The Last Kumite

Granted, I wasn't really harboring the biggest of expectations to this 2024 action movie titled "The Last Kumite" when I sat down to watch it. In fact, I had never actually heard about the movie prior to watching it, so I didn't really know what I was in for here.

The storyline and script in "The Last Kumite" was so simplistic that it was bordering on being embarrassing to sit through. Writers Ross W. Clarkson and Sean David Lowe didn't exactly bring much of anything new or interesting to the martial arts genre. In fact, the storyline and narrative in the movie was generic and predictable. You're not in an evening of Shakespearian theater when you sit down to watch this movie; not that I was expecting that, actually.

When you sit down to watch a movie such as "The Last Kumite", of course you want to see the fighting tournament and see some impressive displays of fighting and martial arts. Well, you might want to brace yourself with a hefty amount of patience, if you sit down to watch "The Last Kumite", because you need to sit through 65 minutes of filler dialogue, attempts at character building and training montages before you get to the good part, and with the movie running at a total of 105 minutes, go figure.

There were two familiar faces on the cast list, and that was Cynthia Rothrock and Matthias Hues. I suppose if you were a fan of Cynthia Rothrock then you might find something worthwhile in "The Last Kumite"; I personally can't claim to ever have been a fan of her or her movies. While I do enjoy watching unfamiliar faces and talents on the screen, I have to say that I wasn't particularly impressed with what I saw on the screen here.

The character gallery in "The Last Kumite" was flaccid and one-dimensional. Most of the characters are mere fillers in order to set up Michael Rivers (played by Mathis Landwehr) against Dracko (played by Mike Derudder). In fact, you don't even bother getting to know the names of the characters throughout the movie, because there is zero in-depth characterization of any of them, nor any proper motivation and drives, much less personalities and traits.

Having to wait 65 minutes of boring rubbish before you get to the fights, I have to say that the fight scenes didn't really do much to make up for the long wait. Sure, there were some nicely enough choreographed fights, but it just wasn't sufficient to make up for the boredom of having to suffer through 65 minutes of boredom.

"The Last Kumite" was a boring dumpster fire that simply just managed to get picked up because it has the word 'Kumite' in its title. Yeah, the throwback to the 1988 movie "Bloodsport" that was starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. But "The Last Kumite" doesn't even reach "Bloodsport" to the ankles.

This movie, from director Ross W. Clarkson, was a weak attempt at making a martial arts movie reminiscent of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

My rating of "The Last Kumite" lands on a very, very generous three out of ten stars.

No enthusiasm from the actors. Incoherent storyline. No uniquness just copying jcvd's inital movie and even the villain in this movie sounds like drago from rocky 4. The last kumite will certainly be 'the last' of those old school actors, they could have been used much better. Even david yeung should have more airtime. You put egotistical people like viking samurai in this film makes it even more rubbish. Avoid . Good thing jcvd or scott adkins didn't sign up for this bs movie. I don't think the directors or producers have any idea how to film or be creative. The set looked like a very cheap theatre stage. Possibly the worst 'fighting' movie I've ever seen. Even some of the training scenes are a replica from kickboxer , one of viking samurai's lines is a straight up plagiarism from bloodsport 2 as well, when he says 'if we get matched up I ain't holding back'. Viking samurai aka david kurzhal also does a flop when he attempt's jcvd's helicoper kick, viking bends his knees, like seriously dude have you got no creativity make your own unique moves instead of just being a ripoff and a poor one at that. The only female in the kumite again parallel to bloodsport 2. The flashback kurt mckiney has of dracko in the mirror again copying bloodsport 1 when van damme thinks he saw bolo while he was on the bus. So many plagiarisms. If this was a spoof then it would have a different effect, seriously the acting is so bad at times it does make you laugh. Nothing like bloodsport just a very poor ripoff.

The Director was not allowed to be involved in the post production.

