Kickboxer 3

Last updated
Kickboxer 3
Kickboxer 3.jpg
Official DVD cover
Directed by Rick King
Written byDennis A. Pratt
Produced byMichael D. Pariser
Starring Sasha Mitchell
Dennis Chan
Richard Comar
Noah Verduzco
Alethea Miranda
Ian Jacklin
CinematographyEdgar Moura
Edited byDaniel Loewenthal
Music by Harry Manfredini
Production
company
Distributed by Live Entertainment (U.S.)
Vision International (Non-U.S.)
Release date
  • September 4, 1992 (1992-09-04)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguagesEnglish
Portuguese
Budget$5 million

Kickboxer 3 (stylized on-screen as Kickboxer III: The Art of War) is a 1992 American martial arts film directed by Rick King. The film is the third in the Kickboxer film series with only Sasha Mitchell and Dennis Chan returning from the previous films. It was also the last film to feature Dennis Chan as Xian Chow.

Contents

Plot

A young woman flees through the jungle while attempting to escape from Frank Lane, an American running an illegal child sex ring operation in Brazil. Upon being recaptured, she is taken back to Lane's home and executed in front of the other slaves, as punishment for her actions. Her body is later shown washed up on a beach.

Meanwhile, kickboxing champion David Sloan and his trainer Xian arrive in Rio de Janeiro for a championship bout. Though Xian is focused on training for the upcoming fight, David dismisses the idea in favor of relaxing in the city. While eating lunch, their camera is suddenly stolen by a young thief, and David gives chase. After fighting off a pair of drunken assailants, he catches up to the boy who then brandishes a knife, but David easily disarms him and takes back the camera. When the boy, Marcos, follows him back to the restaurant to reclaim the knife, Xian invites both him and his beautiful sister Isabella to join them for lunch, and they eventually become friends.

At a charity kickboxing event, David is asked to be the cornerman for another young fighter in an exhibition match against Eric Martine, an Argentine kickboxer managed by Lane, who also happens to be David's opponent for the upcoming championship fight. However, the aggressive Martine brutally beats the young fighter, prompting David to physically intervene on his behalf. As a result, David's bout with Martine is billed as a grudge match. Lane apologizes to David for Martine's actions and invites him to a party he is hosting.

David attends the party with Marcos and Isabella as his personal guests. Upon meeting her, Lane becomes infatuated with Isabella. After David parts ways with the children for the night, Lane secretly sends out a group of men to kidnap her. In a panic, Marcos asks for David's help. They file a police report, but with an overwhelming backlog of unsolved cases on their hands, the authorities do not consider their case a priority and advise them to simply forget about Isabella.

Undeterred, David and Xian launch their own investigation, which ultimately leads to their arrest. Lane bails them out in an attempt to cover his tracks, but the two continue their search. They purchase guns from an arms dealer and infiltrate a mansion owned by a pimp named Branco, eventually discovering that Lane is behind the child sex ring operation. They confront him in his home but are ambushed and taken prisoner. Lane and his henchman Pete force David through a series of grueling exercises designed to weaken him before his match with Martine, such as hiking with a backpack full of rocks and water-skiing without skis. He then releases both men back to their hotel, with the condition that if David doesn't show up for the fight, Isabella will disappear forever. With Marcos' help, Xian is able to create and administer a cure for David's fatigue.

At the fight, David manages to defeat Martine, and Xian is successful in rescuing Isabella before Lane can flee the arena. Lane, who wagered his entire estate upon Martine's victory, is left bankrupt and Pete ultimately deserts him. Upon being reunited with Marcos, Isabella tells him about the other girls Lane has imprisoned, and David resolves to free them as well. In retaliation, Lane pulls a gun on David, but Marcos suddenly appears and stabs Lane in the stomach with his knife.

In the end, the police sergeant decides to cover up Lane's murder, and David arranges for Marcos and Isabella to attend school. Upon realizing that they have missed their flight back home, David, Xian, and the police sergeant decide to go out for drinks together.

Cast

Production

In an interview with Sam Weisberg for the web site Hidden Films, director Rick King said working with Sasha Mitchell was extremely difficult, with frequent temper tantrums and even threats of violence: "I think he thought people thought he was stupid, which was true. And he was also violent, and so he used his position of privilege as the star in a very negative way". [1]

Reception

Critical response

The film was not well received by critics.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kickboxing</span> Full-contact hybrid martial art and combat sport

Kickboxing is a full-contact hybrid martial art and boxing type based on punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouth guards, shorts, and bare feet to favor the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general fitness, or for competition. Some styles of kickboxing include: Full contact karate, Muay Thai, Japanese kickboxing, Lethwei, Sanda, and Savate.

<i>God of Gamblers</i> 1989 Hong Kong film

God of Gamblers is a 1989 Hong Kong action comedy film written and directed by Wong Jing, and starring Chow Yun-fat, Andy Lau, Joey Wong and Sharla Cheung.

<i>American Shaolin</i> 1991 American martial arts film

American Shaolin is a 1991 American martial arts film directed by Lucas Lowe and starring Reese Madigan, Kim Chan and Daniel Dae Kim.

<i>Kickboxer</i> (1989 film) 1989 American martial arts sports drama film

Kickboxer is a 1989 American martial arts film directed by David Worth and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. Former world kickboxing champion Dennis Alexio is also featured. It spawned several sequels.

