The Last Kumite

The Last Kumite: Michael Rivers, who is a martial artist tries to fight for the purpose of rescuing his daughter from an illegal fighting tournament. Along the way he discovers other martial artists too have fought to save their loved ones.

The Last Kumite, directed Sean David Lowe which is an NBA focused YouTube host, is said to be a film driven by a tinged sense of nostalgia especially for people who grew up watching tournament fighter-based movies of the 1980s and early 90s. These films are often say to have first or second generation replica copies of cult classic movies such as Bloodsport and Kickboxer.

In line with this is a huge amount of anticipated desire, but Lowe went further and completed the filming itself on time and several of the 80s and 90s figureheads of the video motion era acted in the movie: Rothrock, Matthias Hues, Qissi brothers, Billy Blanks and McKinney. All of them can be recognized as being the primary protagonist or antagonist of one of those millions of ‘Mockbusters’ made in the late 80s and early 90s. So it’s more reassuringly familiar.

Now the big question is, Does it deliver? The tourney is based about a group of heroes who are forced to compete in the hopes of ruining the mechanical fighting and duel in love leverages with simple plot bases around a catastrophic fight centered around family members.

The fighters are led to believe they are going into a death match, which is quite entertaining considering that there are no death matches in a tournament that nearly always involves violence; nobody wants to reiterate the 1990s video clichés in which the fighters are forced to kill one another. Heathenish, is it not? No one comes for the fur of a torturous Dracko (Mike Derudder) where unfortunate participants do not go unscarred, in this case, anywhere. Or how about the numerous volley punches caught in between? We don’t seek consistency to the story in these films; do we? Not particularly. Everyone will go crazy in the brawling or training montages. This one: The Last Kumite, does provide them rather effectively.

This film stars Mathis Landwehr as Michael Rivers, a man who must defeat the nefarious Ron Hall (Matthias Hues) to rescue his daughter. But he is not alone; he is joined by McKinney and a few other fighters who are equally determined and enter the tournament looking for a way out. Other than a stretched introduction to the actual tournament that feels, I don’t know, about ten minutes long, this film holds its audiences well and manages to capture the spirit of the series quite nicely.

It can certainly not be expected of it to come close to what true gems of the genre, such as those with Van Damme, have to offer. Although, it does measure up to the films such as Bloodfist, one of the profitable films produced by the talented and experienced Roger Corman that had Don ‘The Dragon’ Wilson as its star (unfortunately, he isn’t featured in this movie The Last Kumite).

Let me say this: if the filmmakers were aiming to achieve their target audience, I am the person who would touch their furthest targets. This type of film was the reason behind me growing up with fond memories of Ma and Pa video stores. Through my childhood’s memories, I remember one of my friend’s brother possessed a scratched VHS with a lot of Tournament Fighters videos which was quite famous back then, as it included MMs, Blanks, Rothrock, Mckinney, and others. Plus, I am the kind of person who has a soft spot for classic 70s and 80s rock opera soundtracks. Uh, if you really want to know, Paul Hertzog and Stan Bush can quite simply be considered the greatest ever soundbots throughout all history.

One of the particular strong points of Lowe’s Lover Letter is on the point of Hertzog brushing the dust from his synths to soundtrack it, in a way that only he can do himself from the 1980s, whilst Bush manages to bring a title song that isn’t a mere tribute but an actual song from the period (there is a distinction). It is a style that, when composing my own films, makes me think of Hertzog and Bush, who I often picture behind the score.

The legends come in and get their moments to shine. Better still, Blanks may actually give a well-rounded performance because he’s quite good in all aspects, whereas McKinney was always superior to most of his peers in that regard, and does so once again. Hues clearly enjoys being the bad guy, working hard at being villainous, which is expected of him, given his stature. As for the new kids on the block, Landwehr offers physicality in abundance even if there’s no LOA screen presence like the other old-school genre specialists. He still does enough to make us route for his character.

Over in another part of the internet, Youtuber David Kurzhal aka Viking Samurai has never really been one to hold his opinion on just about anything, whether it’s showering praises for Steven Seagal or criticising today’s action films (and he does have a point). So the next step of appearing on camera is exactly the moment which will see him delivering on areas he has always been critical about. He’s already done that in the ring with a boxing exhibition and here he gets in the firing line.

The guy definitely has the requisite physical attributes (epic fight sequences including some Van Damme-styled 360 kicks) and he performs adequately to his part. It’s encouraging considering that there are more films in the offing and they all seem to be nostalgic for the video action of the early 90s that so many modern DTV films seems to lack, a little dose of fun.

Director Ross W. Clarkson has been in the game for quite some time, most famously for being one of the foremost cinematographers in the DTV Action genre, apart from being a versatile cameraman.

Fights and montages are effective in capturing energy and adding some dynamism to the proceedings (also assisted by Oliver Harper, another YouTuber who handles the film s editing). The best asset of this particular film is the enthusiasm that went into making it. It comes from a genuine appreciation for movies like Bloodsport and there is charm in abundance here. Some fragments appear to be more hurried than others, but this is bound to be the case when making such films on shoestring budgets. Clarkson’s eye is what counts in viewing the better moments, which have more complicated light setup, etc.

This is especially so considering the fact that it is that sincerity, all too absent in the run-of-the-mill products that churn out from Emmett and Furla, that makes The Last Kumite a great treat. If tournament brawlers aren’t your thing, then it might be a problem. Still, fans of the genre will have plenty of reasons to be pleased. I adored it and cannot wait for the second part!

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