Bullet Points: No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers

After watching 1990’s No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers for the first time last year, I found myself filled with emotions…

First was jealousy… I was jealous of all the people who got to experience the greatness that is No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brother before me.

Then came the guilt and the shame… the stars of No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers, Loren Avedon and Keith Vitali, are criminally underrated in the world of action cinema and I was as guilty as anyone for overlooking their contributions to the genre.

Finally, I settled into joy… I may have been late to the No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers party, but after one viewing I fell in love with the movie.

• The Brothers Alexander: The movie wastes no time in introducing us to our two heroes, Casey Alexander (Keith Vitali) the second generation CIA agent and Will Alexander (Loren Avedon) the free spirited martial arts instructor. In the opening scene of the movie, we see Casey thwart a hostage situation at a bank by disposing of several anti-American radicals and even taking a bullet for a beautiful bank patron. Keith Vitali’s Casey is equal parts suave and smooth, totally playing to Vitali’s strengths. We then cut over to Will in action kicking some butt while he is conducting a self-defense class. Will’s class is interrupted by a phone call from his father John who was inquiring about Will’s upcoming visit… the call gives us a glimpse into the less than harmonious relationship Will has with his brother and his father. The Will character has a lot of angst which is perfect for Loren Avedon who could emote the hell out of a scene when need be.

• Not So Happy Birthday: We all then get invited to John Alexander’s birthday party… the recently retired CIA agent is turning 65 and is looking forward to having both of his sons in attendance to celebrate this momentous occasion. Also in attendance are some of John’s CIA buddies, including the man who took his spot after he retired, Atterton (played by Luke Askew). Also attending are a bevy of beauties who seem to be attracted to Casey the chick magnet. Will shows up late thanks in part to his run down Volkswagen Bug (which he may or may not have sold to Jerry Pelt a few years later). Will manages to make one of the shortest appearances at a family function in history after he gets pissed with his older brother Casey (Will believes that Casey thinks he is a failure because he chose to go his own way and did not follow in the footsteps of their father like Casey did).  But things are about to get a lot worse for John Alexander and his sons…

• Turn Out The Lights, The Party’s Over: After the cake has been consumed, the gifts have been opened and the guests have departed John Alexander is relaxing at home alone. John hears somebody come through the door, first believing that Will has returned after he had some time to cool off… but John quickly realizes something is wrong. An assassin has paid John a visit, and while he may be retired the old dude proves he could still handle himself and neutralizes his would be killer, but that’s about the time the bleached blonde Franco (Rion Hunter of Cage fame) shows up. Franco has been holding a grudge against John Alexander for years. Franco blames a mission John led for the CIA back in the day for the death of his son. Franco is out for revenge and has an army of assassins who can get him that revenge. John Alexander does not stand a chance. John has a pretty spectacular death as he is the victim of one of the most impressive kicks in cinematic history… with one kick John is propelled through a door, the rails of the balcony outside of the door and down to the swimming pool below. After Franco (who reminded me of a scaled down version of Matthias Hues) and his band of mercenaries leave, Will shows up and finds his father floating dead in the pool… and cue the Loren Avedon waterworks! Casey shows up next and the friction between the two brothers is even worse.

• All Roads Lead To Florida: Casey badly wants to go after Franco, but CIA rules dictate that an agent can not be involved in an investigation involving a family member. Atterton suggests that Casey take some time off to heal both physically and emotionally after the death of his father. Casey agrees that would be a good idea, but then turns around and gets all the intel on the case with the help of a friendly CIA computer geek. Casey does not have the file on his father’s murder for long as baby brother Will gets his hands on it and plans on avenging his father’s death, his way! This leads to Will successfully concocting a scheme to infiltrate Franco’s operation in Florida. Casey goes down to Florida to stop Will before he gets himself killed and then go after Franco with some help from Maria one of Casey’s former flames and a woman who had some history with Franco herself. At this point in the movie I could not help but wonder how much good Casey and Will could do if they actually joined forces!?!?

I am happy to report that our blood brothers and heroes do eventually put their differences aside to avenge the death of their father and eliminate the men who conspired to make it happen. The result of this team up culminates in an epic final fight in an airplane hangar that I would put up against any other final fight from the era… it is simply spectacular!

No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers has to be considered some of the best work of both Loren Avedon and Keith Vitali’s respective careers. No Retreat, No Surrender 3 has a solid story and elements that anyone with a sibling can relate to. The movie also gives both stars a chance to show off their fighting skills including a memorable scene where the brothers fight one another!

I will now share the same advice I received from a good friend and movie expert, if you have not seen No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers, do whatever you have to do to track it down and watch as soon as possible! And if you have room for more advice and more bullet points, then you should check out these Bonus Bullet Points…

• He’s Back Baby: Loren Avedon is the only actor to be in more than one No Retreat, No Surrender movie although it was as two completely different characters. Avedon took Kurt McKinney’s spot as the star in No Retreat, No Surrender 2 after Jean-Claude Van Damme painted a horrifying picture for McKinney (you can read about it here) causing McKinney to back out of the sequel and opening the door for Avedon to become a part of the franchise.
• Disturbing Quote: “Sit down or say goodbye to your balls!”
• Familiar Face: Joseph Campanella played John Alexander, the father of Casey and Will. If you have ever watched TV chances are you’ve seen Campanella. He had guest appearances in shows like Airwolf, 21 Jump Street, Renegade and Baywatch. Campanella also was a supporting player in movies like Defiance with Jan-Michael Vincent, Steele Justice with Martin Kove and Hologram Man with Joe Lara.
• The Cast: Keith Vitali broke his arm while auditioning for the role of Casey. To explain why Vitali’s arm was in a cast, an addition was made to script to have Casey get shot in the arm in the opening scene at the bank.
• If You Ever: …wanted to hear Loren Avedon lead the singing of the “Happy Birthday” song, then this is the movie for you.
• Complete The Series: No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers was not only the last of the series, but also the last of the No Retreat, No Surrender movies to be reviewed here on Bulletproof Action. To check out our reviews of the original No Retreat, No Surrender and No Retreat, No Surrender 2, just click the links!