The Cyborg Sequels Reviewed

Before recording our Van Damme episode I decided to watch all of the films in the Bloodsport, Kickboxer and Cyborg franchises. Below are my thoughts on all of the Cyborg sequels. These reviews and more can also be found on our Letterboxd page letterboxd.com/mtfeature

Cyborg 2

In this "sequel" to Cyborg Angelina Jolie plays a cyborg who has been unknowingly implanted with a deadly weapon to take out a rival tech company. I put sequel in quotes because they tenuously attempt to tie this to the first film through flashback footage but it doesn't really make any sense. Cyborg 2 is a bad movie but, as usual, I don't care so much about that as much as how entertaining it is. I don't go into Cyborg 2 with any expectation of a good movie. So, from that perspective it mostly works. Even though the entertainment comes from Jolie's performance, or lack thereof, and the cheesy effects it's hard to walk away from this saying it was boring. Also, while Drago is always a good choice for a villain he's still no Fender.

Cyborg 3: The Recycler

It's shocking to me how much I enjoyed Cyborg 3. First off I really liked the cast. Zach Galligan, Richard Lynch, Malcolm McDowell and some effects from John Carl Buechler...what's not to love for fans of b-movies? It also happens to deliver the most cohesive and probably most entertaining story of the three. Lynch plays a recycler who brings an army of humans to destroy a group of cyborgs to steal their parts causing an all out war. Galligan is the programmer who can help repair the cyborgs and prepare them for battle. There's also a cyborg who happens to be pregnant and Lynch wants it. Cyborg 3 is just a ton of low budget fun and easily gives the first a run for most enjoyable of the franchise.

The Kickboxer Sequels Reviewed

Before recording our Van Damme episode I decided to watch all of the films in the Bloodsport, Kickboxer and Cyborg franchises. Below are my thoughts on all of the Kickboxer sequels. These reviews and more can also be found on our Letterboxd page letterboxd.com/mtfeature

Kickboxer 2: The Road Back

"Kickboxer 2" is a bland movie. It lacks any of the charm of the first movie and while I think Sasha Mitchell is fine in the movie it's hard to match up to what Van Damme had done in the original film. It's also strange that the fights are shot almost completely in slow motion. It kind of drains any potential energy from the scenes. Also shoehorning Tong Po into the story was a mistake. While I appreciate the interest in keeping this within continuity there just wasn't any way the fight between Mitchell and Tong Po was going to be anywhere as good as the fight in the first film. In the end it's really not a poorly made film and I think Pyun is really good at getting the most out of a budget it just lacked any real excitement.

Kickboxer 3: The Art of War

I always say if you're gonna make a direct to video sequel you may as well go as far off the rails as you can and just make an entertaining movie. Kickboxer 3 is a solid attempt to do just that. In this third film Sloane is now in Rio where he befriends two street children. One of them is kidnapped to be sold into slavery so Sloane must take down the entire operation and free the girl. Kickboxer 3 is really not a good movie. Mitchell seems to have slipped into Step by Step mode with his character as he plays him as much less intelligent and more goofy than in the previous film. I also take issue with the fact that Sloane uses guns in this one. It's called Kickboxer. The reason we watch this movie is to see him take out guys with guns using only marital arts. Despite the issues I had it's still much more entertaining than the second film even if it's for the wrong reasons.

