty good. The choreography has a good flow and JK's actions are smooth and fluid. There's some good talent on display among the stunt crew. No real standout moves to be found here though.

Fight #2 --- Ken vs various goons
JK makes his way through a building taking on Tokyo Joe's boys. The choreography is pretty good.....in places. There are some quick cuts that mar the action sometimes but it's not too bad. (During this there are also cage bouts going on at the same time hosted by Tokyo Joe. They're relatively short but okay as well.)

Fight #3 --- Ken vs hallway henchman
This fight is way too short! Good stuff! The choreography is fast with a good flow! Part of what makes this so sweet is that the henchman is none other than Ray Carbonel! He's been in 2 of the Stunt People's films: CONTOUR & DOGS OF CHINATOWN. The guy's talented and severely underused here.

Fight #4 --- Ken vs Speed (Lorinzo McCoy)
Speed is a black dude who is a JKD stylist and also uses a 3-bladed knife a la Wolverine's claws but a little shorter. This fight is okay. The finishing combo is pretty boss though.

Fight #5 --- Ken vs Tokyo Joe
This fight is meh. Really expected more out of this. Actually, it's probably the worst fight in the movie. And that's not good for an end fight. BD is a big guy but I know he's had exposure to various styles of MA as he was one of the hosts on the tv series Human Weapon. But none of that really gets put to use. Shame.

The movie is.......well, not as good as I'd hoped. It's alright but not much in it really stands out. The plot is stale and the acting is lame with the exception of Bill Duff but he has room to improve. He could make for a real intimidating villain with the right material. Action-wise, there are moments but they're few and far between and there are no real "rewind" moments to speak of. I've seen worse but not much worse. It had good potential and the action was on course to deliver but while it's overall good choreography....it just lacks that umph! that would've put it up there to be a great B-movie/MA actioner.

And the clincher was in the end credits which stated: Jino Kang will return (or something to effect) in......wait for it........Tenderloin! (Really? That sounds like a bad porn title. Let me guess, he's going to be a butcher seeking revenge for some lame reason like.....I don't know, someone stole his favorite meat cleaver or something. That effort better step up a whole lot better than this one 'cause based solely on the title, I'm already stepping back.)

I don't know what to tell you other than.....it's your call. I'll probably hang onto it for a little while simply because of Ray Carbonel's fight scene but I'll wind up getting rid of this.

[AlbertV]

Originally Posted by ShaOW!linDude

FIST 2 FIST (aka Hand 2 Hand) (2011) Running time: 93 mins.
Stars: Jino Kang, Bill Duff, Peter Rallojay Woodrow, James Hiser, John Carney, Melissa Tan

Dir.: Jino Kang

(I couldn't find any action/stunt choreographer/coordinator listed in either the opening or ending credits. I guess JK did that as well.)

Ken (JK) and Tokyo Joe (BD) were once partners in crime. But Ken turned in evidence against Tokyo Joe who was sent to prison for a 15 yr. stretch. However, Joe makes parole after only 5 yrs. served and now wants revenge against Ken who has changed into a man concerned with righting his wrongs by giving back to his community.

Fight #1 --- Ken vs chop shop gang
Takes place in a garage where a gang dissembles stolen cars. It's pretty good. The choreography has a good flow and JK's actions are smooth and fluid. There's some good talent on display among the stunt crew. No real standout moves to be found here though.

Fight #2 --- Ken vs various goons
JK makes his way through a building taking on Tokyo Joe's boys. The choreography is pretty good.....in places. There are some quick cuts that mar the action sometimes but it's not too bad. (During this there are also cage bouts going on at the same time hosted by Tokyo Joe. They're relatively short but okay as well.)

Fight #3 --- Ken vs hallway henchman
This fight is way too short! Good stuff! The choreography is fast with a good flow! Part of what makes this so sweet is that the henchman is none other than Ray Carbonel! He's been in 2 of the Stunt People's films: CONTOUR & DOGS OF CHINATOWN. The guy's talented and severely underused here.

