Customer Reviews

Signature Series (2pc) Billy Blanks Showdown & King of the Kickboxers [VHS]

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With "Tae-Bo" being all the rage now, old Billy Blanks films are popping up on video left and right. This Signature Series presents two of them for the price of one. The first one, "Showdown" is about as corny as it gets. Blanks plays a police officer who is partially responsible for the accidental death of a rowdy party guest. This prompts him to leave the force, and he eventually ends up as a custodian at a high school. Soon, he becomes the unofficial martial arts instructor to a new student named Ken, who is being bullied by another student who attends a local dojo run by the brother of the aforementioned party guest. The brother, of course, blames Blanks for the death. Confused? Just ignore the plot and focus on the action, which is "so-so". Bad plot plus so-so action equals crummy movie. "Showdown" by itself gets one star.

Much more interesting is the second film, "King of the Kickboxers". When an American kickboxer wins a tournament in Thailand, he is attacked by Thai thugs who don't want to see an American win. As his adolescent brother Jake watches, the American is ruthlessly murdered by Thailand's most skilled fighter, Khan (Billy Blanks). Years later Jake, now a police officer highly trained in the martial arts himself, accepts an assignment to bring down an illegal Thai movie operation that is using Khan as their star (the crime being that the deaths in these films are real). In preparing to meet Khan, Jake is trained by a young recluse named Prang (played by a very skilled Keith Cooke). While the plot is not much better than "Showdown", it is better. So is the acting (a little). The action scenes, however, are definitely better. The final fight between Khan and Jake moves VERY quickly, reminiscent of an old Bruce Lee film (and you get a new level of respect for Billy Blanks' skill). Also, Blanks clearly makes a better movie villain than hero. Definitely the better film, "King of the Kickboxers" by itself gets three stars.

Considering that you're getting two movies, you MIGHT want to pick it up. Maybe. But remember that "King of the Kickboxers" is no "Enter the Dragon", and "Showdown" is no "The Karate Kid".