''The King of the Kickboxers'' (also known as ''Karate Tiger V'' and ''No Retreat, No Surrender 4'') is a 1990
martial arts film
Martial arts films are a subgenre of action films that feature numerous martial arts combat between characters. These combats are usually the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often are a method of storytelling and character expres ...
directed by Lucas Lowe and starring
Loren Avedon as Jake Donahue and
Billy Blanks
William Wayne Blanks (born September 1, 1955) is an American fitness personality, martial artist, actor, and the creator of the Tae Bo exercise program.
Early life and education
Blanks was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. He began his study of th ...
as Khan.
Plot
1981,
Bangkok, Thailand
Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated population ...
. Sean Donahue is in the kickboxing ring against the current Thai champion. In his corner is his little brother Jake, who is cheering Sean on. Sean is able to overpower his opponent and wins after a spin kick knocks the Thai fighter out. Sean is rewarded with the championship. En route to their hotel after the fight, Jake and Sean are ambushed by some armed men. Sean is able to fight them off until he is shot at by Khan, who warned Sean he was not to have won the fight. Sean admits that it wasn't his intention but the opponent wasn't much of a contender. Khan, angry with the decision, fights Sean and obliterates him in front of young Jake. Khan performs a triple kick combination starting with a double
jump kick
A jump kick is a type of kick in certain martial arts and in martial-arts based gymnastics, with the particularity that the kick is delivered while in the air, specifically moving ("flying") into the opponent after a running start to gain forwar ...
to the head, followed by a double jump kick to the chest and a jump spinning
back kick
A kick is a physical strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee strike). This type of atta ...
, which kills Sean. Jake, saddened and angry, races towards Khan who beats Jake up and knocks him out.
It has been ten years and Jake is now a
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
detective who has gone
undercover
To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an indi ...
to bust a drug deal in an abandoned warehouse. Jake mocks the dealer and tells the dealer that he is a cop. The dealer laughs it off at first, until Jake reveals his badge and wire, which infuriates his fellow officers. The dealer and his two men attempt to begin fighting Jake, who resorts to a street fighting style to ultimate stop the dealer and his men.
SWAT
In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
arrives and the team leader is unhappy with Jake for his actions. Back at the office, Jake is getting reamed out by Captain O'Day, who tells Jake the dealer may have a chance to call police brutality due to his actions. However, O'Day makes Jake a deal that could get him out of his potential bind. Interpol has contacted NYPD about an operation involving
snuff film
A snuff film, or snuff movie, or snuff video, is a type of film that shows, or purports to show, scenes of actual homicide. The concept of snuff films became known to the general public during the 1970s, when an urban legend alleged that a cland ...
s and wants Jake to take on the operation. When Jake learns the operation is in Thailand, Jake refuses to take the assignment. However, that night, while viewing one of the films, he learns the man who stars in the film is Khan, which triggers the flashback of his brother's death. When Jake gets a call from O'Day to let him off the hook, Jake tells him he's taking the assignment.
Upon his arrival in
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, Jake meets his contact Anderson, who tells him that the men behind the snuff films look around for fighters to star in their films. Therefore, Jake must find a way to get attention. While this is going on, an American fighter, Dan Handel, is the latest star of Khan's new film, in which he learns the hard way about what filming is like. When Dan is cut for real and then shot at, he is shocked to discover the body of a dead woman. Khan arrives and beats up Dan before
impaling
Impalement, as a method of torture and execution, is the penetration of a human by an object such as a stake, pole, spear, or hook, often by the complete or partial perforation of the torso. It was particularly used in response to "crimes aga ...
him on a
hook
A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...
, causing his death. Jake's first attempt at a
Muay Thai
Muay Thai ( th, มวยไทย, , ), sometimes referred to as Thai boxing, is a combat sport that uses stand-up striking along with various clinching techniques. This discipline is known as the "art of eight limbs", as it is characterised ...
school proves to be unsuccessful. However, his actions grab the attention of Thasi, a
Thai-American
Thai Americans ( th, ชาวอเมริกันเชื้อสายไทย; formerly referred to as Siamese Americans) are Americans of Thai ancestry.
History in the US
The 1930 Census recorded just 18 ‘Siamese’ Americans. Acco ...
