Open Question to Albert Pyun: What is with your obsession with Tong Po?Granted, Po was a pretty memorable villain – I remember him more vividly than Van Damme's character. But for crying out loud, move on already! I'm almost – almost – inclined to review Kickboxer 4 favorably for at least trying to transcend its limited budget with a slicker visual style and ambitious shots/frame composition that leaves Kickboxer 3 in the dust; however, it never quite succeeds on a technical level (it tries, but fails.) More distractingly – the plot goes overboard in waters reserved for the more outrageous black comedies and spoofs (and the film doesn't seem smart enough to realize where it's dropping anchor.) True to sequelitis, this one has to attempt to top its predecessors in all departments. Tong Po cannot remain just a very disturbed, overly violent, guy who goes out of his way to cripple his opponents in the ring. Now he's a murderous gun-toting womanizing evil-Shang Tsung-wanna-be Asian Drug Lord in Mexico out for revenge against the Sloan family, and what the hell? Let's say he's also Keyser Soze, Freddy Krueger, and he drinks puppy's blood while biting the heads off of cute little bunny rabbits – we get it. He's a mean guy.Oh, did I mention a new actor has donned the role of Tong Po? Disguised in makeup to look like the original actor, which just looks downright creepy in its "close, but not quite right" Uncanny-Valley way. Just wait till he takes his shirt off, making visible the contrasting flesh tones of the face and body.Sometime between Kickboxer 3 and 4, Tong Po had David Sloan put in jail and kidnapped Sloan's wife (as you recall, the Sloan family has been the bane of his existence for two films, and David was the bane of his existence in Kickboxer 2.) The premise of Kickboxer 4? The authorities release Sloan to compete in Po's conveniently held little tournament in the middle of nowhere. Problem: If Tong Po is so hell-bent on getting even with David, wouldn't that obsession lead him to, you know, be able to recognize David? The film answers (in David's words, no less), "It's been 5 years – he won't recognize me" proving indisputably that David Sloan is a complete moron.Don't despair, the personality of the main character has atrophied along with his intellect during those five long years in prison. In other words, David Sloan has devolved into something actor Sasha Mitchel can handle, and for the first time since his debut in the series I did not want to see him slip on a banana peel, break his neck, and retire in disgrace. In the previous film, he'd grin, he'd talk, and try to carry on a conversation with his intellectual equal (a 10 year old boy) only to be upstaged by the brat the same way a lamp is upstaged by anything that can move. In this film, however, Sloan is content to show up, kick ass, and walk away. Thank you, Albert Pyun.And what was the point of all the additional characters? Darcy? Megan? Lando? They exist in the screenplay to fill an off-the shelf role, and none of them develop into anything more than plot requirements. David needs an ally, therefore Lando must exist. David should have a positive influence on someone (to mentor, if you will), therefore Megan must exist. The screenplay needs David and his Ally to be caught, and a character on the path to redemption needs to be sacrificed hence Darcy's presence. And, there has to be another cruel villain, so Pyun introduces whats-his-name who likes to slam people's faces into the dirt. But, really, do any of these characters add anything to the central story? These aren't characters, these are props.On a visual level, Kickboxer 4 wants to look like a more expensive film, and in some respects it succeeds (at least partially.) There's a nice shot that follows Lando and Megan as they walk away to their rooms, and then the camera returns (rotating almost 180 degrees) to show Darcy and one of Po's lead henchmen behind her – capturing 4 characters (polar opposites of each other) in a single unbroken shot with surprisingly competent composition. Unfortunately, the latter half is slightly out of focus. Even still, this one shot (with all its flaws) is twice as sophisticated and ten times more interesting than the prepackaged coverage and editing found in Kickboxer 3. Earlier in Kickboxer 4, Sloan and one of Po's agents are filmed from a distance. David starts walking towards the camera (becoming larger via the perspective), leaving the agent behind. A whole half-hearted conversation plays out while both men are in frame together – simple as it may be, again, this single extended shot proves easier to look at and more intriguing than the snooze-inducing editing of its predecessor.As ridiculous as the plot is, as pointless as the characters are, at least Kickboxer 4 has some ambition, and even if it never quite succeeds visually on a technical level it does at least try.

I like this movie as cheesy as people may think it is. C'mon what did you expect out of Sasha Mitchell? An Oscar performance? these are the types of movies that your dad will watch on the action channel or just find at the local Wal Mart in some bargain bin. These movies aren't expected to rake in some bank at the box office so get over it. They're supposed to be down to earth bad. You're a fool if you expect something like this to be very good.There's a lot of action in this movie, and a lot of fighting. The plot is as simple as it gets, infiltrate the enemy base as a world fighter who's invited to a tournament avoid getting seen and rescue your wife from the nemesis. For those who trashed the movie Double Dragon, ha ha Kickboxer 4 would've made for a nice Double Dragon replacement. It's a far better movie with the same kind of story as in the video game.Tong Po spits out one of my favorite lines of all time in this movie. It's when he says and the way he says, "One MILLION Dolla!!!" LOL Seriously every time my friend and I are gonna attempt a 3 point shot from somewhere, or a long shot in basketball, try to touch a high point and jump, we always refer to Tong Po's "One Million Dolla!" line. Priceless. Tong Po takes the beating of his life at the end of this film. Loved it.

Kickboxer 4 (1994) is a down beat tale starring Sasha Mitchell. He's the last of the Sloanes (the two brothers from the first Kickboxer). A series of events have left Sloane in disgrace. His only saving grace is his beloved wife. The nasty Tong Po is back and he took Sloane's old lady. Now, he's on a mission. To find his wife and uphold the family's honor. Will this be the final battle between Sloane and the mean and nasty Tong Po? Check this one out! A fun film. Not a great one mid you but a watchable one. I wouldn't go out of my way looking for a copy however. If you love the Kickboxer series or a Sasha Mitchell fan then this one's for you. Average.CThe pint sized kung-fu fighter is a cutie.

Having not seen Kickboxer 2 or 3 (or even 5, despite the lure of the Dacascos factor), I thought for a minute I might be confused by the plot of Kickboxer 4. How foolish I was. There IS no plot to Kickboxer 4 beyond the initial setup, and as far as I can tell that leads on from previous instalments in the series about as fluidly as Friday the 13th Part III leads on from Legally Blonde 2.Anyway, as you might expect Kickboxer 4 is a fine candidate for a bad film session, though it's hard to pin down any specific element as being the out-and-out worst: the acting, script, editing and of course make-up are all award-winningly bad, though at least the fight scenes are diverting (full marks to the overenthusiastic sound effects department) and for once the direction isn't so spasmodic that you suspect Albert Pyun's hand at work long before you've spotted his name in the credits.Naturally I'm not saying it's good by any means. But it is funny, in its wanton disrespect for both the series it belongs to and simple common sense. Particularly loved Sloan's disguise (a pair of shades) as he cleverly infiltrated the fortress of the untouchable drug baron and demon martial artist who'd killed his brothers, kidnapped his wife, got him banged up in jail and been his obsessive arch-nemesis for years, yet couldn't work out who he was from six feet away. Also loved comparing this film's feeble climactic scuffle in the midst of a tea party on the lawn to the brutal broken glass brawl at the end of the original Kickboxer. It's the best kind of bad sequel there is: a kind of sad, desperate, hilarious spoof of itself. Genius.