The Last Kumite

The Last Kumite attempts to emulate the success of "Bloodsport" but falls flat with its amateurish acting and predictable storyline. The performances are cringe-worthy, lacking depth and authenticity, making it difficult to connect with any of the characters. The fight scenes, meant to be the film's highlight, come across as clumsy and uninspired, failing to capture the intensity and skill seen in similar martial arts films. Overall, this Bloodsport rip off disappoints as a cheap imitation that struggles to rise above its low-budget origins, offering little more than a forgettable viewing experience.

In the world of great remakes (like Cobra Kai), this is an amateur try. Despite of a wonderful cast that gathers some former cult names of the martial arts movie world like Kurt McKinney, Matthias Hues, Cinthia Rothrock and Billy Blanks - all of them playing together should be kind of a sensation -the movie seems pale. Don´t get me wrong: The original Bloodsport also has some less professional scenes (like the backflashes to Frank Dux´past), but is a lot more epic. It´s also obvious how incredibly handsome, elegant and charismatic JCVD was in such a movie. Mathis Landwehr is a fit an sympathetic, probably very skilled fighter, but seems quite unimportant in comparence. This may also be due to the films budget, which is less than Bloodsport had 30 years ago. Most of it probably was used for the actors, so there wasn´t much left for the script (big mistake!), camera and locations. Probably culty to watch for some, but a "fan-movie" that will be forgotten quickls.

Story: Karate champion Rivers (Mathis Landwehr) retires to avoid permanent injuries. Soon after, shady businessman Hall (Hues) offers him a huge prize to join a deadly Kumite tournament. Michael declines, but his daughter Bree (Kira Kortenbach) is kidnapped. To save her, Michael must enter the tournament.

The film is as shallow and superficial as the story, with nonsensical dialogues.

Fight scenes poorly choreographed, though Mike Möller's fights were a highlight.

Others actors were shoddy and sluggish.

This is not a B-Movie. A D-Movie. D for dreadful/disgraceful mess.

Next time, Clarkson should bring Til Schweiger, and throw in Steven Seagal to complete the disaster!

I give it 2 stars only because of Mike Möller and Michel Qissi.

The Director was not allowed to be involved in the post production.

This is the Producers edit, all comments should be directed at Sean. So for anyone who has a comment about the director he's not to blame for the editing, the sound mix or the colour grading.

From: imdb-767-417450 "The film is as shallow and superficial as the story, with nonsensical dialogues.

Fight scenes poorly choreographed, though Mike Möller's fights were a highlight.

Others actors were shoddy and sluggish.

This is not a B-Movie. A D-Movie. D for dreadful/disgraceful mess.

Next time, Clarkson should bring Til Schweiger, and throw in Steven Seagal to complete the disaster!

From: Gubbe.

"The Last Kumite" is a major disappointment on multiple fronts. The directing by Ross W. Clarkson lacks any creativity or coherence, leaving scenes feeling disjointed and poorly paced. The editing is equally subpar, with jarring cuts that disrupt the flow of action and narrative. Sound design is another glaring issue, featuring inconsistent audio levels and poorly integrated sound effects that detract from the immersion. The casting choices are puzzling, as many of the actors, despite their martial arts credentials, deliver wooden and uninspired performances. The acting is universally poor, with stilted dialogue and a lack of emotional depth, making it difficult to connect with any of the characters. Overall, "The Last Kumite" fails to capture the spirit of classic martial arts films, offering instead a bland and hopefully forgettable experience.

Sorry, how can you blame the director when he was not allowed to be involved in the post?

80's / 90's martial arts flicks might have been low budget affairs with simple stories, but they also held a certain level of polish, grit whilst entertaining if that makes any sense. You don't get that mix with 'The Last Kumite' which leaves it to get by on nostalgia. As is it typical of dtv movies trying to stretch their dollar - the whole thing is shot in Europe - and the overall quality is lacking. The vibe is off. Not much real fun, one note villains and though some honest effort is put into it's hand to hand sequences little is memorable.

Michael Rivers (Mathis Landwehr) wins a karate tournament in NYC with his teen daughter cheering him on under the eye of Ron Hall (Matthias Hues) and his right hand Wolf (Michel Qissi). He wants him in a Kumite tourney he hosts and when Rivers says no they kidnap his daughter to force his hand. The odds on favorite to win is Hall's champ Dracko (Mike Derudder) who's never been beaten. To muster the skills needed he gains allies in fellow fighters (Kurt McKinney, Mounia Moula) and former opponents, trainers (Billy Blanks, Cynthia Rothrock) of Drago. With the local law bought off, the only option is to win.

Blanks & Rothrock's roles aren't fancy, but they get quick moments of their own. Hues relishes being the baddie, but the name 'Ron Hall' is far from menacing and he isn't given much to do for most of the pic other than spout dialog. Ditto Qissi. Skilled stuntwoman Moula stands out as the sole female fighter for both good & bad. McKinney is game, but also too old to be here. By now you might be starting to get the idea the flick is banking on all these vintage names and you're right. It's all the cliches, obvious budget limitations not doing anyone favors.

Dracko grunts while he menacingly flexes. A bare bones hero, training montages and some Stan Bush music tracks teleport you back to the 80's. 'The Last Kumite' was partially a crowdfunded project and you can tell there's a lot of love, passion for movies of yesterday fueling it. That doesn't make it's short fight scenes, clunky story any better though. Convenient help around every corner and though you're told he owns the police yet go to them anyhow? Okay.