Kickboxer 5- Redemption

Hello?? No David sloan........?????
This was the worst in the series, i have rented all these (vhs) movies when they came out brand new at the video store many "many" years ago, well i rented kickboxer 4 and 5... "so i know what im talking about!". And let me just say that they executed a key character "david sloan" in a very cheap way, within only seconds into the film, david sloan was the hero from kickboxer II,III & IV, he beat tong po twice, and he would have easily murdered all the bad guys in kickboxer 5. Im not a sasha michell fan im into van damme more, even when van damme got shoot by tong po, i think the story was well told in kickboxer 2. Even in kickboxer 4 (which i know was better then kickboxer 5) we have strong reference to the first 2 film's. But kickboxer 5 lacked that kickboxer feeling that i grew up with, if your 25 year's old now like me, you will know where im coming from. As a stand alone movie, this is an ok mark dacascos movie if your a fan of his movies. But as a kickboxer movie, this sequel failed to continue a successful series, and infact, ended the series in a depressing way. No mention or continuation of the sloan family, which was basically what the kickboxer series is all about. But i can understand in 2009 why people have given this movie an ok rating, especially if you are a big a mark dacascos fan.

Not as bad as you might think
I've watched this movie 3 times now and it's not as bad as many others or that you might think it would be. Actually I'm a James Ryan fan and watched it for his apperance. Mark Dacascos is your standard new generation martial artists (think Van Damme, Gary Daniels, Phillip Rhee etc.). The story line is formula - bad guy kills good guy, friend of good guy seeks revenge in a final showdown. What lifts is slightly above the average for me is James Ryan playing the bad guy. Overall, I'd give it a C+.

Nothing special, but not too bad
I probably went into this movie with my expectations set too high. James Ryan plays the villain and that is why I was so excited to see it. In case people don't know, he was the star of 'Kill or Be Killed' and 'Kill and Kill Again', 2 of the very best American martial arts movies ever made. He plays the villain in Kickboxer 5, and does a fine job, but he is not in nearly as good of shape as he was 15 years prior to when this movie was made. He has not aged very well. Marc Dacascos is the star of the movie and he does a good acting job, but my main problem is that the fights are nothing special. Some good kicking, but that is really all that I enjoyed. The story is not even worth going over. It is pointless. Don't waste your time with watching this movie, even if you are a Marc Dacascos fan. He has a few good moments, and that is the only reason the movie is worth watching. 2.5/5

way to kill a series
Kickboxer 5 was not the worst martial arts movie I have seen, but compared to the other 4 Kickboxers, this just did not belong. The other Kickboxers remained fairly close to one another through either story or characters. The only element from any of the previous Kickboxers found in Redemption was David Sloan, who appaears no more than a shadow getting the beat down and killed during the beginning credits. Its quite ridiculous too, because the goons that kill him can't seem to lay a hand on Matt Reeves (Marc Dacascos) throughout the movie. Matt Reeves, our main character, receives the news that Sloan was killed by the Negaal Federation, and soon they kill another of Matt's friends who has just won an important ring match. So Matt of course wants revenge, travels to South Africa to locate and stop the leader of the Federation - Mr. Negaal. Mr Negaal (James Ryan) is an ok villain, but really has no skill in this movie that impressed me. His goons are complete idiots. The other characters in the movie are your basic average B movie actors. Marc Dacascos is the only highlight, of the film period. His katas and training sequences are worth watching, but any fights he takes part in are just totally unimpressive, and that includes the final brawl against Negaal which is one of the most dissapointing climatic fights I have ever seen. Redemption is just average, maybe not even quite. Its not extremely cheesy nor ridiculously stupid, but it just does not impress, when it so easily could have. The fights are pointless and the plot is too predictable. If you are bored and need some average entertainment, here you go. Don't even bother getting this if you wish to complete your Kickboxer collection - it just doesn't even fit the role.

only a slight improvement above Kickboxer 4
Kickboxer and/or Mark Dacascos fans may want to look elsewhere. While Kickboxer 5 is a bit better than the fourth, that's about it. There are a few good fight scenes halfway through the movie but then it goes downhill from there. Kickboxer 5 starts off with David Sloan getting murdered by some crimeboss in South Africa. Mark's character declares vengence (what a surprise!) and he goes off to find the crimeboss responsible for David's death with the help of an escaped convict. The final fight scene with Mark Dacascos and the crimeboss is just as ridiculous as the final fight scene in Kickboxer 4. As most direct to video films go, this one doesn't deliver overall so if you are one who wants to see the Kickboxer series than just stick with the first three movies. Trust me on this one!