Kickboxer 3: The Art of War | |
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Directed by | Rick King |
Produced by | Michael D. Pariser |
Written by | Dennis A. Pratt |
Starring | Sasha Mitchell Dennis Chan Richard Comar Noah Verduzco Alethea Miranda |
Music by | Harry Manfredini |
Cinematography | Edgar Moura |
Editing by | Daniel Loewenthal |
Distributed by | Live Entertainment Columbia TriStar |
Release date(s) | September 4, 1992 |
Running time | 92 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English Portuguese |
Kickboxer 3: The Art Of War is a 1992 direct-to-video martial-arts film directed by Rick King. The film is the third in the Kickboxer film series with only Sasha Mitchell and Dennis Chan returning from the previous films.
The movie opens with a distressed woman being chased through a tropical forest by an unknown pursuer. It is soon revealed that the woman is attempting to escape imprisonment at the hands of Frank Lane, an American running an illegal child sex ring operation in Brazil. Upon being recaptured, she is taken back to Lane's home and executed in front of the other slaves, as punishment for her actions.
Meanwhile, kickboxing champion David Sloan and his trainer Xian arrive in Rio de Janiero for an exhibition bout. Though Xian is mostly interested in training for the upcoming fight, Sloan dismisses the idea in favor of relaxing in the city.
While eating lunch, their camera is suddenly stolen by a young thief, and Sloan immediately gives chase. After fending off a group of drunken assailants, he catches up to the boy who then brandishes a knife, but Sloan easily disarms him and takes back the camera. When the boy follows him back to the restaurant attempting to reclaim the knife, Xian invites both Marcos and his beautiful sister Isabella to join them for lunch, and they eventually become friends.
At a charity kickboxing event, Sloan is asked to be the cornerman for another young fighter in a match against Eric Martine, an Argentine kickboxer (managed by Lane) whose overly aggressive behavior leads Sloan to intervene in the match. Excited by the prospect of a grudge match between Sloan and Martine, Lane eagerly arranges the fight.
Later, Sloan brings both Marcos and Isabella to a formal banquet as his personal guests. At the event, Sloan once again crosses paths with Lane, who is instantly infatuated with Isabella. When Sloan parts ways with the children for the night, Lane secretly sends out a group of men to kidnap her. In a panic, Marcos asks for Sloan's help and they file a police report, but with an overwhelming backlog of unsolved cases on their hands, the authorities do not consider their case a priority and advise them to simply forget about Isabella.
Frustrated, Sloan and Xian decide to launch their own investigation, which ultimately leads to their arrest. Although Lane bails them out in an attempt to cover his tracks, the two continue their search, only to find that the trail inevitably leads right back to him. They attempt to confront Lane in his home, but are subsequently ambushed and taken prisoner.
Lane then proceeds to torture Sloan over the course of several days, forcing him to engage in a series of grueling exercises designed to weaken him before his match with Martine. He then releases both men back to their hotel, at which point Xian is able to create and administer a cure for Sloan's fatigue.
At the fight, Sloan manages to defeat Martine, and Xian is successful in rescuing Isabella before Lane can flee the arena. Upon being reunited with Marcos, she tells him about the other girls Lane has captured and imprisoned, and Sloan resolves to free them as well. In retaliation, Lane pulls a gun on Sloan intending to shoot him, but Marcos suddenly appears and stabs Lane in the stomach with his knife.
In the end, the police chief decides to cover up Lane's murder, and Sloan arranges for Marcos and Isabella to attend school. Upon realizing that they have missed their flight back home, Sloan, Xian, and the police chief decide to go out for drinks together.
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