Kickboxer 3: The Art of War (1992)

Wonderful character development!

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

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: The Art of War starts as US kickboxing champion David Sloan (Sasha Mitchell) & his mentor Xian (Dennis Chann) arrive in Brazil in Rio de Janerio to take part in a kickboxing tournament against brutal Argentinian champion Martine (Ian Jacklin). While enjoying a bit of lunch on the beach a young local boy named Marcos (Noah Verduzco) steals David's camera, David gives chase & catches Marcos & finds out that he is homeless & trying to get money to support himself & his older sister Isabella (Alethea Miranda). David & Xian take pity on the pair & hire them as local guides, while at a charity event Martine's manager Lane (Richard Comar) takes a fancy to Isabella & has her kidnapped in order to sell her as a sex slave & also tries to get David to throw the upcoming fight against Martine so he can make lots of money from betting which doubly annoys David & Xian who set out to rescue Isabella & beat Martine in a fair fight...Directed by Rick King this was the third film the the Kickboxer franchise which started with the reasonably watchable early Jean-Claude Van Damme flick Kickboxer (1989) & Kickboxer 2: The Road Back (1991) both of which featured the two main character's David Sloan & Xian who also take center stage here in the exotic Brazillian location of Rio de Janerio which is just about the only thing Kickboxer 3: The Art of War has going for it. For a film called Kickboxer there is actually very little kickboxing in it, there are a few fight scenes & the final big fight between Sloan & Martine but otherwise the script goes for plot development. Unfortunately the story just isn't that good, the two homeless kids, the bad guy, the grudge match against the evil fighter, the proverb reciting Chinese mentor & some lame attempts at sporting drama as once again the underdog who has the odds stacked against him comes through & wins in the end. At almost 90 minutes Kickboxer 3: The Art of War feels longer, a lot longer as it's a fairly slow going film that fails to be exciting or surprising or funny or good. I suppose it's competent, it tells a story even if it's not a very good one & some may enjoy the mixing of thriller, martial arts & sporting drama although I didn't.There's not much action here, maybe they blew the budget on the Brazillian locations? There are a few shoot-outs, a couple of fairly lame fights & even a training montage in which Lane tries to torture Sloan but to me was just making him even fitter & stronger by pushing him. Wouldn't it have been better to break his foot or something? There isn't even much of a showdown between Sloan & Lane at the end. Also, why was it OK for Sloan to kill all those bad guy's but when Marcos tries Xian tells him that it's wrong?Actually filmed in Rio de Janerio, this looks alright but has dull photography & forgettable production values. The acting isn't that good, Sasha Mitchell acts more like a Californian surfer dude than a world kickboxing champion while the two Brazillian kids are very annoying.Kickboxer 3: The Art of War is a forgettable martial arts action thriller with little in the way of martial arts or action, there are better films out there. Followed by Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor (1994) & Kickboxer 5 (1995).

Kickboxer 3: The Art of War (1992)Trades Martial Violence for Mindless GoreIt's not fair to call Kickboxer 3: The Art of War a bad movie, even it is by most measures a very bad movie. It's not meant to be a good movie. It's meant to show off a little kickboxing and a little raw physicality, spiced up with moral justice vigilante style, and fully enhanced with lots and lots of dead people.At first we are on the side of this seemingly peaceable, obviously buff athlete of a dude visiting Rio. He presents himself as above the cheap tricks and meanness of his rough Third World hosts. But when it comes to beating the Third World thugs and their nasty ring of enslaved sex girls, he gets down and dirty--not with kicks and strategy, but with lots of guns, and good old shoot-em-up gore. It's awful, and not very well sequenced. Even a movie like this could give a sense that he would, in fact, not get shot at dozen times first. But he has the protective halo of bad directing by Rick King.Sasha Mitchell as the Kickboxer is what you expect. Though showing no acting genius, it's not his fault the movie struggles around him. How do all these people take such sensational raw material and make it actually a bore? Ha.

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)