The King of the Kickboxers (1990) User Reviews

Cheesy kung-fu fun from Hong Kong producer N.G.

[Captain_Couth · 7/10 · 2 July 2004]

The King of the Kickboxers (1991) was another U.S./Hong Kong co-production from N.G. and the other folks at Seasonal Films. Like most of N.G.'s productions, the kung-fu films that usual come from Seasonal are cheesy with a heavy dose of high energy fighting. That's what I like about his films. He doesn't even try to be serious or make an attempt to elevate the source material. This film is no exception.

An arrogant fighter is given an assignment to find out who's making "real" kung-fu movies in Thailand (like Mexico where life is cheap). He's also intrigued by the mission because of what happened to him the last time he visited Bangkok. Whilst in Bangkok he learns about the presence of a vicious Kickboxer (Billy Blanks). Not only does he get a free trip to Thailand but he can settle an old score.

Filled with many references to Kickboxer and parodies of other Seasonal Films productions. King of the Kickboxers is a very entertaining film. The film-makers and the actors seem to be having a whole lot of fun making this one. So sit back and relax. When watching this video gem remember "It's only a movie!"

Highly recommended!

A

**** Yeah!

[sveknu · 7/10 · 21 February 2010]

For a period of a couple of years, Loren Avedon appeared in several great martial arts movies with well choreographed, really fun and enjoyable martial arts action. King of the Kickboxers is another great movie and quite similar to the No Retreat, No Surrender movies which were all fun. It's entertainment from beginning to end, superb fighting is what this is about. Don't look for acting, story or things like that, because there aren't any. The appearance of Billy Blanks adds something extra to this film. He's a bad guy in this, and IMHO he suits that better than being a good guy. I think it's because he lacks that special 'good guy charisma', but as a villain he's great.

Cheesy Martial Arts goodness!

[Snoog · 6/10 · 19 June 2006]

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)

Pay close attention here...

[kphurley-1 · 9 August 2004]

This film is so focused on the fighting they forget the name of the main character...we are introduced to a cop named "Jake", but then the woman he is trying to save at the end can't be bothered to remember what his name is; she calls him "Jack" NUMEROUS TIMES.

There are so many other cheesy lines which have been mentioned in these reviews...how funny is it when Avedon, looking like he's going to burst into tears, sternly demands Blanks to LET THE GIRL GO!! Great stuff.

BTW...I believe Blanks' finisher is U, U, D, D, L, R, L, R, B, A.

Another Blah Chop-Socky

[karridine · 6/10 · 24 July 2006]

I played Mr Director, a talking bit-part, in the filming on-location at Khao Yai National Park, Thailand.

I won't bore you with production secrets like Sherri Rose running all the way from the National Park to downtown Bangkok in 17 seconds flat, I'll just focus on content.

Billy Blanks at that time was 7-Time All-World Full-Contact Karate Champion, in excellent form, hard as nails, and Avedon wasn't.

This sets the basic dilemma for the director: Keith Hirabachi was an All-American champion, Billy was a champion, but the STAR of the film wasn't up to much at all, karate-wise! So there are shots in the film where, in the thick of brawling, Avedon's hair changes to the exact color of his stunt-double's hair... or that ridiculous scene in the climax where Billy's thick, kicking leg is stopped by Avedon, who then ADJUSTS IT, in order to flip Billy...

Puh-leeze! Billy's bits, and Keith's and Ong's... they're authentic, and add something to the film... but as good an actor as Avedon is, with this plot/framework/vehicle and his skinny shanks, the film became a verging-on-ludicrous tale of "Chunky Yellow Man Teaches Skinny White Man to Beat BIG, THICK BLACK Man!" Its inauthentic, through and through...

But what the hey! Its a yarn! Karridine/John Kay

This flick ain't king

[PeterMitchell-506-564364 · 4/10 · 1 May 2013]

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.

Ring Of Fire...

[fmarkland32 · 7/10 · 16 June 2009]

Loren Avedon stars as Jake Donahue, a kung fu cop who is sent by interpol to take down a group of snuff filmmakers and get revenge for his brother's death, who was also killed by the snuff film star. King Of The Kickboxers is a tough film to review, on a lot of levels it's utterly dreadful but the fights are so utterly spectacular that one tends to give the benefit of the doubt and enjoy the film as a great martial arts film. Loren Avedon has some great moves and thankfully never takes the movie too seriously, and despite his cocky bravado manages to come off as sort of likable. Billy Blanks is also a great villain, and both Richard Jaeckel and Don Stroud provide credibility to a silly plot. As it goes, King Of The Kickboxers works in the same way a cheap Bruce Li film works except the fights are on par with Jackie Chan's 80s work and here goes why I recommend the movie in spite of good taste. Then again, if we can't appreciate trash what can we enjoy?

