User Reviews

The Kickboxer franchise spanned 5 films. The 1st film was in theaters, all films after that were direct to video. I loved the 2nd film as it's my overall favorite film of the whole series. The 3rd film however leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

This film takes place some time after the events of the 2nd film. David now has a fight in Brazil and helps a homeless brother and sister fight out of a ruthless pimp.

The fight scenes are actually not that bad at all, which were some of my favorite parts of the film. There were some things that I had some problems with. Mainly the story is my biggest gripe. If Tong Po is such enemy in the series, where the hell is he? He is not mentioned at all during the film, which really messes up the film franchise as a whole.

This is easily the weakest film in the whole series, and unless you are crazy or want to see it, then avoid it.

Frank Lane (Richard Comar) is running a white slavery ring in Brazil, just as kickboxing champion David Sloan (Sasha Mitchell, Cody from Step by Step who somehow has taken over from JCVD after Tong Po killed his brothers shortly after Kickboxer; yes, your happy ending was ruined in the sequel) and his trainer Xian (Dennis Chan) arrive in Rio de Janeiro for a championship bout. He's nearly robbed by a street kid named Marcos (Noah Verduzco) but he ends up becoming friends with him and his sister Isabella (Alethea Miranda).

Lane is the manager of Eric Martine (Ian Jacklin), the Muay Thai fighter that David is defending his belt against. He destroys a young fighter in an exhibition, turning the fight into the grudge match you'd hoped that it would be. Of course, Isabella gets kidnapped and the whole thing becomes a fight for her life, but any movie that ends with a cute street urchin stabbing an evil white guy in the stomach is OK with me.

This was directed by Rick King, who also made Prayer of the Rollerboys and was a writer of Point Break. On the amazing Hidden Films, he spoke about how rough this movie was to make and how hard Mitchell was to deal with.

"The guy was a nutjob," King said plainly. "The crew hated him and liked me. One of the grips was a cop, and he said, "If that guy ever touches you, I'm gonna arrest his ass and throw him in the nastiest Brazilian jail you've ever seen.""

Writer Dennis A. Pratt also wrote Leprechaun 4: In Space.

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 takes David and Xian on a trip to Brazil for a tournament. The pair befriends a local boy and his sister who try and steal their camera. They team up and the boy show the pair Rio. While on there, they meet a ruthless player (Lane) who steals women and sell them to buyers, who has his eyes on the boy's sister and takes her. The 3 of them are on a quest to save the girl. But got caught, forcing the player (Lane) to put David Sloan on an extensive training to wear him down to gain inside info to bet his life work against Sloan for the Tournament.

This movie is probably my favourite of the series. Everyone expect Kickboxer to be a fighting action film, but I think it leans more of an adventure film, it works really well. The Brazilian backdrop gives it some character. I would recommend for a family to see.

Ace kickboxer David Sloan (Mitchell) travels to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, along with his trainer/mentor Xian (Chan) for an exhibition bout. When destitute street scamp Marcos (Verduzco) tries to steal his camera, Sloan realizes Marcos and his sister Isabella (Miranda) have a hard life and need some guidance and understanding. So he takes a liking to the two urchins. Meanwhile, Sloan prepares to face off against an evil, ruthless kickboxer named Martine (Jacklin). His manager is Lane (Comar), a criminal who also has his hands in white slavery and prostitution. When Lane and his goons kidnap Isabella, it becomes personal for Sloan, and he, along with Xian and Marcos ("The gringo, the philosopher, and the boy", as their "Machine Gun Joe" character notes) go on a revenge mission to save Isabella and get justice. Will they succeed? We really enjoyed Kickboxer 3. It's a lot more entertaining and fun than you might think. The whole concept of a guy, who, as far as we know, is just a simple kickboxer, going on a dangerous mission and shooting people to save a girl he really just met is just so great. More plots should be like this. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what it is, but something about Sasha Mitchell is also very appealing. He makes a good lead man. A total change of pace from Van Damme, Mitchell appears to be the ultimate California dude. A cross between Freddie Prinze Jr. and Keanu Reeves, when we first see him in the movie he's wearing red overalls with no shirt. And his outfits just get better from there on in. Plus he has a winning chuckle that really brings you over to his side. And when Lane hatches his nefarious plan to "tire him out" before the big fight, his assistant says, "he's like a machine!" - the fact that he's an indefatigable warrior who is proficient in guns as well as fists, but that he also cares about children, makes you really root for him.

Mitchell has some amazing line readings as well...but his wardrobe is quite impressive: he has not just one, but two Benny The Jet shirts. Giving him a counterpart in the clothing department is his wise sensei Xian. Xian is always ready with a learned maxim, such as "clothes don't make a woman beautiful...but it helps!" A movie highlight comes when, in their travels around Rio to get answers, they run into a gay Samba choreographer. For some unknown reason, this guy has goons! In the midst of some sort of Carnival rehearsals, he sics his goons on Sloan, Xian and Marcos! It's nutty ideas like this that move Kickboxer 3 above its seemingly lowly status as a third entry in a series. But let's also remember director Rick King's previous movie before this was Prayer of The Rollerboys (1990). So, there you go.

But back to Sloan's true nemesis, Martine, Ian Jacklin doesn't say too many actual lines of dialogue (It's mainly just your classic yells of "RAAAAHHHH!!!), but he's still sufficiently evil. He even taunts his opponents by spontaneously breaking into a dance of "The Running Man". Weirdly, Ian Jacklin, here more than ever, resembles another Ian, Brown. Both the actor/fighter and the singer for The Stone Roses have a distinctly monkey-like face and could be brothers. No insult is intended, it's simply a description. Ian Brown should have gone into acting instead of pursuing a solo career. Then a movie could be made where Keanu Reeves and Sasha Mitchell are brothers, and Ian Jacklin and Ian Brown are brothers. Sadly, it looks like we won't see that imaginary film any time soon.

While there is a bit of filler during the "evil training" sequence, Kickboxer 3 provides solid entertainment and is pretty crowd-pleasing. Some of its more absurd moments and ideas help a lot, as does its winning cast, so we can certainly recommend it.

This movie is one of the best American Martial Art Movies, in my opinion. I have to spoil it just a little, but I will do so without giving away the plot, the scene, or even the premises of the film.

However, I must say we learn about values again, in the third entry of this series. I like Sasha Miller again, as more of a natural real kickboxer than Van Damme, who seemed more like a Hollywood guy. Sasha Miller seems like your everyday struggling green belt at your local dojo (due to his lack of temper control he seems like a real green belt, although his physical techniques do approach brown belt level).

Martial art theory is considered, through even the very beginning as Xian comments about airplane travel being unnatural to a martial artist who is seeking to adapt to changing altitude, latitudes, angles, and velocities, as a way of life.

I do not want to spoil the plot or story, but can say it involves martial art attitudes towards resiliency under harsh hostile training conditions, dealing with corruption all around when you are an ethical martial artist, and the laws of Karma (you will always receive your just rewards). These are the REAL struggles we deal with in contemporary urban America, and although the movie takes place in a corrupt land, unfortunately, this type of corruption is present in our country, at times also, since the ME generation obliterated the love and peace attitudes of the 60s.

I can not say anymore for I will give the movie away. Most critics only gave it one or two stars, probably because so few critics and people today, understand what TRUE martial arts entails, with the newer martial art movies that emphasize 1990-2000 style Aerobic style kick boxing, acrobatics, and explosions over martial art training, resiliency, and ethics. If you can believe what critics say, the MATRIX series was a SUPERB martial art movie and Karate Kid4 was boring????? Oh well!

This movie is a must see for all serious martial artists.

Don Dragonfire