This is the Producers edit, all comments should be directed at Sean. So for anyone who has a comment about the director he's not to blame for the editing, the sound mix or the colour grading.

From: imdb-767-417450 "The film is as shallow and superficial as the story, with nonsensical dialogues.

Fight scenes poorly choreographed, though Mike Möller's fights were a highlight.

Others actors were shoddy and sluggish.

This is not a B-Movie. A D-Movie. D for dreadful/disgraceful mess.

Next time, Clarkson should bring Til Schweiger, and throw in Steven Seagal to complete the disaster!

From: Gubbe.

"The Last Kumite" is a major disappointment on multiple fronts. The directing by Ross W. Clarkson lacks any creativity or coherence, leaving scenes feeling disjointed and poorly paced. The editing is equally subpar, with jarring cuts that disrupt the flow of action and narrative. Sound design is another glaring issue, featuring inconsistent audio levels and poorly integrated sound effects that detract from the immersion. The casting choices are puzzling, as many of the actors, despite their martial arts credentials, deliver wooden and uninspired performances. The acting is universally poor, with stilted dialogue and a lack of emotional depth, making it difficult to connect with any of the characters. Overall, "The Last Kumite" fails to capture the spirit of classic martial arts films, offering instead a bland and hopefully forgettable experience.

Sorry, how can you blame the director when he was not allowed to be involved in the post?

80's / 90's martial arts flicks might have been low budget affairs with simple stories, but they also held a certain level of polish, grit whilst entertaining if that makes any sense. You don't get that mix with 'The Last Kumite' which leaves it to get by on nostalgia. As is it typical of dtv movies trying to stretch their dollar - the whole thing is shot in Europe - and the overall quality is lacking. The vibe is off. Not much real fun, one note villains and though some honest effort is put into it's hand to hand sequences little is memorable.

Michael Rivers (Mathis Landwehr) wins a karate tournament in NYC with his teen daughter cheering him on under the eye of Ron Hall (Matthias Hues) and his right hand Wolf (Michel Qissi). He wants him in a Kumite tourney he hosts and when Rivers says no they kidnap his daughter to force his hand. The odds on favorite to win is Hall's champ Dracko (Mike Derudder) who's never been beaten. To muster the skills needed he gains allies in fellow fighters (Kurt McKinney, Mounia Moula) and former opponents, trainers (Billy Blanks, Cynthia Rothrock) of Drago. With the local law bought off, the only option is to win.

Blanks & Rothrock's roles aren't fancy, but they get quick moments of their own. Hues relishes being the baddie, but the name 'Ron Hall' is far from menacing and he isn't given much to do for most of the pic other than spout dialog. Ditto Qissi. Skilled stuntwoman Moula stands out as the sole female fighter for both good & bad. McKinney is game, but also too old to be here. By now you might be starting to get the idea the flick is banking on all these vintage names and you're right. It's all the cliches, obvious budget limitations not doing anyone favors.

Dracko grunts while he menacingly flexes. A bare bones hero, training montages and some Stan Bush music tracks teleport you back to the 80's. 'The Last Kumite' was partially a crowdfunded project and you can tell there's a lot of love, passion for movies of yesterday fueling it. That doesn't make it's short fight scenes, clunky story any better though. Convenient help around every corner and though you're told he owns the police yet go to them anyhow? Okay.

The Opening shot was promising, a tour around a U. S. city, the soundtrack pumping, could this be a fresh new take on the kick-boxer and Blood-Sport movies of the 1980s?

Unfortunately not, I barely got past the opening tournament. It look like it was filmed in my Primary school's PE hall, I just couldn't take it seriously after that. The rows of bright oblong overhead lights, the crowd seated around the edge - I don't know, it just looked wrong!

Lots of over-the-top knowing looks between the actors, it almost comes across as a spoof.

The wimpish looking balding lead actor looks like he's pushing 50, sorry but Van-Damme he's not!

I guess this shows it's not that easy to make martial arts movies, even if the guys who made this are fans.