* * * out of 4-(Good)

A lovely B-category movie with the taste of the 80's but painful to watch

[iknowhwoyouare · 4/10 · 26 December 2019]

I think the title tells everything: 1) Horrible acting, 2) Horrible editing, 3) Horrible script, 4) Horrible direction. Horrible movie but with the lovely taste of the movies of the eighties. :-)

Shameless rip off but utterly forgivable!

[BrickNash · 8/10 · 19 February 2010]

The makers of this film are certainly no strangers to films that are "Inspired" by mainstream others. The company's earlier effort "No retreat No Surrender" was meant to be a take on the Karate Kid and this film is no different. Let's just get this out of the way now.......it's a Kickboxer rip off! In fact it goes beyond rip off in places with some parts and locations being nearly identical to the Van Damme film, it really is shameless!

Fortunately, Seasonal films are no slouches when it comes to fight scenes and here's where you start to forgive them for being such blatant pilferers. The Fights are truly spectacular, choreographed with such precise flow, speed and with such immense power. This film is a direct descendant of No Retreat No Surrender which was the first film to use western actors set in America with an Oriental production team and like it's ancestor it really is quite something. Gone are the traditional, slow movements of the 70's Kung-Fu films which were so akin to Shaw Brothers films at the time and in their place there is rip roaring torrents of brutal martial arts action.

Billy Blanks as Khan is a great, nay tremendous and utterly terrifying bad guy and it's always great to see the amazingly talented Keith Cooke (who almost steals the show here) but Loren Avedon is as hammy as ever despite his great fighting skill. Of course that's half the charm of these films and that statement is meant fully as a compliment. It certainly has captured the feel of Van Damme's Kickboxer although it doesn't match up to it in terms of polish or drama, but the fights more than make up for it!

Be like me, buy both and enjoy both!

the king of plagiarism

[talllwoood13 · 6/10 · 16 February 2022]

If you're into so bad they are good movies you'll have an absolute blast watching this movie. I saw a youtuber Viking Samurai watching this and immediately knew I had to watch it.

This is so heavily inspired by Kickboxer with Jean Claude Van Damme that it borders on plagiarism. Yes there are differences and Thailand is the capital of the world even today as far as I am aware for kickboxing but a brother gets hurt, in this case killed. A master trains this guy. There is a pretty woman the hero Jake falls in love with and unlike kickboxer they must have been shooting for an R rating as there is a tiny bit of nudity in this. One is a corpse which maybe a small handful of people could be into! Hey I'm not here to judge. Rule 34 my friends.

The acting in this movie is atrocious. Mortal Kombat 2 Annihilation, The Room (2003) or Miami Connection bad. I had to stop the movie a few times to laugh especially how silly that drug bust in the beginning was/is. These actors are more qualified to be in adult movies with this level of acting. I guess our old pal Jake wasn't packing a kendo stick .. wait. Wrong martial arts style. He SORT OF reminds me of. Lucas from The Wizard from 1989, that kid with the power glove thinking it was the best thing ever to play nintendo with. You remember it don't you? That awful nintendo movie where they say California about 30 or 40 times in it. I found he didn't have a tough guy look. He looks like a frat "bro" who something bad happens to in one of those movies like Reefer Madness. I couldn't take him seriously to the point if the guy could act maybe comedy would have been his thing if he's still acting. The only one who looks like a martial artist in this movie is Kahn (Billy Blanks).

The chemistry between Jake and Molly seriously reminded me of Lisa and Mark in The Room how at times and that is not a complement. I bet she was the only remotely pretty actress in Thailand who would work for what I imagine is a laughable pay cheque or was someone on the production staffs girlfriend that would date or sleep with someone if they put her in this movie. I wouldn't be proud of it that's for sure that I'm in this, if I was her shooting adult movies in Thailand I'd be more proud of.

They even plagiarized parts of the silly work out montage where they get Jake to do the splits. However this actor does it more than once and even tries to one up him by pulling the planks of wood under him whatever they are called back together. Got to love video editing rewind feature. This is the second case of if you can't think of something original just out do whatever it is. Oh we had 3 car chases.. heh.. we had 4. We're so original!

