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Cast:
Loren
Avedon
Don
Stroud
Billy
Blanks
Keith
Cooke
Jerry
Trimble
Sherrie
Rose
David
Michael Sterling
Action:
Tony
Leung Siu Hung
Producer:
Ng
See Yuen
Keith
W. Strandberg
Director:
Lucas
Lowe
Score:
 
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THE
KING OF THE KICKBOXERS
AKA:
No Retreat, No Surrender 4 ||
Karate Tiger 4
Year:
1991 Reviewer: Tony
Ryan
Although
this is unofficially thought of as a sequel to the 'No
Retreat, No Surrender' series that Loren Avedon also
featured in; it really bares little resemblance to the (still
loose!) storylines of the original trilogy. Instead, we are
treated to a grim tale of "snuff" movies being
filmed in Thailand with the high kicking executions coming
courtesy of Billy Blanks (- the founder of the boxercise
regime "Tae Bo").
Avedon is sent undercover to infiltrate the snuff movie
network and bring it down, but he has an ulterior motive in
that Blanks was also responsible for his brother’s murder
when he was a boy.
To
be honest, this is essentially just another generic revenge
story with other loose plot elements giving the excuse for a
barrage of stylised fight sequences. Fortunately, those fights
are of a high standard and compare favourably to those in the
original 'NR,NS' series choreographed by Corey Yuen Kwai.
Although Yuen Kwai is not the director or chief choreographer
here, he does take charge of one sequence in which the
underrated Keith Cooke dispatches a group of thugs with his
own incredible brand of fast spinning kicks, and is quite
possibly the best sequence in the film - if a little too
short. Avedon too is a tremendous martial artist and gets to
strut his stuff against Blanks at the end in a particularly
brutal encounter.
Not
the greatest martial arts films ever made, but certainly one
of the best to come out of America. It's a shame that such
talented physical performers as Loren Avedon and Keith Cooke
never got the chance to impress in HK's golden era and face
off against some of the East's best. Nevertheless I definitely
recommend this to those who enjoyed the earlier 'NR,NS' films
and similar mindless, but well styled, action flicks.
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