Fight #4 --- Ken vs Speed (Lorinzo McCoy)
Speed is a black dude who is a JKD stylist and also uses a 3-bladed knife a la Wolverine's claws but a little shorter. This fight is okay. The finishing combo is pretty boss though.

Fight #5 --- Ken vs Tokyo Joe
This fight is meh. Really expected more out of this. Actually, it's probably the worst fight in the movie. And that's not good for an end fight. BD is a big guy but I know he's had exposure to various styles of MA as he was one of the hosts on the tv series Human Weapon. But none of that really gets put to use. Shame.

The movie is.......well, not as good as I'd hoped. It's alright but not much in it really stands out. The plot is stale and the acting is lame with the exception of Bill Duff but he has room to improve. He could make for a real intimidating villain with the right material. Action-wise, there are moments but they're few and far between and there are no real "rewind" moments to speak of. I've seen worse but not much worse. It had good potential and the action was on course to deliver but while it's overall good choreography....it just lacks that umph! that would've put it up there to be a great B-movie/MA actioner.

And the clincher was in the end credits which stated: Jino Kang will return (or something to effect) in......wait for it........Tenderloin! (Really? That sounds like a bad porn title. Let me guess, he's going to be a butcher seeking revenge for some lame reason like.....I don't know, someone stole his favorite meat cleaver or something. That effort better step up a whole lot better than this one 'cause based solely on the title, I'm already stepping back.)

I don't know what to tell you other than.....it's your call. I'll probably hang onto it for a little while simply because of Ray Carbonel's fight scene but I'll wind up getting rid of this.

I agree, the finale between Kang and Duff was a let down. What I did like about the film is the cameos by Judo Gene LeBell, Charles Gracie, and Eddie Bravo as themselves as they train Kang's students.

I say it is worth at least a rental.

[One Armed Boxer]

I enjoyed this movie for 2 reasons: Andy On's fighting was very, very impressive and there's way more MA in this than I thought there would be. Bernice Liu plays her role well and it's interesting to watch the metamorphosis of her character. Plus, all the great actors/screen fighters in this. I do wish that KL had been given a little for time to showcase. His kicking ability leaves me wanting more and he and AO didn't really get to throwdown like I'd hoped.

There are really only 2 hindrances about this movie: The end fight was just not what it could've been and the unnecessary re-title. Bad Blood is definitely a more apt title than King Of Triads. There are no triads and none are ever mentioned. It's just a crime organization tailored more like the mob than the triads. Plus, the theme of the film doesn't just pertain to bad blood between the lieutenants and the family members but the family itself. There's a history there that is revealed in bits and pieces and the caring consideration for one another is really nothing more than a cover for spiteful insidiousness and the chance to seek opportunity to remove someone who is regarded as an obstacle to wealth and power.

There are lovers and haters of Dennis Law's films. I've only ever seen this and Fatal Contact (which I like) and this is nowhere near as depressing and surprising as that.

This movie is good strictly for Andy On's fighting performance and the quality of the fights in it. GET IT!!!!!

Nice to see this movie getting some love, it really split people down the middle, with I'd say the majority actually leaning towards hating it. For me it was a great throwback to the 80's kickboxing movies that I love, complete with crazy plot, and it's good to see we both noticed the painful falls on the top of the semi-trailer fight, you can check out my comments in post 43 of this thread - http://www.kungfucinema.com/forums/s...?t=8859&page=5

[ShaOW!linDude]

I dvr'ed this last night.

