Kick-box champion David Sloan arrives in Rio de Janeiro for an exhibition fight. He and mentor Xian take pity on Brazilian rascal Marcos Coasta, an urchin who offers guide services but routinely st...
After buying the four movie bumper bargain dvd pack simply titled MARTIAL ARTS in obnoxious 'oriental' font, I hoped for something brilliantly bad. Sadly, Kickboxer III is acceptable, a fate worse than horrendous.
The issue with the film is, aside from its blandness, it cannot decide what it is. One moment it's an adventure family adventure, next a buddy movie and then, most jarringly, a crime thriller about a child sex ring. Because of this final story beat, the comedy and witty banter seem completely in appropriate and scarily relaxed. Why can't instead of a child sex ring it be a bomb that turns everyone into kickboxers or a giant robo-Octopus tentacle puncher? Just spitballing.
However, not only are there inconsistencies in the tone, there are possibly worse ones in the film's morals, particularly in regards to killing. Dennis Chan's Xian at one moment encourages peace, the next is using a colt revolver to shoot goons; a philosophical assassin. And then there's the film gender politics which are, of course, a mess.
BUT aside from all that, the film functions. It has set ups, it has pay offs, there are actions scenes, which aren't very good, but they come at the right times. Kickboxer III is like a really boring car which is reliable but not fun to drive at all. This is particularly heartbreaking when one was hoping for a clown car.
