The King of the Kickboxers (1990)

"You are no ordinary fighter." - Thasi

aka: No Retreat, No Surrender 4
A cop goes undercover to infiltrate a dangerous kickboxing gang, and Billy Blanks gets grumpy.
Starring: Loren Avedon, Billy Blanks, Keith Cooke, Sherrie Rose

Link to IMDB

No matter how many times I think I've watched every Billy Blanks movie, there's always another...

As a young boy, Jake Donahue cheered as his older brother won a kickboxing tournament in Thailand, but the locals didn't like being beat by an American, so they murdered Jake's brother right in front of him. The killer was a fierce man named Khan (Billy Blanks) and his face haunts Jake throughout his life.

Jake's now an undercover New York cop, busting drug dealers and using his karate skills to take down bad guys and keep the city safe. His wild attitude annoys his captain, so Jake's given a job that will get him out of the city for awhile. He's to travel to Thailand and pose as an action star, in hopes of being hired by a studio that films illegal fight movies.
Jake's reluctant to go at first, until he realizes that the case involves Khan, and he'll finally have a chance to get revenge for his brother's death some screen time with Billy Blanks!

Prang

In Thailand, the movie producers are revealed to be a real sick bunch. They lure athletes into their movies with the promise of fame, but then force them to fight to the death on camera! Khan works for them, being one of the expert killers in these twisted karate snuff films.
Jake spars with the local Thai fighters, hoping to get the attention of the movie producers, but when the locals learn that he wants to stop Khan they send Jake to be trained by one of their master fighters. The master is Prang, who now lives in seclusion as a drunken hermit, and it takes some persuading before he decides to train a cocky American.
Prang has many disapproving looks for Jake's attitude, but as the epic training montage drags on and on, they slowly change to approving looks.
Come on, Jake. Just get your butt in gear and go fight Billy Blanks, already!

Loren Avedon isn't much of a leading man, but he's decent enough for a low-rent action movie like this. Billy Blanks is always terrible at delivering lines, and he's exceptionally bad here as he grunts his way through what little dialog he has. But who cares, right? This is a kickboxing movie, and the fights are what's important. No worries on that matter, because there's plenty of martial arts action delivered with a bombastic 80s style of flips and dropkicks. It's also kinda fun seeing Billy Blanks play a savage villain instead of a hero, and he makes a good rival for Jake.

Some parts really drag on for no reason. Even the training montage, which is full of jokes and upbeat music, goes on for a ridiculously long enough time that it gets boring. There's also a love interest for Jake that is completely pointless. The plot tries to balance humour, violence and serious drama, but often spreads itself too thin to keep the momentum going at a steady pace.

Be sure not to miss:
- Jake's fanny pack.
- This is considered part 4 in the No Retreat, No Surrender series (we've previously watched the first one and it was rad.) Loren Avedon also stars in part 2 and 3, although the stories and characters are not connected.
- The movie Jake watches on TV is none other than No Retreat, No Surrender 3.
- Billy Blanks.

Internet review:
"Watching this is like virtual reality. When Billy Blanks kicks, you feel it!" - HippsDog

Should I watch it?
It's fun, but not one of the classic kickboxing movies.

Where can I find it?
Here on YouTube.

King of the Kickboxers gets...