BEATDOWN (2010) Running time: 90 mins.
Stars: Rudy Youngblood, Eric Balfour, Danny Trejo, Michael Bisping, Susie Abromeit, Bobby Lashley, Heath Herring, Kyle Woods, Michael Swick, Jeff Gibbs, Bryan Massey

Dir.: Mike Gunther
Fight Coordinator: Don L. Lee

Brandon (RY) is a young man who streetfights for money. His brother is his handler but is in debt to a bookie who has him murdered and makes Brandon responsible for a $60K owed. Brandon leaves and goes home to his dad (DT) who lives in a small town in the middle of nowhere. There Brandon gets into the local fight circuit and runs afoul of Victor (EB), the brother of the girl he falls for. He also meets Drake Colby (MB), a former fight legend who lives there after being relocated under a witness protection plan. Drake becomes Brandon's handler and starts booking his fights. Eventually, Brandon returns to deal with the bookie who had his brother killed.

Fight #1 --- Victor vs Kane (HH)
Meh. It's okay. Just a showcase for EB really. Lots of punches and knees. Looks to be Muay Thai based.

Fight #2 --- Drake Colby (MB) vs black MMA fighter
Good mix-up. Some hard takedowns. This is more MMA based but there's nothing really spectacular here.

Fight #3 --- Brandon vs Jason, Victor's friend
It's a fast, brutal, bloody beatdown (hence the title). Not a lot of style to it.

Fight #4 --- Brandon vs Lonnie, the bald redneck (Jace Jeanes)
More of the same. No style. This is just brawlin'. Oh, it's brutal but not really fun to watch.

Fight #5 --- Brandon vs Kyle, the black cowboy (Yves Edwards)
Starts okay. The black dude uses some Muay Thai but this soon devolves into just another brawl.

Fight #6 --- Brandon vs Victor
This is better.....sort of. It's a little more stylistic. EB is definitely using Muay Thai and he seems to dominate and deliver the bulk of the beating. But by luck or sheer force of will, Brandon triumphs. I really thought there would be more to this match as the animosity between these guys had been building up throughout the movie. Both RY and EB appear to do their own falls and they're pretty hard. But the fight overall is a letdown (par the course for the whole movie).

Fight #7 --- Brandon vs a MMA fighter
This is probably the best fight but that ain't saying much. It's very MMA based. It's a good mix-up and very grounded. RY even throws a good kick (his only one of the movie).

The plot is an often tried story-line. (I guess I should say it's a tired story-line instead.) The acting's not too bad. I liked RY's character but he displays not MA talent other than the ability to take and dish out punishment.

This is a TAPOUT film (known for showcasing MMA fighters). I've watched a couple of them before but after a while I've been skipping them. I just don't find them to be all that enjoyable. I'd heard/read good things about this one, was interested in seeing it, and had hopes for RY as a possible new and upcoming MA screen fighter. Maybe he still could be. But this effort just didn't do it for me. Oh, he sells his fights and I thought they were filmed pretty well though they're all really short. But this is really more of a "fight" film than a MA film. And I've seen better "fight" films.

I am so glad I didn't waste my money on this and was able to dvr it in order to see it. It should be titled "Letdown" rather than "Beatdown". Thankfully, this is one less movie cluttering up my dvd trade pile. AVOID! AVOID! AVOID!

[ShaOW!linDude]

Thought I'd take in an older film.

TO BE THE BEST (1993) Running time: 98 mins.
Stars: Michael Worth, Martin Kove, Phillip Troy, Brittany Powell, Alex Cord, Mike Toney, Ron Yuan, Vince Murdocco, Steven Vincent Leigh

Dir.: Joseph Merhi
Fight Choreographer: Art Camacho

Erick (MW) and Sam (PT) are 2 brothers on the US Kickboxing Team coached by their dad, Rick Kulhane (MK). They travel to Las Vegas for the World Championship where they will face teams from nations all over the world, especially the Thai team whose fighters, Hong Do (SVL) and Han (RY), are the greatest competitive challenge.

Fight #1 --- Erick vs Johnny (some streetfighter)
This is in a vacant parking lot. It's meh. Nothing special really. MW shows some good stuff but you've seen it before. He's got a nice jump-spinning back kick.