Muay Thai fighter. That night, as a reward for his latest actions, Khan is given a chance to choose a woman to spend the night with and chooses Molly, an American who came to Thailand to start a modeling career only to find herself duped with nowhere else to go. When she tricks Khan into doing a tradition of washing up for him, she escapes. When Khan sends men after her, Jake comes to her rescue and the two form a bond.
The next day, Thasi follows Jake, Jake confronts him only to be beaten up. Jake is convinced that he will need more than street smarts if he plans to defeat Khan. Thasi, knowing Jake will not be able to stand a chance against Khan with his current skill, recommends a fighter named Prang, who is the only man to come close to defeating Khan. Since the devastating loss, Prang has resorted to becoming a
hermit
A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions.
Description
In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Ch ...
living off the
Mekong River
The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annuall ...
. When Jake arrives to Prang's place, Prang is completely drunk and blows Jake off. As Jake sets off to leave, Prang's chimpanzee steals Jake's passport. The next day, Jake heads to Prang to retrieve his passport and sees Prang getting
mugged
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...
. Jake's attempt proves unsuccessful with Prang showcasing his martial arts skills, knocking out all of the muggers and sending them away. He admits the mugging was a ruse to see how well Jake can fight and invites him to dinner.
That night, Prang tells his story of how he fought and ultimately lost to Khan. The loss caused Prang to become a drunken hermit, and yet he had wanted revenge on Khan for a long time. When Jake reveals how Khan had killed his brother ten years ago, Prang is at first reluctant to teach Jake for revenge. However, Prang sees the opportunity as redemption and decides to put Jake through a painful regiment of training. When Jake grows tired of the pain he must endure at the hands of Prang, a confrontation leads to Jake almost leaving Prang, only to apologize and decides to take the training seriously. Molly looks for Jake and must escape Khan's men. Eventually, Molly does reach Jake and the two start a romance. Jake becomes more proficient in
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
and proves his mettle in an underground fight. When Jake begins winning his fights, it grabs the attention of Mr. McKinney, the scout for the snuff films. Jake accepts McKinney's offer. However, that night, while having dinner with Molly, Jake is stunned by the arrival of both Anderson and Capt. O'Day, who learns Jake's real reason why he accepted the mission. O'Day wants Jake off the mission, but Jake has told them he made contact and he makes his "movie" the next day. Anderson fully decides to side with Jake and at first reluctant, O'Day agrees as well.
The next day, Jake is ready and heads to the location, which consists of a booby-trapped dome made of bamboo. However, when he leaves, Khan has Molly kidnapped and Prang killed. As Jake, wearing the mask of
Hanuman
Hanuman (; sa, हनुमान, ), also called Anjaneya (), is a Hindu god and a divine '' vanara'' companion of the god Rama. Hanuman is one of the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana''. He is an ardent devotee of Rama and on ...
makes his way through the first round of goons in the dome, he plays it off pretending like he doesn't know what's going on and even throws his mask to the ground. However, Khan, wearing a black mask, arrives and has Molly tied up and throws Prang's body to the bottom, watery lake where Jake is shocked. Khan and Jake start out with a sword fight until Jake is hit in the side and Khan's mask is sliced off, revealing his face. A visibly upset Jake reveals the photo of Sean from ten years ago and throws it to Khan. Khan knows who Jake is now and promises to send him to Hell. Jake says he has been there for ten years and the two go one-on-one with both nearly equally matching their skills. Khan gets the upper hand and almost sends Jake to death via impalement on a ground spike only for Jake to barely hang on to the cage. When Khan breaks a piece of bamboo as a staff to knock Jake down, Jake grabs the staff and jumps up and begins his assault on Khan. Khan attempts the triple death kick combination only to learn that thanks to Prang's training, Jake has learned to counter the three kicks. Jake finally defeats Khan, to the shock of everyone on set. When Jake attempts to get Molly, Khan gets up and runs towards Jake, who kicks Khan to the dome entryway, which falls on Khan. In his last breath, Khan grabs the rope in an attempt to send Molly to a grounded spike in the water only for Jake to rescue her.
The Thai authorities arrive with O'Day and Anderson. Jake is relieved to see the film finally get shut down. The Thai authorities blow up the bamboo dome as Molly and Jake celebrate as they can start their lives over together.
Cast
*
Loren Avedon as Jake Donahue
*
Billy Blanks
William Wayne Blanks (born September 1, 1955) is an American fitness personality, martial artist, actor, and the creator of the Tae Bo exercise program.
