Kickboxer 3 - Mani di pietra

Sasha Mitchell reprises his role as David Sloan who has since # 2 become a bona-fide kickboxing champion who flies to Rio to compete to defend his championship however along the way he decides to take down a prostitution racket and does so without hardly breaking a sweat. Did I give away too much by the last sentence? Well let's just say that this predictable sequel is a marginal improvement over # 2. This time there is more attractive scenery, more action and more plot than # 2, which was irritatingly straight forward.) That being said the movie is still hugely flawed. The main problem dealing with the fact that K3 has little kickboxing. Indeed the fight sequence at the end as well as the opponent could've easily been written out and it wouldn't have changed a thing. Mitchell and Chan rely on more guns and while this element works for action fans, the lack of training montage and fights make this a tepid effort.

* * out of 4-(Fair)

Kickboxer 3 isn't worth the money, or the rental. Dennis Chan is a comic sidekick and teacher to David Slone who plays a chilsed jawed kickboxer who seems to resemble that bad karate kid from Karate Kid III.

Anyway, the film has David going to Brazil for a kickboxing fight but gets drawn into the seedy world of underage prositutes or something and gets drawn into the local riff-raff.

Even though he's only a kickboxer and only there to kick the ass of the Ivan Drago type kickboxer he goes out on a mission to take out the local bad guy, who isn't even Portuegese or Brazilian, but American.

The fight sequences are okay - but that is it, nothing compared to other martial art movies you can get for the same price.

Avoid it. 1/10

well folks, I got to say, as a Brazilian, that the portrait of Rio is not very flattering... And, unfortunately, very true. Some stupid things aside (for example, gambling is prohibited in my country since the 40's), this light-weight martial arts flick delivers, gave me some well-received giggles and Mitchell hold his own as a fighter and is quite credible as the main man.Using the character of Xian, played with gusto by Dennis Chan, as the link to the most famous movie of this series, starred by Van Damme, the plot shows a harsh reality, the women trafficking and children abandonment in my country with levity and good laughs with very good fight scenes. Definitely, a nice example of how a Direct-to-video sequel can be when a little care is taken; it does not have to always be garbage.

My review was written in January 1993 after watching the film on Live video cassette.

Third entry in the series that four years ago helped make Jean-Claude Van Damme a star is a routine martial arts pic that benefits from attractive Brazilian location photography. Briefly released theatrically lat fall, the film has better-than-average chances for a video following.

Repeating from part two, Sasha Mitchell plays the uppity hero, a kickboxing champ headed to Rio de Janeiro for a tournament. Once arrived, Mitchell is befriended by street urchin Noah Verduzco and saves his young sister (Althea Miranda) from the clutches of brothel owner Richard Comar.

Coincidentally, Comar also manages evil kickboxer Ian Jaklin. Predictably Miranda is kidnapped and Mithcell is ordered to throw the big match against Jacklin to protect her. A corny happy ending sets the stage for yet another sequel.

Mitchell, unlike most of the protagonists in this genre an actor first and martial artist second, is a very personable lead and acquits himself well in the action scenes. Supporting cast is nondescript.

Maybe it's because I don't have too much expectation when I approach the 'Kickboxer' series but I have to say that I find all of these movies enjoyable, all things considered. This third instalment is set in Rio which does add a dash of exotic flavour to proceedings. In it, our Kickboxing champion, David Sloan, arrives in Brazil for a competition but soon becomes involved with rescuing a girl from a sex slave racket.

Apart from the South American setting, what sets this one apart from the other previous entries in the series is that we now have the kickboxer going around shooting people. The introduction of guns into the mix gives this instalment more of a standard action-thriller feel. There are a few fights but the martial arts side of the story is definitely more marginalised in this one. Sasha Mitchell does have a dopey and personable charm in the lead role; while everyone else does what's expected of them. It moves at a fast pace, it doesn't have any surprises but its good straightforward fun.