Fight #2 --- Sam vs a boxer
This takes place in a vacant lot. Another meh. It's slow. There's a good move or two. That ain't saying much.

Fight #3 --- Erick vs Hong Do
Brawl at the bowling alley! The US and Thai teams get into an all-out mix-up. Some good stuff here, mainly between MW and SVL.

Fight #4 --- Erick vs Han
Brawl at the wedding chapel! Well, not a brawl actually. It's not too bad, but it's short. Some good kicks here.

The tournament starts......

Fight #5 --- Duke (VM) vs UK fighter
Good match! Some nice exchanges here along with a great front leg sweep.

Fight #6 --- Han vs Nigerian fighter
Another good match full of nice exchanges! No real standout moves but lots of jumping front kicks.

Fight #7 --- Jun Lin (female Thai fighter) vs Argentinean fighter
Meh. It's pretty lackluster. She wins.

Fight #8 --- Sam vs Jamaican fighter
It's okay, has its moments. There's another cool leg sweep.

Fight #9 --- Erick vs Mars (?)
Good match! MW really gets to display his kicks and there's quite a variety.

Fight #10 --- Hong Do vs Spanish fighter
It's okay. Completely one-sided in SVL's favor. Nothing special.

Fight #11 --- Chun (Thai) vs Jamaican fighter
Lame. Lame, lame, lame. Just awful. 2 short bulky guys acting like they're giant powerhouses. Lots of posing. It's just lame.

Fight #12 --- Sam vs Han
Not a bad match. Some good exchanges. Lots of spinning back fists. It just could've been better.

Fight #13 --- Chun vs Johnson (US)
Lame...again. More like a professional wrestling bout than a MA one. Awful.

Fight #14 --- Duke vs Chin Lan (Thai)
Good match. Good hits and exchanges. Lots of elbows.

Fight #15 --- Erick vs Hong Do
It's a good match. The flow is decent. There's lots of power hits, especially from SVL. MW unloads lots of kicks and finishes it off with his signature jump-spinning back kick.

Fight #16 --- Erick vs the henchman (who I think is played by Tom Deters)
Good fight atop the casino. The exchanges are fast but the fighters themselves don't really cover much ground. It's too short and could've used more kicks. (TD is a good MA. I'm surprised he wasn't used in more films.)

Well, if you're familiar with my mini-reviews, you've no doubt noticed there isn't a single comment in bold type. That's because while the editing and choreography is solid and good for the most part, it's just average. It has that "hit me, okay, now I hit you" choreography. And it seemed as if Art Camacho (the fight choreographer) would focus on specific moves for fights. (Okay, this fight will show lots of front kicks; this fight will show lots of elbows; etc.) The acting is hammy and the premise nothing new, but the fighting is there (lots of it but very short bouts) and the film is what I'd consider to be a decent B-actioner.

One thing I picked up on, that I never really noticed almost 20 yrs ago when watching it, is this: none of the Thai team are.....wait for it.....Thai. In fact, one of them looks to be American. None of them use Muay Thai style fighting. But hey, it's an early 90's US-made MA film and there needed to be an Asian villain....or something, I guess. Oh, and the 80's sense of fashion was carrying over, so everyone was wearing big baggy pants in the ring. Gack!

I like Michael Worth and I've got a couple of other films of his I'll get around to doing. If memory serves me correctly (and I hope it does), this is his worst. Still, it's not too bad. It'll definitely make you chuckle in places. It's your call. I'm sure you can find it used or for dirt cheap, if you're interested.

[DarthKato]

Hey SD. I might check out "To be the Best", since I am into Martial arts movie that have tournaments in them. It doesn't sound lke it would be any comparison to something like Bloodsport or Enter the Dragon, but if I find it cheap it might be good to kill some time with.

Good review by the way.

