Overview
When Karate champion Michael Rivers wins the last tournament of his career, shady businessman Ron Hall offers him the opportunity to fight in an illegal Kumite in Bulgaria against the world’s best martial artists. When Michael declines, Hall has his daughter kidnapped and, in order to rescue her, Rivers is left with no choice but to compete in the deadly tournament. Arriving in Bulgaria, he finds out that he is not the only fighter whose loved one was taken. Rivers enlists the help of trainers Master Loren, and Julie Jackson but will it be enough for him to win the tournament and save his daughter’s life?
Reviews
Good throwback to the 80s. Not perfect, but its very good for the budget. It's like the Expendables, seeing all the 90s martial arts stars like Kurt McKinney, Matthias Hues, Cynthia Rothrock, etc. The best part of the film is the soundtracks done by Paul Hertzog and Stan Bush (also behind Bloodsport/Kickboxer). Some gripes were that I think while the fights were good, they were way too short. To add to that I think the extras who fought were too old and bland (except for the Muay Thai, Capoeira, and the guy who fought Kurt McKinney). It made the amazing training montages build up to something sort of underwhelming. It has its moments though. Unfortunately, some things happened in the films' production limited its huge potential. Such as inflation, the director getting kicked out of post-prod, David Yeung injured(?), Viking Samurai appearance (very cringe and delusional fella), etc.
Overall, I think the film has succeded in its purpose, if they make a sequel, I think they should add stars like Loren Avedon, Gary Daniels, etc. with a different plot. I give this movie a 6/10.