The underground fight to the death idea on film I really like. I feel if they did the movie a bit differently which this movie is often compared to a handful of others it might have had a bit more originality or a better following than some jerk writing a review over 30 years later because he found the acting hilariously awful. Even if it was Japan, Korea or something different. As disliked as Kahn is I feel he should have been in more of the movie where he beats up Jake at least once to really make him hate Jake. Plus of course the guy he randomly fights in the secluded area should have been in another movie as it doesn't look like he was in No Retreat No Surrender 2,3 or this one because he'd be surprised. I'm seriously considering watching parts 2 and 3 now because this was such a train wreck. This is compared to part 4 of it if the worlds most reliable website on the internet is.

The locations were good, nothing incredible, the music score I don't remember much. The acting was so bad this actually earned that 6/10. Otherwise a solid 4 or so. Yet the movie does have some fairly good pacing so i didn't get bored. In fact the only time I paused this was to laugh. Fun fact Billy Banks character Kahn inspired someone in a street fighter video game. They even mention JCVD in the movie how "aware" they are of this movie or maybe it's just a nod to him.

I actually enjoyed this more than the 2016 "reboots" with Alain Moussi. It's up there with Creed 1 (2015) which isn't a remake but how uninspired it is it might as well have been.

Ways to improve a better cast, especially the kick boxing master make Jake more likable, it's like an ego trip why is it 10 years later? Why not 5 to be more realistic less plagiarism around the ending it's insultingly convenient, maybe a larger budget?

The bad guy needs to fight Jake more than once, maybe in the streets before the fight or something.

If they waited 5 to 10 years they might have gotten JCVD when he got heavily addicted to drugs and no big film company wanted to hire him they could have made this with some tweaks.

The best fighting movie ever made!

[elianator · 10/10 · 26 August 2000]

It's an absolute shame that a movie this awesome isn't even available in print anymore, considering all of the other crap that is being re-released on DVD. It's also a shame that this movie, along with all of its contributors, have never received any notice (with the exception of Billy Blanks). And I'm being serious. Sure this is a b-movie, but how can anyone who's seen it overlook how much fun it is to watch? _The King of the Kickboxers_ is incredibly entertaining, and that's the whole point of any movie, with or without a compelling plot and acting.

Everything about this movie is awesome. The dialogue is corny and the acting is campy, but how can you complain? This just gives you something to laugh at. Most mainstream viewers will cringe at the poor acting and turn away from this movie, not even realizing that it can be funny.

Those people will then miss out on the incredible fighting scenes, which are quite frequent. There isn't a single movie out there with moves as cool as the ones here. You'd never expect to see stuff like this anywhere other than in your imagination, but somehow, the fighters managed to throw attacks at lighting speeds and launched multiple kicks in mid-air without landing (not even Michael Jordan gets this much hangtime)! All the scenes are fast-paced and beautifully coordinated, with camera angles that really get you into the action.

Even the limited music is excellent. It is not only pleasing to listen to, but effectively helps to set the mood of the scenes. It can give you a creepy feeling at times, and is best used in the final fight scene where the drum beat kicks in to get you into the mood of the action and later as it shifts to a triumphant tone, you can't help but cheer for the good guy as he makes his comeback victory.

And finally, the plot is perfect for this type of film--simple and limited. Most of the movie is dedicated to the action scenes, while plot developments painlessly interrupt to help support the characters so you can develop feelings about them. The whole movie had the feel of a video game. The protagonist battles through his enemies and works his way up to reach who is ultimately the bad guy and defeats him. The bad guy even has his own finishing move (an awesome one at that) that the good guy must look out for. This is all just like a video game; another reason why I love this movie!

This is by far the best fighting movie ever, and I've seen quite a few of them. And after serious consideration, I've concluded that this is one of the best movies ever made in any genre. Do whatever you can to see this movie. And if you've already seen this movie but hated it, do me and yourself a favor and watch it again, this time with my review in mind.

Entertainingly insane!

[tarbosh22000 · 6/10 · 19 March 2011]

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.

Snuff + Kung-Fu: Great fun!

[ultra_tippergore · 2 February 2007]

This is how martial arts film should be (excluding Ricky-Oh that is the best movie ever).An undercover "kickboxer" cop travel to Thailand to investigate some kung fu movies were they really kill people, "snuff kung fu" movies. He also have a personal interest, one of the killers is the guy who killed his brother 10 years ago. The movie is similar in structure to Kickboxer(the one with Van Damme) but this one is ten times more entertaining...you know, the guy who seeks revenge, training and fighting. The dialogs are ridiculous like in every movie of this kind but some fights are very cool. but the plus of the "snuff" movies is the key. Also, the character played by Billy Blanks as the "executor" in the snuff films looks like an inspiration to Machine in 8mm.Very recommended!