[ShaOW!linDude]

FINAL IMPACT (1991) Running time: 101 mins.
Stars: Lorenzo Lamas, Michael Worth, Kathleen Kinmont, Kathrin Lautner, Jeff Langton, Mike Toney, Mimi Lesseos

Fight Choreographer: Eric Lee
Dir.: Joseph Merhi and Steven Smoke

Nick Taylor (no, not the guy from the band Duran Duran; it's LL) is a former world champion kickboxer whose career was ended by Jake Gerrard (JL). Now a bitter but successful club owner, Nick is approached by Danny Davis (MW), a state kickboxing champ, who idolizes him and hopes to train with him for a shot at the world championship held in Las Vegas. Nick sees Danny's potential and takes him on. Once in Las Vegas, Nick runs into his former rival and can't resist trying to reclaim his sense of worth as a fighter.

Fight #1 --- Danny (MW) vs Jimmy (Gary Daniels)
It's a decent opening bout. Both get to strut their stuff. MW pops off some jump-spinning roundhouse kicks with a nice snap. GD executes Jean Claude Van Damme's signature jump-spinning split kick.

Fight #2 --- Danny vs Jimmy...again
Danny gets taken to school. GD unloads some good combo's here. There's a nice leg toss and GD gets in some good kicks. (Sadly, this is all you get of him for the rest of the movie.)

At this point, there is a montage of training sequences between Nick and Danny. It's not bad. Kind of interesting to watch.

Fight #3 --- Danny vs Johnny Fareed
This is a good fight! Lots of takedowns and good exchanges. MW throws a nice combo of hook kicks.

Now comes the tournament bouts in Las Vegas, interestingly enough billed on a marquee as "Eric Lee's Kickboxing Championship".

Fight #4 --- Danny vs Jose Gonzalez (Art Camacho)
It's a decent match. It starts off slow but gradually intensifies. There's some good kicks and a sneaky back fist.

Fight #5 --- Jake (JL) vs a fighter
Boring. This is nothing more than an opportunity to show Jake as a viciously abusive fighter. Every strike is a power hit. There's no finesse or interesting choreography here. (This has one of the most comical uses of headbutts I've ever seen in a MA film.)

Fight #6 --- Danny vs Jacky
Great fight! Probably the best in the film! There's some really good boot-work from both guys. The choreography is full of good exchanges and it builds up to a great finish! (I've seen the guy playing Jacky in other MA films. He's usually a random unnamed fighter but he's always used quite well. Wish I could figure out his name. It may be Ian Jacklin but I'm not sure. Whoever he is, he deserves some recognition.)

Fight #7 --- Nick vs Jake
This takes place at the Neon Graveyard, a dump where old Vegas signs are stored. It's a good fight. I usually enjoy seeing LL in action and he throws a sweet 3 kick combo which ends in a leg sweep. The fight is pretty brutal and ends up being rather one-sided.

Fight #8 --- Danny vs Jake
It's good.....I guess. It's hard-hitting and MW takes a lot of punishment. He goes down and rallies at the end but it only takes a few kicks to win it. Still, there's some good hits and exchanges here, but nothing really stands out for this to be the end fight.

I like this movie. There's good chemistry between LL and MW and that helps it tremendously. The choreography is good for the most part, though marred by bad editing in some places.

My issue is with the casting of JL as the villain. He looks like a cross between JCVD and Larry Drake (the guy who played the mentally challenged fellow on the tv show "LA Law" and Durant in the movie "Darkman"). I get tickled every time he made an angry face and he acts as if he's in the constant throes of 'roid rage. As a MA, he just wasn't that impressive to me. I think this whole film would've played out better if his and Gary Daniels' roles had been reversed. That would've been an awesome end fight.

It's a good B-actioner for a MA flick. This is one of MW's better films and as I said previously, he and LL have good chemistry together. Get it. And I've no doubt you can find it cheap.

