Bullet Points: The Last Kumite

Ever since word went out to the Kickstarter backers earlier this month that The Last Kumite Blu-rays had been shipped, I have been anxiously checking my mail box every day hoping to find my copy. Well it finally arrived this weekend and it wasn’t long before it went from my mail box to my Blu-ray player…

• The Set Up: Martial artist and single dad, Michael Rivers (Mathis Landwehr) has competed in his final martial arts tournament… or so he thinks. At the after party to celebrate winning the 37th Annual New York State Open Karate Tournament, Rivers is approached by Ron Hall (Matthias Hues, Fists of Iron) about competing in a Kumite that is being held in Eastern Europe. Rivers can’t believe his ears when he learns of the “fight to the death” aspect of this Kumite, or the $1,000,000 prize that goes to the winner. Rivers politely declines and then heads home… and that’s when he finds out his daughter Bree has been kidnapped and that if he wants to see her, he’s going to need to make his way to Eastern Europe. Can I just say that Matthias Hues is still one of the best action movie villains of them all.
• The Fighters: Rivers arrives in Europe and his driven to Ron Hall’s castle that will host the Kumite and house the fighters as they prepare for the tournament. Some of the fighters are there because they want the money, like Marcus Gantz (played by David Kurzhal or Viking Samurai for those in the know). Others are in the same boat as Rivers, with family members being used as bargaining chips. Hall has the wife of Damon Spears (Kurt McKinney, No Retreat, No Surrender) and the sister of Lea Martin… this bonds Rivers, Damon and Lea as they find themselves trying to figure out how they can save their loved ones and how they can survive the Kumite… Last but not least, we are introduced to the reigning Kumite champion, Dracko… who definitely looks the part of the monster heel and spends the early portions of the film doing his best to intimidate anyone and everyone.

• The Training: Now to prepare for the Kumite and more specifically Dracko, Michael Rivers has to do some serious training and he is pointed in the direction of Loren (Billy Blanks, Showdown), who has a whole team of people at Rivers’ disposal… including Lightning (played by Mike Moller, who also served as the fight choreographer for the movie) and Dracko’s sensei before he was seduced by Ron Hall’s darkside… Julie Jackson (played by Cynthia Rothrock of Righting Wrongs fame).
• The Nostalgia: The movie builds to the Kumite in the third act and you can probably guess who the final two fighters are… much like so many underground fight movies of yesteryear that were enjoyed by many a blood thirsty high roller. And obviously that is what The Last Kumite was all about, a movie that was crowdfunded by action fans who yearned for the movies of yesteryear. I am happy to say that The Last Kumite scratched that action nostalgia itch, with all the legends involved getting a chance to shine. The real highlight of the movie may be the music… which is really no surprise considering Paul Hertzog and Stan Bush were behind it.

Props to everyone involved in The Last Kumite and my fellow action fanatics that crowdfunded the project. There was obviously a lot of love for the “good ol’ days” that went into the creation and execution of this movie. The Last Kumite feels like it could have been right next to the action packed martial arts classics that were on Blockbuster shelves back in the day.

Now for some classic Bonus Bullet Points…

• Familial Faces: Michel Qissi (Bloodsport and Kickboxer) played Ron Hall’s right hand man, Wolf… Abdel Qissi (Lionheart and The Quest) plays Detective Dobrev, the local cop who is powerless to stop Hall’s Kumite.
• Favorite Song: As I mentioned earlier, the music in The Last Kumite is excellent and I think my favorite song of the bunch is Stan Bush’s “Running the Gauntlet”
• The Tradition Continues: It is fitting that in addition to Michel Qissi who was apart of the FIRST Kumite we are all familiar with, that the son of Chong Li himself, David “Bolo Jr” Yeung is another fighter in The Last Kumite.