Awesome Movie

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The reason why I watch Kickboxer 2-4 is because of Sasha Mitchell. I think hes talented and pretty good, he made step by step worthwhile. Too bad hes been in films that are not that big for exposure. But Kickboxer 2 was really good and 3 was OK.4 is OK. But seems like there storyline has holes or doesn't fill in well enough. Like it could use more details on how he went to jail and maybe a wedding scene showing he got married. The fight scenes could use some work, but nonetheless I its worth to watch. I like David Sloan Duke Nuke'm persona. Careful for some young ones, there's full frontal nudity and sex scenes.

Personally I though this movie was rather cheesy by the fact that it was Jean Claude Van Dammewho played Tong Po in some rather very bad make-up effects. This movies only saving grace is it was graced with the adorable Michele "The Mouse" Krasnoo. Michele "The Mouse" Krasnoo entered her first tournament at age ten and received her black belt at the age of thirteen. Since then, she has become one of the most popular competitors in tournament history, her size (5 feet) and high pitched kiai inspiring the nickname "Mouse". She is recognized by the National Black Belt League as a world champion, Winner of well over 300 first place trophies in major competitions, Michele "Mouse" Krasnoo reigns as one of the top tournament competitors of all time, and is also a rising Martial Arts action film star.I give movie a thumbs up for Michele "The Mouse" Kasnoo. Thumbs down for the movie.

Firstly, I'll start with what the film actually does right. Some of the fight choreography isn't bad and the editing is better than usual for Albert Pyun, the New Mexico locations look nice and the overall production values are much better than usual for Albert Pyun as the picture is clear and colourful, there are a couple of basic stunts (not well used however) and Sasha Mitchell does the best he could possibly do given the material surrounding him.Now for the rest, it was full of so many things which simply made say "Huh?" or had me in hysterics that I don't know where to start. The villain who goes by the name of "Tong Po" in the previous Kickboxer movies wouldn't return in this. For a hack director in a schlocky B-movie, that is no problem. Attempt to use stock footage and then get a double like Ed Wood did with Bela Lugosi for Plan 9? Nope, although Pyun did do that with Snoop Dogg in Urban Menace and The Wrecking Crew, he has gone one step further. This time, he has hired a new actor to take his place and applied ridiculous makeup to make him look like the original actor. The result looks like like somewhere between The Joker from Batman and a Thunderbirds puppet and looks even more funny when he's standing outdoors and his skin is red with sweat, but his face remains a light yellow tone. If you are familiar with Pyun, he often uses close-ups of the actors faces in his movies, often so two characters who are not on set at the time can be edited together to look like they're in conversation. He continues that trend in this, and the "Tong Po" character is seen in close-ups several times, revealing how truly bad the makeup is and making me laugh harder than I have at a movie in a long time. Not since I saw Anna Nicole Smith in Skyscraper have I laughed through every single scene one character has been seen in. And when he tries to act scary and threatening, don't get me started. Let's just say he's as scary as a fluffy little bunny rabbit. I really felt sorry for the entire cast who had to act around this character and pretend to be taking him seriously. And what makes it even funnier is that exactly the same weak plot could have been executed with a new villain. There was absolutely no reason why Tong Po had to be part of this plot. Much of what little budget there was seems to have been spent on a pointless and completely ridiculous barroom brawl. Michele "The Mouse" Krasnoo is sitting there minding her own business drinking a can of Coke when a bunch of rednecks come and pick on her. By amazing coincidence, at just the right time Sasha Mitchell comes and saves her. Now my first impressions were "Huh?" when I saw this. Krasnoo was 19 when this was filmed but looks about 15. Now just why was she sitting in a redneck bar to drink a can of coke to begin with? This scene is where Pyun has used what budget he had for stunts it seems but he has no idea how to use them. For example, the biggest stunt is when one of the rednecks gets thrown through a window (which shatters like plastic) and when he stands up about 3 metres away from the bar, a van comes driving up about 20 MPH and launches him through another window back into the building. Now why would a van be moving at that speed while only a few feet away from the building unless the driver was unbelievably careless while parking? It reminded me of the exploding car in U.S Seals which drives into an area where a tank is causing having at about 50 MPH. Truly stupid. And after being saved, Krasnoo's character is extremely obnoxious and unthankful to Mitchell for saving her. And just when you thought it couldn't get any more stupid, it turns out she is also a fighter and is entering Tong Po's tournament. Which now leads me to her performance. Not content with one hilariously bad character in the movie, we now have another one. You will get better line delivery from your average computer voice generating software program. Not only that, but in fight scenes with grown men who are mostly over a foot taller than her, it looks silly and unconvincing. I have no doubt she has skills and definitely has great flexibility, but this film does a very poor job in demonstrating that. Not all the fights are bad however and there are some decent ones, but Pyun ruins any excitement they may have had with bad camera angles and turning the camera towards the spectators or "Tong Po" at awkward moments.Overall, this is awful but I think anybody with the right kind of humour must see it as it's yet another example of film-making at the bottom of the food chain. I will give it that I found it absolutely painless to sit through unlike some of Pyun's other "movies". If you are after an exciting martial arts flick, then stay away. The climatic fight scene is especially funny, where Mitchell and the so called "Tong Po" battle it out on top of tables and after losing the battle, our plastic faced friend runs away leaving it open for another sequel. Yay! It hasn't happened and after the final product of Kickboxer 4 and the fact there's already been a 5 with completely new characters, I can safely say it won't happen. But to think that Pyun thought this was good enough to make another sequel and that his "Tong Po" was convincing enough to return doesn't say a lot for the intelligence of his target audience.

Kickboxer 4 (1994) is a down beat tale starring Sasha Mitchell. He's the last of the Sloanes (the two brothers from the first Kickboxer). A series of events have left Sloane in disgrace. His only saving grace is his beloved wife. The nasty Tong Po is back and he took Sloane's old lady. Now, he's on a mission. To find his wife and uphold the family's honor. Will this be the final battle between Sloane and the mean and nasty Tong Po? Check this one out! A fun film. Not a great one mid you but a watchable one. I wouldn't go out of my way looking for a copy however. If you love the Kickboxer series or a Sasha Mitchell fan then this one's for you. Average.CThe pint sized kung-fu fighter is a cutie.