Kickboxer 3: Trafic à Rio

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.

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.

i may be in the minority here,but i actually liked this movie.for a straight to video martial arts movie,it isn't all that bad.trust me,i've seen a lot worse movies of this genre,some of which have(inexplicably)had a theatrical release.anyway back to this movie.what did i like about it?i liked the dynamic of the wise(cracking)mentor and the younger,cocky student.Dennis Chan plays the mentor Xian,while Sasha Mitchell plays the young hero.there are some funny lines from both and they both play off each other very well.Mitchell is fairly credible as an action hero.i'm not sure if he has any martial arts experience,but if not,then the fight scenes are very well choreographed.there are some great fights in this movie.Chan is also very good in his role as the sidekick.the fact that the movie had some levity is also a positive.also,unlike in many movies of the genre, where the acting is forced or over the top,that isn't the case here the actors know they're not doing Hamlet.the plot may not be original,but the material is handled as well as any other martial art flick.so, at the risk of being hunted down and shot,i give this movie a 7/10(oh,that's right,i can't be hunted down and shot,because no one knows who i am. (big raspberry)

KICKBOXER 3: THE ART OF WAR sees Sasha Mitchell and Dennis Chan teaming up to battle some Brazilian thugs in this South American adventure. It's very much a cookie-cutter production, with the actual kickboxing tournament sidelined in favour of some distinctly B-movie style shenanigans and high energy bouts. That said, it's a film not without a certain early 1990s charm, in that acting and plot are sidelined in favour of plentiful, hard-hitting action.

The storyline is basic to say the least and involves a nefarious bad guy who has a habit of kidnapping innocent girls to use in his brothel. Inevitable, our hero and his sidekick end up getting involved with said villain, and plenty of fisticuffs and shoot-outs ensue. The best thing about the movie is the action; it will never win prizes for originality, but it certainly proves to be satisfying. The choreography is basic but the style is pleasingly violent and packed to the brim with mayhem.

Mitchell himself is a wooden, stilted actor and yet he proves himself a powerhouse in the fight scenes; certainly a guy you wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of. Dennis Chan, however, is the best person in this, bringing plenty of that trademark mentor charm from the original. The rest of the cast, both good guys and bad, are distinctly undistinguished, but as sequels go this straightforward B-movie isn't without charm.

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