I love director Lucas Lowe

[jordondave-28085 · 7/10 · 7 April 2023]

(1990) King of the Kickboxers ACTION

Jake Donahue (Loren Avedon) who is now a cop,seeking retribution after witnessing his brother's death 10 years earlier, against a killer martial artist named Khan (Billy Blanks) involve in attempting to make money from martial arts snuff films in Bangkok Thailand.

The thin backdrop is to showcase actual martial artists do their thing that has similar tone to many Hong Kong films of the 1980's and the 1990's that made them fun to watch in the first place. The person who directed this by the name of Lucas Lowe who directed the most action packed "No Retreat No Surrender" movie of the entire series, which is the third one, the impressive fight sequences are just as realistic and hard hitting as any Hong Kong movie.

A warning to the dramatics who demand great acting- Anyone wanting to see this thinking s/he are going to see some great acting, than many of you are going to be very disappointed, okay! If the genre says action than i want to see some great action, if it's drama then I'll go and see a drama movie. Does that make sense- it makes sense to me!

A real hoot

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 4 July 2019]

THE KING OF THE KICKBOXERS is a delight for anyone who loves cheesy fight flicks inspired by Van Damme's KICKBOXER. This one's the ultimate rip-off, a completely laughable enterprise that manages to entertain thanks to incredibly wooden acting, laughable line delivery, hilarious scripting and fight scenes that manage to impress despite being completely over the top and unrealistic. The plot is once again focused on revenge for the death of a murdered brother, with the exceptional Billy Blanks filling the screen as the big bad guy. Loren Avedon goes through his training sequences with relish and even big blond mullet guy Jerry Trimble shows up as a drug dealer. It's a real hoot and the wicker cage fight ending has to be seen to be believed.

Loren Avedon 4 life brother!

[peterpants66 · 10/10 · 23 October 2009]

So you thought you could go to Thailand and win a kickbox fight and everything would be all right, WRONG. There's tradition and honor and snuff films being made on the side and your brother is dead now What-cha-goona do brother? Your going to train your but off and avenge his death. This movie goes beyond good, Loren Avedon is the brother of a champion kickboxer whose brutally slain by a seemingly unavoidable three kick combination that bad guy turned abdominal maximizer Billy Blanks throws with reckless abandon. This is a martial arts movie where people look like there really getting hurt. And if you haven't seen No Retreat No Surrender 3 blood brothers, do yourself a favor and try that one. Just about anything L.A. is in im into, he knows how to woo the lady's and he knows how to throw a mean roundhouse kick. The back story gives way to the training sequence which ends up with the showdown. And plenty of repeatable quotes in between. My favorite is at the end when Loren meets Blanks again for the final battle, after he throws a picture of his brother to blanks, yeah THROWS a picture, has to be seen. They go into this hypnotic exchange and the whole thing bubbles over into mega kickbox violence ending. Ten thumbs up don't rent it Own it.

KOTK kicks ass!!!!

[wong-3 · 9/10 · 16 February 1999]

KOTK kicks ass!!!! THe acting is really crap, but as a fan of all 3 No Retreat, No Surrender films, this beats them all hands down. Billy Blanks gets his head to play with, in OTT karate scenes. Prang (the metal-handed guy from China O'Brien), is small but deadly. If you want a laugh and plenty of fighting, and you like the cheap B-movie karate films, then look at this.

I love it

[Vogler · 7 December 2003]

I can't explain it, but I love this movie. What gives that movie the edge is the performance of Keith Cooke and Billy Blanks. Loren Avedon cannot keep up with them although he plays the main character (who is quite arrogant in my opinion). The film features decent fights with moody music, all overacted and unrealistic but highly entertaining. When Jake, still in the US, watches that movies and complains about their low quality, its "No retreat, no surrender 3" (starring Loren Avedon, too) and one might find a small piece of self-irony, too.

Movie magic - Loren Avedon glitters through this one

[bad_habitt · 10/10 · 14 November 2005]

One of the most amazing films you will ever get a chance to see. The story line is portrayed in such a way that it will captivate you and never let you take you take your eyes of it. That is until the very last closing credit rolls and you'll think to yourself "Wow… I think I like the art of film twice as much now after seeing this amazing movie".

Loren Avedon should have his own Hollywood Walk Of Fame star after this film. He is simply matchless as the lead. It's almost like he was born to play the perfect action hero and he did in this film.

King of the Kickboxers is also filled with countless marvelous dialogue that you will be quoting 10 years after you watch it. It is also delivered in a manner that is extraordinary and unprecedented in any film ever made. It's like the actors devised a new way of acting. It is truly astonishing in the very sense of the word.

Finally the fighting is like none other; incredibly creative, imaginative, artistic and original. The emotion portrayed and depicted in them is equally inspiring and captivating. Also the cinematography, editing, film score and directing are first rate and fuse wonderfully from start to finish. I honestly feel really happy that I was able to see this film. I don't think I'll ever forget it.