Kickboxer 4: The Aggressor

It's kind of like Bloodsport meets Kickboxer. Sasha Mitchell is back again as David Sloan and this time he is recruited out of prison by the DEA to infiltrate Tong Po's mexican fortress which appears to be more of a desert resort. David's wife has also been taken by Tong Po and is being used as a sexual slave on his complex. The only way David can gain access to Po's complex is to take part in a secret tournament between the worlds best fighters. There are many things about Kickboxer 4 that are laughable. For one the original actor who played Tong Po didn't return for the fourth film so they have some other guy with a prosthetic on his forehead which makes him appear to have no eyelids. Maybe the prosthetic blinded his sight so badly that it is also to blame for the fact that Po wouldn't recognize Sloan, a man he fought only a few years earlier and whose family he absolutely loathes. Also, when did Sloan begin working for the DEA? This movie is only 2 years after the last one so did he go to prison the minute he returned from Rio? I guess Pyun decided to just ignore part 3 and do a direct sequel to his original sequel. There's also a few random softcore scenes in this one which feel so out of place I couldn't help but laugh. Basically, this is another bad sequel that is really stupid but also a lot of fun. There are some entertaining fight scenes as well which always help.

Kickboxer 5: The Redemption

So Sloan of the previous 3 sequels is now apparently dead. It could also be that Sasha Mitchell was arrested the same year this film was made for domestic abuse but maybe that's just a coincidence. Anyway, as far as the film goes it's nothing special. Mark Dacascos plays a kickboxer out to avenge his friends death which ultimately brings him to South Africa. I do have to say that the martial arts in this film are much better than anything given in the other sequels so maybe for that reason it could get a slight edge over the others. Of course it's still not a very good movie but is fine as throwaway entertainment.

The Bloodsport Sequels Reviewed

Before recording our Van Damme episode I decided to watch all of the films in the Bloodsport, Kickboxer and Cyborg franchises. Below are my thoughts on all of the Bloodsport sequels. These reviews and more can also be found on our Letterboxd page letterboxd.com/mtfeature

Bloodsport 2

Bloodsport 2 features Daniel Bernhardt as Alex Cardo, a man thrown in prison when he attempts to steal a sword that happens to be the prize given to the winning contender of the kumite. While in prison he is taught the iron fist technique from fellow prison Master Sun played by James Hong. Upon his release Alex enters the Kumite so that he can defeat Damien, a sadistic guard from the prison who pits prisoners against each other in fights to the death.

As expected Bloodsport 2 is a step down from the first film. The only thing that really holds the film together are James Hong and the fights. The competition itself hits all of the same beats as the original right down to a death scene where the judges stand up and turn their backs. Donald Gibb also returns as Ray Jackson in throwaway role as the "comic relief" where he just stands on the sidelines hitting on the sole female competitor. Also, as with the first film, there's some plot lines that could be cut out completely without harming the film but despite its flaws I have to admit I was entertained for the full 90 minutes. While I doubt I'll ever return to it there are worse ways you could throw away an hour and a half.

Bloodsport 3

Wow, can it get any worse than this? This movie has an entire hour of filler "building up" to The Kumite and by the time it finally reaches the third act the viewer will be so bored they won't even care.

Bloodsport 4: Dark Kumite

Maybe it's just because I watched this right after part 3 but I am walking away from this one thinking it's the second best in the franchise. It's the first of the sequels to fully embrace a b-movie vibe with some great over the top performances and a death by pen scene that I didn't expect. The plot sees Cardo back in prison only this time he goes there on purpose to expose some evildoing in the prison. He ends up being forced to participate in the Kumite only in this tournament only one contender walks away alive. As a kid I always thought that's what Bloodsport was until I actually watched it. This one pretty much fulfilled what my childhood brain thought Bloodsport would be and I am grateful for that. Sure, it's all really dumb but it's a surprising amount of fun.

Podcast Episode 26

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Episode 26 marks our official one year episode so we decided to review a couple of sequels to movies we covered in the first 25. Our first review is of the follow-up to Teen Wolf, 1987's Teen Wolf Too. We follow up with a review of the Jeff Burr directed sequel to Pumpkinhead, Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings. Can either of these sequels live up to their namesakes or should they forever languish on the long list of sequels that shouldn't exist? Listen and hear our thoughts! Enjoy!

Rent "Teen Wolf Too" on Amazon
Rent "Pumpkinhead II: Blood Wings"or Purchase the Scream Factory Blu-ray on Amazon