Old school throwback to the tournament films of yesteryear, ‘The Last Kumite’ owes more than a little to the classic ‘Bloodsport’ (with a little bit of ‘Kickboxer’ and ‘No Retreat, No Surrender’ thrown in!), but gets by on respecting that classic nicely, stuffing the cast with old school action stars and some decent fight action from the great Mike Möller.
You know the drill: there’s an evil businessman (Matthias Hues) and his right-hand henchman (Michel Qissi) who run an illegal fight-to-the-death tournament with a prize of a million dollars if a fighter can beat their towering champion, Dracko (Mike Derudder). While some are eager to participate and win the coveted million bucks, others aren’t, and Hues and Qissi resort to shady tactics to get the likes of top fighters Michael Rivers (Landwehr), Damon Spears (McKinney), and Lea Maring (Mounia Moula) to fight by kidnapping and holding hostage those they hold close and dear. With no option but to fight, the likes of Rivers et al aim to beat the competition and bring down those who run the tournament, with a little help along the way from the likes of Billy Blanks and Cynthia Rothrock.
It’s all a little silly, over-earnest, and a tad rough around the edges, but ‘The Last Kumite’ sticks to its old school roots to deliver copious training sequences, montages, and, come the second half, oodles of fights featuring all kinds of fight styles and crazy-looking characters. It’s 1990s American martial arts movie 101, but despite its rough edges and wonky acting, ‘The Last Kumite’ is a lot of fight fun. It certainly brings up a lot of nostalgic feelings for fight films of yesteryear and does well at bringing the old school style of those films back to the screen. It helps that the cast is filled with yesteryear action stars from the video days, with the likes of Billy Blanks and Kurt McKinney getting chunky roles, while Rothrock, Hues, and Qissi give good support. While they may not be the main fight stars this time around, it’s fun to see them on screen as various mentors, trainers, henchmen, and big bads.
Mathis Landwehr (‘Kampfansage’, ‘Ultimate Justice’) is the main fighter and gets the bulk of some excellent fight scenes, orchestrated by Mike Möller (who also has a small role as one of the trainers, his brief fight scenes being a highlight!). Some of the drama is a bit limp, though Blanks is great as the main trainer, but when the tournament kicks off the action is copious and the flick flies by. It may not be as fight fantastic as the film(s) it’s aiming to homage, but ‘The Last Kumite’ is nevertheless a fun ride for those feeling nostalgic, with some decent action and a great performance from Billy Blanks.