Dennis Raymond Alexio is an American former professional kickboxer and actor who competed in the light heavyweight, cruiserweight and heavyweight divisions. Starting out as a light heavyweight, Alexio kicked off his career with an extensive, knockout-laden undefeated streak before losing a decision to Don "The Dragon" Wilson in a World Kickboxing Association (WKA) World Super Light Heavyweight Full Contact Championship match in 1984. He rebounded from this by winning the Professional Karate Association (PKA) World Light Heavyweight title that same year before moving up to cruiserweight and taking the International Sport Karate Association (ISKA) World Cruiserweight Full Contact strap. In the late 1980s, he began his transition to the heavyweight division where he won six world titles and was considered the undisputed World Heavyweight Champion. He faced the two toughest tests of his career in 1992 against Branko Cikatić and Stan Longinidis - both of whom were heavier fighters - fighting to a controversial draw with Cikatić and losing to Longinidis via an early low kick KO which resulted in a broken leg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maurice Smith (fighter)</span> American kickboxer and mixed martial arts fighter

Maurice L. Smith is a retired American kickboxer and mixed martial artist. In kickboxing, he held the WKC world light heavyweight championship, the WKA world heavyweight championship, and the ISKA world heavyweight championship. In mixed martial arts, he held the Heavyweight championship in Battlecade Extreme Fighting and the UFC, and became a member of the UFC Hall of Fame in 2017. A professional competitor since 1980, Smith has formerly competed in kickboxing for the companies All Japan Enterprise and K-1, Pancrase, RINGS, PRIDE, Strikeforce, International Fight League and RFA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Wallace (martial artist)</span> American martial artist (born 1945)

William Louis Wallace, nicknamed "Superfoot", is an American karateka, actor, and former professional kickboxer. Considered one of the first American superstars of kickboxing, he was the Professional Karate Association (PKA) World Full-Contact Champion, and the Middleweight Kickboxing Champion for six years, retiring with an undefeated 23-0-0 record. He is currently the International Ambassador for PKA Worldwide.

<i>Kickboxer 4</i> 1994 American martial arts film

Kickboxer 4 is a 1994 American direct-to-video martial arts film directed by Albert Pyun. The film is the fourth entry in the Kickboxer film series. This was the last film to star Sasha Mitchell, who reprises his role as David Sloan.

Robert "Rob" Kaman also known as The Dutchman was a Dutch 9-time kickboxing and Muay Thai world champion. He was often called "Mr. Low Kick" because of his feared low kicks which he used to set up his devastating offensive attacks.

<i>High Risk</i> (1995 film) 1995 Hong Kong film

High Risk is a 1995 Hong Kong action comedy film written, produced and directed by Wong Jing and starring Jet Li, Jacky Cheung, Chingmy Yau, Charlie Yeung and Yang Chung-hsien. Corey Yuen serves as the film's fight choreographer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marek Piotrowski</span> Polish kickboxer and boxer

Marek "The Punisher" Piotrowski is a Polish retired heavyweight kickboxer and boxer. He is a former ten time kickboxing world champion.

<i>Kickboxer 2</i> 1991 American martial arts film

Kickboxer 2 is a 1991 American martial arts film directed by Albert Pyun and written by David S. Goyer. The film is the second entry into the Kickboxer film series, and stars Sasha Mitchell in the role of David Sloan, the brother of Kickboxer's lead character Kurt, portrayed by Jean-Claude Van Damme.

John Wayne "The Gunslinger" Parr, also known as JWP, is a retired Australian Muay Thai fighter, kickboxer and boxer, fighting out of Boonchu Gym in Gold Coast, Queensland. He is a former 10-times World Champion and was the runner up on The Contender Asia.

Derek Panza is an American kickboxer and boxer from Queens, New York. He was the ISKA World Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion and is undefeated as a professional boxer with a record of 7-0. He currently trains fighters at Panza MMA, located inside world champion power lifter and bodybuilder Bev Francis' Powerhouse Gym in Syosset, New York.

Billy Chow Bei-lei is a Hong Kong-Canadian former professional kickboxer and actor. He competed in the Welterweight and Super Welterweight divisions from 1977 to 1992. He was the WKA Super Welterweight champion from 1984 to 1986, and retired with a professional record of 45-0-8.

<i>Wheres Officer Tuba?</i> 1986 Hong Kong film

Where's Officer Tuba? is a 1986 Hong Kong action comedy film directed by Philip Chan and Ricky Lau and starring Sammo Hung, Jacky Cheung, David Chiang and Joey Wong. The film was later remade as Look Out, Officer! in 1990 which starred Stephen Chow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alain Moussi</span> Canadian actor, stuntman, and martial artist

Alain Moussi is a Canadian actor, stuntman, and martial artist trained in jujitsu, kickboxing, and karate. He plays the lead role of Kurt Sloane in the reboot of the Kickboxer series, Kickboxer: Vengeance (2016) and Kickboxer: Retaliation (2018), a role that was originated by Jean-Claude Van Damme, who portrays his mentor in the films. Moussi also played the lead role in the action film Jiu Jitsu (2020), the role of Charlie Nash in the web series Street Fighter: Resurrection (2016), and Batman in the first season of the television series Titans (2018).

Conquer (<i>The Walking Dead</i>) 16th episode of the 5th season of The Walking Dead

"Conquer" is the sixteenth and final episode of the fifth season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on March 29, 2015. It was written by showrunner Scott M. Gimple and Seth Hoffman, and directed by Greg Nicotero.

<i>American Kickboxer</i> 1991 film

American Kickboxer is a 1991 South African-American martial arts action film directed by Frans Nel and written by Emil Kolbe, based on an original story by the film's lead actor, John Barrett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Something They Need</span> 15th episode of the 7th season of The Walking Dead

"Something They Need" is the fifteenth and penultimate episode of the seventh season of the post-apocalyptic horror television series The Walking Dead, which aired on AMC on March 26, 2017. The episode was written by Corey Reed and directed by Michael Slovis.

References

  1. "Hidden-Films.com – Article about Rick King" . Retrieved May 28, 2013.