20 Reasons Why You Rock: No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers

There are some movies that I love so much, that no matter how many times they are watched I never tire of them.

One such movie is 1990’s No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers… a movie that is also pretty high on my Blu-ray wish list too. Why do I love it? Why can I still enjoy it no matter how many times I watch it? Why do I want it on Blu-ray? Well, that’s easy… No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers ROCKS!

#1. You know you are in for a treat whenever the Seasonal Film Corporation logo pops up on the screen. Seasonal may not have had the quantity of releases that some of my other favorites like Cannon and PM Entertainment did, but there is no argument that Seasonal made up for it in quality. First in Hong Kong and then their seven releases aimed the American audiences which included Blood Brothers.

#2. You can’t talk about “The Seasonal 7” without mentioning one of the masterminds behind them, writer/martial artist Keith W. Strandberg. Strandberg wrote all seven movies that comprised Seasonal’s attempts to capitalize on American’s love of action movie. Strandberg proved to be the perfect conduit between Hong Kong and Hollywood and without him it is doubtful we would have had a Seasonal 7.  

#3. What do you do when one of your leads breaks their wrist just prior to production? You can replace them or you work the injury it into the script. The latter is what was done after Keith Vitali broke his wrist prior to filming No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers… Vitali’s Casey Alexander springs into action in the opening scene of the movie, getting hurt in the line of duty to cover for the real life injury, and establishing that Casey is one of the best the CIA has to offer. We also learn that Casey is something of a ladies man too, so it is not surprising when we later find out that Casey has a pretty sweet 80s bachelor pad to entertain the ladies in. To me this is some of Vitali’s best work, in fact the only Vitali role I think I liked more was his villainous turn in Superfights.

# 4. Of course Vitali was only one of the leads in the movie, the other was Loren Avedon who played Casey’s free spirited younger brother, Will Alexander. Unlike Casey, Will has no desire to follow in his father’s footsteps and instead has chosen to blaze his own trail… something Casey can’t wrap his head around. Avedon was the perfect choice to play the polar opposite of Vitali and the sibling rivalry between the two is the lifeblood of the movie.

#5. There is one thing that the Brothers Alexander do have in common (other than DNA)… martial arts skills! In fact, Will Alexander has his own martial arts school. When we are first introduced to Will he is running a training exercise on what to do if you are confronted out on the street… what I love most about this scene is the bus stop prop that Will has in his school to really allow the class to immerse themselves in this mugging scenario.

#6. I have talked about Will and Casey, but it is time to talk about the man who helped give them life… John Alexander played by character actor Joseph Campanella. John is recently retired from the CIA and wants nothing more than to spend some time with his sons, making him easily the most likable character in the entire movie. But not everybody likes John Alexander…

#7. The menacing Franco (played by Rion Hunter) has a major grudge with John Alexander, blaming John for the death of his son years earlier when John was still an active agent with the CIA. Now Franco is looking to get even with John Alexander… but before I get into that, I want to give props to Rion Hunter who had a great look and great voice for an action movie baddie and the fact that he didn’t do way more of that is surprising.

#8. Nobody can accuse John Alexander of not being prepared for a home invasion. I guess after a career filled with making enemies and espionage a man could easily get paranoid. John has weapons hidden throughout his domicile which proved to come in handy when Franco and his men show up. but my favorite piece of home security is the switch on the wall that John hits that activates some disorienting flashes of light… I’d like to install those switches/lights in my home for when my dog starts acting up.

#9. There are times when I do these lists that I think I can make it easy on myself and just list the same example 20 times and fans of the movie would not even question it… in the case of Blood Brothers it would be the amazing death scene of John Alexander. I have watched the kick that sends John Alexander crashing through some doors, over the rail of his balcony and down to the swimming pool below so many times and will probably take a break from typing this up in a moment and watch it a few more times before I continue… that’s how jaw droppingly awesome the scene is.

#10. Another reason the death of John Alexander has such impact is thanks to Loren Avedon putting it over as only he can when Will discovers what has happened ot his father. Avedon is the master emoter and he puts every bit of his heart and soul into mourning the death of his movie father. This scene alone is why I rank No Retreat, No Surrender 3 right along side The King of the Kickboxers as Loren Avedon’s finest work.

#11. Luke Askew plays Atterton, John Alexander’s replacement at the Central Intelligence Agency. There is something immediately askew with the Atterton character making him extremely unlikeable even before we find out he is a no good Benedict Arnold! Even more than Franco, Atterton was the guy I could not wait to see get what was coming to him.

#12. I love any movie that proves my theory that parking garages are among the most dangerous places in action movies.

#13. In an effort to find his father’s killer and prove to his brother that he is “cut out for this kind of work” Will takes his father’s classified CIA file from Casey and makes his way to Florida, more specifically Ric Martin’s Okinawan Karate studio (free plug) where we are introduced to Casey’s friends in unique fashion… instead of hugs and handshakes, Will and his friends greet each other with a sword, some nunchaku and a couple of kicks to the face.

#14. The reunion takes Will and his friends to a bar in search of Angel, a known associate of Franco… and it is here that No Retreat, No Surrender 3 follows the action movie bar fight rule… if an action hero enters a bar, said action hero MUST get into a bar fight.

#15. I need to take a moment to praise Wanda Acuna’s character, Maria. Despite their past and the way Casey disappeared from her life, there is no denying that Maria is in love with Casey and extremely devoted to him, which is why we see her put herself in harm’s way multiple times and even shoots Will, when she thinks he is Casey’s adversary. Guys get you a woman that looks at you the way Maria looks at Casey.

#16. One of the most memorable scenes in the movie is when undercover Will, trying to ingratiate himself to Franco is sent on a mission to kill Casey! This leads to a play fight between the brothers so the goons that are watching outside believe that Will has in fact eliminated their Casey Alexander problem.

#17. If you ever wanted to see Keith Vitali tortured via electroshock, then No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers is the movie for you. This is a fun scene that allows Vitali the chance to ham it up a bit.

#18. I will never not laugh at the big goon who brags about the fact that he is going to get Maria’s blouse off… especially considering for all his big talk, he fails miserably.

#19. Many an action film featured a picture of the President of the United States up on the wall of a police station or government agency, but No Retreat, No Surrender 3 went the extra mile and actually featured the 41st President of the United States George Bush… sure it was stock footage, but a nice touch none the less.

#20. If there was one scene where the Hong Kong action movie style was at the forefront, it would be the big action finale in the airplane hangar. Will and Casey put all their differences aside and unite to take down all the bad guys in a scene filled with hard hitting martial arts mayhem, a shoe knife, some big falls and an act of betrayal!