The King of the Kickboxers

It's an absolute shame that a movie this awesome isn't even available in print anymore, considering all of the other crap that is being re-released on DVD. It's also a shame that this movie, along with all of its contributors, have never received any notice (with the exception of Billy Blanks). And I'm being serious. Sure this is a b-movie, but how can anyone who's seen it overlook how much fun it is to watch? _The King of the Kickboxers_ is incredibly entertaining, and that's the whole point of any movie, with or without a compelling plot and acting.

Everything about this movie is awesome. The dialogue is corny and the acting is campy, but how can you complain? This just gives you something to laugh at. Most mainstream viewers will cringe at the poor acting and turn away from this movie, not even realizing that it can be funny.

Those people will then miss out on the incredible fighting scenes, which are quite frequent. There isn't a single movie out there with moves as cool as the ones here. You'd never expect to see stuff like this anywhere other than in your imagination, but somehow, the fighters managed to throw attacks at lighting speeds and launched multiple kicks in mid-air without landing (not even Michael Jordan gets this much hangtime)! All the scenes are fast-paced and beautifully coordinated, with camera angles that really get you into the action.

Even the limited music is excellent. It is not only pleasing to listen to, but effectively helps to set the mood of the scenes. It can give you a creepy feeling at times, and is best used in the final fight scene where the drum beat kicks in to get you into the mood of the action and later as it shifts to a triumphant tone, you can't help but cheer for the good guy as he makes his comeback victory.

And finally, the plot is perfect for this type of film--simple and limited. Most of the movie is dedicated to the action scenes, while plot developments painlessly interrupt to help support the characters so you can develop feelings about them. The whole movie had the feel of a video game. The protagonist battles through his enemies and works his way up to reach who is ultimately the bad guy and defeats him. The bad guy even has his own finishing move (an awesome one at that) that the good guy must look out for. This is all just like a video game; another reason why I love this movie!

This is by far the best fighting movie ever, and I've seen quite a few of them. And after serious consideration, I've concluded that this is one of the best movies ever made in any genre. Do whatever you can to see this movie. And if you've already seen this movie but hated it, do me and yourself a favor and watch it again, this time with my review in mind.

I played Mr Director, a talking bit-part, in the filming on-location at Khao Yai National Park, Thailand.

I won't bore you with production secrets like Sherri Rose running all the way from the National Park to downtown Bangkok in 17 seconds flat, I'll just focus on content.

Billy Blanks at that time was 7-Time All-World Full-Contact Karate Champion, in excellent form, hard as nails, and Avedon wasn't.

This sets the basic dilemma for the director: Keith Hirabachi was an All-American champion, Billy was a champion, but the STAR of the film wasn't up to much at all, karate-wise! So there are shots in the film where, in the thick of brawling, Avedon's hair changes to the exact color of his stunt-double's hair... or that ridiculous scene in the climax where Billy's thick, kicking leg is stopped by Avedon, who then ADJUSTS IT, in order to flip Billy...

Puh-leeze! Billy's bits, and Keith's and Ong's... they're authentic, and add something to the film... but as good an actor as Avedon is, with this plot/framework/vehicle and his skinny shanks, the film became a verging-on-ludicrous tale of "Chunky Yellow Man Teaches Skinny White Man to Beat BIG, THICK BLACK Man!" Its inauthentic, through and through...

But what the hey! Its a yarn! Karridine/John Kay

I can't explain it, but I love this movie. What gives that movie the edge is the performance of Keith Cooke and Billy Blanks. Loren Avedon cannot keep up with them although he plays the main character (who is quite arrogant in my opinion). The film features decent fights with moody music, all overacted and unrealistic but highly entertaining. When Jake, still in the US, watches that movies and complains about their low quality, its "No retreat, no surrender 3" (starring Loren Avedon, too) and one might find a small piece of self-irony, too.

The King of the Kickboxers (1991) was another U.S./Hong Kong co-production from N.G. and the other folks at Seasonal Films. Like most of N.G.'s productions, the kung-fu films that usual come from Seasonal are cheesy with a heavy dose of high energy fighting. That's what I like about his films. He doesn't even try to be serious or make an attempt to elevate the source material. This film is no exception.

An arrogant fighter is given an assignment to find out who's making "real" kung-fu movies in Thailand (like Mexico where life is cheap). He's also intrigued by the mission because of what happened to him the last time he visited Bangkok. Whilst in Bangkok he learns about the presence of a vicious Kickboxer (Billy Blanks). Not only does he get a free trip to Thailand but he can settle an old score.

Filled with many references to Kickboxer and parodies of other Seasonal Films productions. King of the Kickboxers is a very entertaining film. The film-makers and the actors seem to be having a whole lot of fun making this one. So sit back and relax. When watching this video gem remember "It's only a movie!"

Highly recommended!

A

Ridiculously good martial arts choreography combined with laughably bad dialogue and an outlandish plot that borrows heavily from Kickboxer add up to a very enjoyable fighting movie. Seeing the film in Middle School when it was on cable I had trouble getting past the poor film stock, and substitution of water in the mouth as fake blood was probably too expensive to use. Coupled with lousy acting and poorly-lit sets, I just enjoyed the fighting scenes (probably on a day when I had my fill of Van Damme and Seagal). Looking back on it recently, the choreography is some of the best ever put on celluloid, and it holds up tremendously against just about all of the other fight scenes from the 90s. A combination of beautiful foreign locales, some pretty intense stunts, and a sense that the director was going for a "let's be satisfied with the first take of any non-action scene" attitude, the movie is a guilty, but VERY impressive martial arts film.