[ShaOW!linDude]

KICKBOXER 5: REDEMPTION (1995) Running time: 87 mins.
Stars: Mark Dacascos, James Ryan, Geoff Meed, Tony Caprari, Greg Latter, Denney Pierce, Duane Porter, George Moolman, Rulan Booth, Robert Whitehead

Fight Choreography: Burton Richardson and Mark Dacascos
Dir.: Kristine Peterson

Matt Reeves (MD) is a former world champion kickboxer and a friend of the Sloans (the characters from Kickboxer 1 - 4). On learning of their deaths and finding another friend and protege being harassed and murdered, he sets out for revenge against Mr. Negaal (JR), himself a former world champion kickboxer who was banned from the sport for using an illegal and lethal strike thus killing his opponent. Mr. Negaal is based in Johannesburg, South Africa and has started his own kickboxing federation using strong-arm tactics to force fighters to turn over their titles, belts, and representation exclusively to him. Matt travels to Africa to find Negaal with the help of Paul Croft (GM), an ex-con who was supposed to kill him in exchange for his freedom. Together they take on the ruthless and deadly egomaniac, Negaal.

Fight #1 --- Matt vs Pinto (the other GM) and Bull (DP)
Good opening fight! It's short but a nice showcase of MD's skills. Really good kicks and handwork.

Fight #2 --- Matt and Paul vs Negaal's thugs
This is at the airport. Good fight! It's mostly MD. He even uses a metal pole as a staff to dispatch them. He does so with a flourish and it's almost comical.

Fight #3 --- Matt and Paul vs Negaal's thugs again
This is at an abandoned foundry. Another good fight! Again, mostly MD. Lots of good kicks. Some of the choreography is a little off in places, as is the sound editing, but it's still enjoyable. It gets better when GM shows up. MD unloads multiple snapping side kicks on one guy, followed by a sweet spinning back kick.

Fight #4 --- Negaal vs German champion (Gavin Hood)
Not a bad fight. JR still has some moves. The choreography could've been a little better. He uses a "tiger claw" strike to end the bout quite sadistically.

There's a short training sequence that's kind of cool as it includes a bit of chi training by showing MD snapping an arrow braced against a post with the tip pressed into his throat.

Fight #5 --- Paul vs Bollen (GL)
Meh. Not a whole lot going on here. A few punches, a few throws. Kind of lame.

Fight #6 --- Matt and Paul vs Negaal's thugs yet again
It's pretty good but very short. MD unleashes some nice kicks here.

Fight #7 --- Matt vs Negaal
Good fight!!! Wish it could've been edited a little better and run little bit longer. There are no real standout moments until the end which has a nice ironic twist. (*Spoiler*: Negaal uses his "tiger claw" strike to Matt's throat whose chi training prevents its effect. Matt then uses the same strike on Negaal and follows it with a Dim Mak (death strike) touch to his heart. Gotta love it!)

This is the last installment of the KICKBOXER franchise which was started with Jean Claude Van Damme, who only starred in the 1st one. (I've always thought that KB 2-4, which starred Sasha Mitchell, sucked and I held off a long time on seeing this because of that.) Personally, I think this should've been a movie unto itself, but I guess the studio wanted name recognition.

I'm a fan of this film. MD demonstrates that he has both acting and MA talent. JR steals almost every scene he's in. He plays a great villain and really makes the movie. The story is serviceable and the choreography is solid. The editing and camera angles?....not so good in places. But it's not that detrimental.

This is the movie that turned me onto MD. I'd seen him in Double Dragon (the movie based on the video game where he costarred with Scott Wolf and Robert Patrick) but I just didn't remember him. However, this did the trick. He quickly became one of my favorite MA stars and he's done some of my favorites MA films. Even my wife loves this guy!

Get this!!! You can score it relatively cheap and it's a good B-action/MA movie to own!

[blue_skies]

It's a shame Mark Dacascos hasn't made more good martial art movies.

Is there any news on that song of the knife or whatever it was he was going to be starring in?