Early life and education
Blanks was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. He began his study of th ...
as Khan
*
Richard Jaeckel
Richard Hanley Jaeckel (October 10, 1926 – June 14, 1997) was an American actor of film and television. Jaeckel became a well-known character actor in his career, which spanned six decades. He received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nominatio ...
as Captain O'Day
*
Don Stroud
Donald Lee Stroud (born September 1, 1943) is an American actor, musician, and surfer. Stroud has appeared in over 100 films and 200 television shows.
Early years
Stroud was the son of vaudeville actor Clarence Stroud (of "The Stroud Twins" team ...
as Anderson
* Keith Cooke as Prang
*
Sherrie Rose
Sherrie Rose is an American actress, producer, director, and screenwriter. She co-produced, directed, wrote and starred in the 1999 road drama '' Me and Will'', starring Patrick Dempsey. The film opened the Women in Film Series for Sundance and ...
as Molly
* William Long as Big Boss
* John Kay as Mr. Director
* David Michael Sterling as McKinney
* Michael DePasquale Jr. as Sean Donahue
*
Jerry Trimble
Jerry Trimble is an American actor, martial artist, stuntman, youth motivational speaker and former world kickboxing champion. Trimble played Detective Schwartz in the 1995 film ''Heat'' and Jonny in the 1989 film '' The Master''.
Career
Trimb ...
as Drug Dealer
* Bruce Fontaine as Dan Handel
* Vincent Lyn as Warehouse Fighter #1
* Steve Tartalia as Warehouse Fighter #2
* Dean Harrington as Radioman
* Juan Ruiz as Ring Fighter
Production
According to an interview with actor Loren Avedon, he shot his scenes independently with his scenes involving Richard Jaeckel as his boss. In addition, in the scene where Avedon's character does the
Stallone-like scream after seeing Khan and remembering the death of his brother, Avedon told director Lo he wanted to just toss the film tape into the fire in anger. He also did not get along well with actress Sherrie Rose. Avedon claimed Rose was acting like a "prima donna" and told her to "shut up" and that she had bad-mouthed him afterwards.
According to an interview with screenwriter/producer Keith W. Strandberg, actress Sherrie Rose had issues with a scene where she was to go topless in a love scene with co-star Loren Avedon. She replaced an actress who refused to do the nudity scene but she also had complained once it was time to shoot the scene. However, the filmmakers were careful in only getting a few seconds of the nudity in the scene. Strandberg also confirmed that Billy Blanks' character of Khan is actually the son of a Thai mother abandoned by his American serviceman father, thus Khan having a hatred for Americans.
The film has some noticeable similarities to the
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg (, ; born 18 October 1960), known professionally as Jean-Claude Van Damme (, ), is a Belgian actor, martial artist, filmmaker, and fight choreographer. Born and raised in Brussels, Belgium, at the a ...
film ''
Kickboxer
Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...
'', which was released a year earlier and features similar locations, plot and general atmosphere. Van Damme was becoming a big star in the late 80s early 90s so there would be attempts to copy. He is even referenced by Avedon in a joking manner. Actor
Billy Blanks
William Wayne Blanks (born September 1, 1955) is an American fitness personality, martial artist, actor, and the creator of the Tae Bo exercise program.
Early life and education
Blanks was born in Erie, Pennsylvania. He began his study of th ...
appeared with Van Damme in 1990s
''Lionheart''.
Influence
James Goddard, former member of Research and Development at
Capcom
is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...
confirmed in an interview with Capcom Unity that Blanks' character of Khan was the inspiration for his creating the character of
Dee Jay
is a fictional character in the ''Street Fighter'' series. He made his first appearance in the 1993's ''Super Street Fighter II'' as one of the four new characters introduced in the game. In the series, he is a Jamaican kickboxer and karateka, ...
in the video game ''
Super Street Fighter II
is a competitive fighting game produced by Capcom and originally released as an arcade game in 1993. It is the fourth game in the ''Street Fighter II'' sub-series of ''Street Fighter'' games, following ''Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting''. It r ...
'' in 1993.
References
External links
*
Interview with Loren Avedon at cityonfire.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:King Of The Kickboxers, The
1990 films
1990 action thriller films
1990 martial arts films
Kickboxing films
Underground fighting films
Films about snuff films
Martial arts tournament films
1990s English-language films