BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Steineded How sad is this?

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

your_friendly_reviewer Good:-the acting is way over the top.-the fight scenes are pretty darn good.-the soundtrack is cheesy making it hilarious.Bad:-not many know of this movie-people with no sense of humour will rate this lower than it should.Overall:Watching this movie requires a sense of humour, I can't stress that enough. If you watch this with friends you'll end up with lots of jokes to share.Notes:The scene where Billy Blanks uses a pole to hit Jake and ends of lifting him up out of danger. Pay attention to Jake's face. HAHAHA!Prang (his fighting coach) is a sicko. He loves monkeys and encourages Jake to have lots of sex before big fights LOL. Terrible coaching.Why blow up the bamboo thunderdome??

PeterMitchell-506-564364 This kickboxing straight to video flick, I have to admire it's twist on it's story, plus of course, the personal angle. While witnessing his older brother having the life kicked out of him by this big, unbeatable oaf, as a kid, now many years, later, Loren-now an unorthodox undercover cop, you can't help but love, due to his charm, is given a new assignment. A band of sicko's + the oaf, Khan, are making snuff films where Khan, mostly the main player, does his stuff. Of course not wanting to return to Thailand, due to that tragedy many years ago, when viewing a snuff tape, he of course, reconsiders, and he's there lickety split. Loren's way over dramatic acting, that's laughable, had me in a utter state of unbelief, among some other amateur performers, of course excluding legends (Richard Jaeckel, who overacts some too, like in one early confrontational scene shared with Loren, plus Don Stroud who's really only in two scenes, you wonder why he bothered. He doesn't even look like he wants to be there, and I for one don't blame him. Loren does though add personality and spark, his screen presence does pull you in. While in Thailand, Loren is tutored by an older professional kick boxer who went up against Khan, and payed a heavy price. Now it's up to Loren to avenge the past, by taking on Khan, where of course we know the overthrowing result that makes a happy ending. Loren falls in love too, with a girl, whose dreams didn't work out the way she had planned. She's one of a flock of working girls, who are all considered by our numbskull Khan, and others, as beautiful which they aren't. When selected by Khan, Lorens soon to be lover, makes a mad dash, repulsed to the max. Let's face it, Khan isn't someone a girl would like to take home for her mother to meet. KOTK is a barely adequate, but really an under par martial arts flick, the movie riding on a too light, though original story, worth it's weight in Khan's IQ.

Comeuppance Reviews In this Seasonal Films production, the insufferable Loren Avedon plays Jake Donahue, a New York City undercover cop with, you guessed it, a bad attitude, who, you guessed it, plays by his own rules. He is sent by his Captain, O'Day (Jaeckel) who is working with Interpol, to Thailand to bust up a snuff film ring. While there he meets up with his contact in the area, Anderson (Stroud) and mannish love interest Molly (Rose, who must have stretched every acting muscle in her body to pretend she actually was into Avedon). However, it seems Donahue has a history in Thailand, as his brother was murdered there by the mysterious Khan (Blanks). Coincidentally, the nefarious Khan is the star of these films where the martial arts is so real, you die on impact. The producers of the films recruit young fighters from tournaments, promising them stardom, and when they get to the set, Khan kills them. So, seeing as Donahue is also a kickboxing man, he goes undercover as a naive punchfighter with stars in his eyes so he can get a shot at Khan and get revenge. The only problem is, he's not as good as Khan, so Prang (Cooke) takes him under his wing and trains him. Will Donahue get the closure he seeks? Loren Avedon in this movie is so annoyingly cocky, and so devoid of one ounce of humility, you actually, weirdly enough, like Billy Blanks more as the evil Khan. Sure, Khan is pure malevolence, but he's secure in his total diabolical-ness and you love him for it. It's a lot harder to get behind the weaselly Avedon as the main hero.The plot aside, there is excellent fight choreography and some punishing blows. Fans of fast-paced, well-executed moves will find a lot to appreciate here. Richard Jaeckel plays the classic 'yelling police captain' with aplomb, and the husky-voiced Sherrie Rose of Maximum Force (1992) fame is a serviceable love interest who calls Avedon's character "Jack". Perhaps she wished he was someone else that badly. The Pauly Shore-like Cooke does a good job as the trainer of Donahue and has the patience of a saint. His sidekick, a lovable chimp, practically steals the movie. Cooke does have some awesome moves - also check him out in China O'Brien (1990). Billy Blanks is great as the big heavy. His bulging eyes and funny faces are present and accounted for. Jerry Trimble appears in the opening, prerequisite "abandoned warehouse" scene simply as "Drug Dealer". Han Soo Ong, of Last to Surrender (1999) fame, who plays a local kickboxer, gets one of the best lines of the movie when he tells Donahue "You've never faced a real kickboxing". Loren Avedon, with his jean jacket with fringed sleeves and fanny pack, is simply an unlikable jerk, but he does get some winners in the dialogue department, as well as some memorable yells. This movie overall could have been improved if the audience actually liked the hero.The pure silliness of the whole outing comes to the fore at the final confrontation, when Avedon tops his previous ridiculous casual outfits with a formal getup that can only be described as an "elf jester" suit. When you see it, you'll know what we mean.Entertainingly insane, for a punchfighting mini-classic, check out King of the Kickboxers.

