No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers: Viewer Comments



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No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers
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Rating, Out Of 5 Stars
The "No Retreat, No Surrender" series will always have a special place in my heart, now and forever. Of all the movies in the trilogy, this one is my favorite, mainly because of the choreography done by Tony Leung Siu-Hung and the story about how family will always conquer all who oppose them. I picked up this film after seeing Siu-Hung's previous work, "Superfights"; and at the time, I didn't have access to the trailers and didn't know what to expect from these kinds of films. But after reading a few reviews, I took a gamble and once again, I received an entertaining reward!

The Alexander brothers can't stand each other at all, and their father, a retired C.I.A. agent, just wants the both of them to get along. Will is a karate instructor who can't stand that his family are a bunch of spies and he uses his dojo as a means of escaping that kind of existence. Casey, the eldest brother, is C.I.A. and can't understand why Will can't just vibe with the rest of the family tree and make their father happy. However, tragedy strikes the Alexander family when Franco (Rion Hunter), a ruthless terrorist, seeks payback for the murder of his son years ago during an attack on his homeland at Johnathan Alexander's hands.

When the brothers find their beloved father murdered, they continue to blame each other for the incident and go their sepearte ways in an attempt to find those responsible. However, they fail to remember the classic rule in action movies that "two heads are better than one" and it isn't until things get really hectic that they decide to see past their differences and stop Franco from assassinating the President of the United States.

Keith Vitali is a very impressive kicker and in this film it really shows. The man even injured his arm during a rehearsal (as shown through the arm cast he wears) but still continued on no matter what. Siu Hung even had him make use of that as a prop for the fight scenes.

Loren Avedon got to shine pretty well himself, though acting wise he still needs a little work. Nonetheless, he shows that he can still lay a smackdown on anyone and he seems to have vibed a little better in this film after working with Siu Hung in "King of the Kickboxers".

Rion Hunter was truly impressive as Franco, and to this day I still wonder what styles of kung fu this man studied to prepare for his fight scene with Vitali and Avedon. With this man's abilities, he should work with Siu Hung some more.

The best part of this movie is the final fight scene in an airplane garage between Franco, one of his cronies, and the Alexander brothers; and rest assured, everyone gets down and dirty in that fight. No one holds back and anything goes during the battle--lots of bruises, bumps and bleeding in that fight. The best part is how Siu Hung dubbed their voices to make them sound like Chinese warriors during the fight. I've always thought that was cool how Siu Hung did that. Though there is a certain amount of people being doubled in the fight (either by Siu Hung himself or members of his stunt team), the sequence really hits the spot!

"Blood Brothers" was an exciting tale of vengeance and family that Seasonal Films created. This is one film that I would definitely add to my collection.

-SN28148 (see my profile)

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Rating, Out Of 5 Stars
Loren Avedon returns to the "No Retreat, No Surrender" franchise, this time with a new arsenal of martial arts firepower, including Keith Vitali, Rion Hunter and Mark Russo in this, the third and final installment: "Blood Brothers". Directed by Lucas Lowe, "Blood Brothers" kicks off with a fresh new story, with new heroes, new villains, and some of the meanest martial arts fight sequences that add intensity to this final installment of the trilogy.

The film tells the story of two brothers, separated by adversity, who are tragically reunited when they find their father, a retired CIA operative, murdered on his birthday. When they both vow to investigate his death on their own terms, danger lies in every corner, forcing them to fight for their lives...as long as they don't kill each other first!

Though the story does have its corny, quirky side at times, to add some vitality to the film's plot, the story is kept interesting, especially with a number of fantastic fight scenes, directed by veteran Hong Kong stuntman, choreographer and director, Tony Leung Siu-Hung. Avedon's and Vitali's performances are just as adequate as performances from most other actors with any B-list martial arts movie of its time; No Academy Awards or Oscars here to say the least.

And Rion Hunter, who deserves much more credit than what he gets, performs brilliantly as one of the baddest modern-day kung fu villains ever to be featured in the history of crossover kung fu cinema. Frankly, I am still surprised that he has not been performing in other martial arts movies after this one.

Lo's directorial vision brings a wonderful (if not somewhat open-ended) conclusion to the "No Retreat, No Surrender" project. I guess it leaves one to breed curiosity as to why each film as the NRNS title attached to it, despite each film having a different story with different characters, etc. Perhaps that answer will come to us in the days ahead to whomever is interested.

In the meantime, either way it goes, each film is a pure treat to watch, and this self-titled finale to the franchise will...well, as Steve Wang would put it...entertain the shit out of you!

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS: "No Retreat, No Surrender", "No Retreat, No Surrender 2: Raging Thunder", "The 7 Grandmasters", "Righting Wrongs", "So Close", "Bandidas", "Yes, Madam!", "In The Line Of Duty 4", "She Shoots Straight", "Wheels On Meals", "My Lucky Stars", "King Of The Kickboxers", "American Shaolin", "Nico: Above The Law", "Shanghai Knights", "Arahan: Urban Martial Arts Action", "Kampfansage: The Last Apprentice", "U.S. Seals 2: The Ultimate Force", "Drive: Director's Cut", "Banlieue 13", "Bloodmoon", "Satin Steel", "China Strike Force" and the upcoming film from director Koichi Sakamoto, "Broken Path".

-The 8th Sword (see my profile)
http://sourceofthefist.freehostia.com/wordpress/

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AGREE?READER COMMENTSAUTHOR
YGood review. The film is just a fun popcorn flick. The movie didn't recieve any awards but it did keep me entertained.JV47842




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