10\10 – Don't miss it for anything.

This should be called "Kickboxer : The Remake"

[The__Watcher · 8/10 · 20 January 2001]

I thought this movie was really like "Kickboxer"(Van Damme). It had the same kind of plot. It had the same destination , Thailand. I think it was a major copy of Kickboxer , but it was enjoyable. It had good training music and the fights were done so good , but the acting was real bad , overall I give this 8/10.

I care Jackson!

[montana_railty · 9/10 · 8 March 2019]

This movie may have some cheesy moments, but if you look past that, you can rally appreciate the art it has with actors that have the ability to perform martial arts. It's truly amazing!! Heavily underrated!

The Greatest, It's So Bad Its Good, Movie of All time!

[Dark_Lord_Mark · 10/10 · 30 December 2014]

Lauren Avedon as Jake Donahue! Billy Blanks as Khan! Good vs Evil! WHO WINS!!!! How do you rate something so over the top so over exaggerated, so full of itself. The plot will not win Oscars, the lines are just insane and the acting ,oh boy the acting is so...so...incredibly over the top, it's so good.

Avedon plays a cop who sees his antagonist in Billy Blanks after years of searching and his memory is jogged. Essentially Lauren Avedon is OUT FOR VENGEANCE and has to become the King of the Kickboxers if he has any chance of surviving his secret mission to stop evil.

This movie is right up there with Superfights and No Retreat, No Surrender as some really fun so bad, it's good, martial arts flicks we saw pop up in the mid 70's to early 90's. These movies were the pinnacle of guy-dom, in an era which we saw T2 and Turtles and the Ooze....this was a lost gem that ALL men and true guys who love movies should worship an deserves to be seen.

It's the Troll 2 of action movies, so fun to watch and make fun of.

Star, Lauren Avedon, is the Nicolas Cage of action movies; so over the top, he over acts...he's so good at it, you cannot stop watching. From his Star Wars Episode III Darth Vader like, "Noooooooooooooooooo...." to his egotistical cheesy one liners in fights and other quizzical one liners throughout, King of Kickboxers is the pinnacle of "It's so bad, it's good?"

Could this be the BEST Worst Movie of All Time? I think it is.

Highly Recommended, 10 out of 10 in terms of fun and action. MUST SEE!

Cheap, rousing entertainment

[BBmanDawn · 2 July 2002]

Ridiculously good martial arts choreography combined with laughably bad dialogue and an outlandish plot that borrows heavily from Kickboxer add up to a very enjoyable fighting movie. Seeing the film in Middle School when it was on cable I had trouble getting past the poor film stock, and substitution of water in the mouth as fake blood was probably too expensive to use. Coupled with lousy acting and poorly-lit sets, I just enjoyed the fighting scenes (probably on a day when I had my fill of Van Damme and Seagal). Looking back on it recently, the choreography is some of the best ever put on celluloid, and it holds up tremendously against just about all of the other fight scenes from the 90s. A combination of beautiful foreign locales, some pretty intense stunts, and a sense that the director was going for a "let's be satisfied with the first take of any non-action scene" attitude, the movie is a guilty, but VERY impressive martial arts film.

Best Martial Art Fighting Movie Period

[RandelRed · 10/10 · 1 March 2012]

I can't believe the score this movie gets around 5/10. Are you kidding me. This movie is in my Top 10 movies of all time. I love Loren Avedon, I'm a huge fan of him.

This movie basically gets everything right and I mean everything. The training scenes are awesome, you really hate the villain, you like the hero, the music was great and the fighting was the best ever (high energy kick butt action). Billy Blanks and Loren Avedon a great combination, like Peanut butter and Chocolate.

It's simple stuff, but you won't believe how many movies screw that up.

When I watched this movie it came on The Movie Channel (HBO, or Showtime in USA). I knew from the preview trailer that this movie was awesome. God was I right.

The side-effect of this movie was, I kept looking for similar movies like this and boy was that a bad idea. 80-90's American martial art movies are really bad. I saw around 200 of them and maybe 10 were OK, however none of them came close to King of the Kickboxers.

Finest movie ever made.

[dcsiddell · 10/10 · 20 January 2004]

Laughed til my shoes fell off, keith strandburg is a genius. The comedy alone in this movie is worth it, the great fight scenes are just a bonus. If I had the chance to make out with Loren Avedon, I probably would, and I'm not even gay. superb video game element. as a side note: to get the billy blank's finishing move use - DOWN for 2 seconds plus UP and B.