Snoog Loren Avedon stars as Jake Donahue…try and guess from the name what his occupation is…yes; correct, he's a cop. Not only that, he's your stereotypical cop on the edge who plays by his own rules, and you can bet that his actions on the streets always have the "mayor up the commissioners a**".During a visit to Thailand when he was a kid, he witnessed his Kick Boxing champ of a brother get the tar beat out of him by big bad a** Khan (Billy Blanks)…His brother died, and then Jake got a spanking too ("Something to remember me by!" – Khan). This event turned Jake into the man he is today…a right p****d off barrel of p**s and vinegar.After Jake spanks a bit too much a**e whilst undercover, his captain assigns him to investigate a snuff movie racket in Thailand. Whilst viewing a couple of the movies (one of which just so happens to be No Retreat, No Surrender 3 which starred Avedon) he sees Khan, the man who murdered his brother. Goddamn, Donahue really wants this case bad now, the Mother Hubbard has a score to settle…and off to Thailand he goes.Whilst there he meets Prang (played by good 'ol Keith Cooke) an apparent drunk tramp that once came very close to defeating Khan. And of course, after the usual "No, I will not teach you" tomfoolery, Jake becomes Prangs student to prepare himself for his eventual showdown with Khan in what can only be described as "Kung Fu Thunderdome".It's all great stuff; you've got all the ingredients for a great b-movie action flick.Clichéd cop good guy? Yes! Shouty police captain? Yes! Training montage? Yes Cheesy bad guy? Yes! T*t shot? Yes! Swift one liners? Yes! Lots of action & violence? Of course!The fight scenes are really top notch when compared to other American b-movie fare of the time, they're pretty speedy and intricate…OK so they're not 15 minute long epics, and the 3 foot tall Chinese guy that doubles for Avedon's more acrobatic moves sticks out like a sore thumb, but they're still entertaining. It's just a shame that Keith Cooke doesn't get more to do, but what he does do is fantastic. During his main fight scene he shows off his trademark kicking skills with lightning fast accuracy with no signs of under cranking. As Robert Clouse once said, "Cooke is a fast with his feet as Bruce Lee was with his hands," I certainly wouldn't argue with that.Avedon is someone I've always thought was a great on screen fighter, and very underrated too. He's fast and looks very powerful, although his occasional screams of fury and taunts can be a little on the Edam side of things, but ah, it just adds to the charm of the movie in my opinion…if I wanted top quality acting I would be watching something else wouldn't I?Of course we can't leave out Mr Tae Bo Billy Blanks, yes before he made his fortune with his work out videos he was starring in movies like this. He's great in the movie, sneering constantly, speaking like a robot and kicking plenty a**e. He's a big fella and apart from some occasional cheese, he can be quite intimidating at certain points of the movie.I can heartily recommend this, depending on your preferences you'll either be grinning from ear to ear or cringing and frowning till your face looks like an anus.(Taken from my forum - http://sjcultmovies1.proboards23.com)