As usual Dacascos displays some excellent moves and great style in the fight scenes. The choreography ain't half bad either. However, thats the only compliment I can come up with for this movie. The dialogue will have you cringing and the plot is extremely weak and full of holes.
19 Reviews
Killer!!!!!!!!!
The__Watcher27 April 2001
This killed the whole Kickboxer series. I can't believe they said that David Sloan died in the beginning of the movie. Tong Po wasn't finished yet, because he ran away in part 4. The real Kickboxer Series Saga didn't end. If they made Kickboxer 5, it should have been about the Sloans again. I was so angry!!!! They shouldn't have called this Kickboxer 5. They just wanted Kickboxer fans too see it. If you are a Kickboxer fan, don't watch this one, it has nothing to do with the other Kickboxers. They should have called this movie something else. Why did they call it "Kickboxer 5". It's probably a good martial arts flick, but it shouldn't have been the sequel to the Sloan Saga.
Nothing special, but not too bad
gorthu19 April 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I probably went into this movie with my expectations set too high. James Ryan plays the villain and that is why I was so excited to see it. In case people don't know, he was the star of 'Kill or Be Killed' and 'Kill and Kill Again', 2 of the best American martial arts movies ever made. He plays the villain in Kickboxer 5, and does a fine job, but he is not in nearly as good of shape as he was 15 years prior to when this movie was made. He has not aged very well. Marc Dacascos is the star of the movie and he does a good acting job, but my main problem is that the fights are nothing special. Some good kicking, but that is really all that I enjoyed. The story is not even worth going over. It is pointless. Don't waste your time with watching this movie, even if you are a Marc Dacascos fan. He has a few good moments, and that is the only reason the movie is worth watching.
Nothing redeeming here...
fmarkland3211 June 2006
This time Mark Dacascos is the headlining kickboxer who destroys the company that killed his friends. Seems like the Negall federation has killed off champions who refuse to join (Including Sasha Mitchell's character David Sloan) of course this leads to a final confrontation between Mark Dacascos and James Ryan. Redemption:Kickboxer 5 is the only film of the series that I had never saw prior to my ordering of the Kickboxer 5 pack. This particular entry for some reason never played on USA or TBS like the others did. After watching the final product it's not hard to see why. First off the David Sloan killed off in this film looks so unlike Sasha Mitchell (Why didn't they use Geoff Meed who bares somewhat of a resemblance?) that I refuse to acknowledge that this indeed has anything to do with Kickboxer 1-4. I must admit that I rated Kickboxer 1-4 higher than I normally would due to my nostalgia at the time, I would get home from my gas station job and plop down on the couch and that would be on TV much to my delight. Redemption:Kickboxer 5 doesn't even have that to fall back on and indeed there is hardly any kickboxing at all to be found in this super lousy sequel. Dacascos has natural screen presence and James Ryan has his moments as a bad guy but I prefer ass kicking in my kickboxing movies and therefore this movie adds up to less than nothing for me.
1/2* out of 4-(Awful)
1/2* out of 4-(Awful)
Predictable and boring
kapecki26 May 2003
Mark Dacascos delivers the moves and his usual workman-like acting job in this utterly predictable martial arts revenge flick. James Ryan is appropriately evil and vicious--until he just caves before our hero. But little, not even the location filming in South Africa, can save this by-the-numbers film, especially with a climax that is...well, just not climactic.
The bottom of the kickboxing barrel
kidmoe24 April 2022
Continuing my journey through the Kickboxer universe, I've arrived at Kickboxer 5, the last (so far) numbered sequel. Unfortunately, they saved the worst for last.
From the get go, the cheapness is overwhelmingly obvious. When your opening title sequence looks cheaper than the last iPhone video you took of your cat chasing a flashlight beam, you know you're in trouble.
David Sloan is gone, murdered by a South African kickboxing syndicate for reasons I'm not entirely sure of. Are kickboxers kidnapped, falsely imprisoned, and murdered as much in real life as they are in the Kickboxer movies?
The always-awesome Mark Dacascos plays...I don't remember his character's name. I'll just call him Kickboxer. Kickboxer has to go to South Africa and do something kickboxing related...I think. I just finished watching it and I really don't remember.
One unusual plot point that is never expounded upon is the relationship between Kickboxer and his elderly, sweater-vest wearing, gentleman friend. At first, it seems that the gentleman is Kickboxer's gym manager, but a bit later, it appears they live together. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
MST3K fans will, of course, recognize James Ryan , here playing the head of the evil South Africa kickboxing syndicate, as "MacPhearson" from the classic Space Mutiny episode. Every time he appeared on screen I reflexively started yelling out David Ryder's nicknames.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to moving on to the next entry in the franchise.
From the get go, the cheapness is overwhelmingly obvious. When your opening title sequence looks cheaper than the last iPhone video you took of your cat chasing a flashlight beam, you know you're in trouble.
David Sloan is gone, murdered by a South African kickboxing syndicate for reasons I'm not entirely sure of. Are kickboxers kidnapped, falsely imprisoned, and murdered as much in real life as they are in the Kickboxer movies?
The always-awesome Mark Dacascos plays...I don't remember his character's name. I'll just call him Kickboxer. Kickboxer has to go to South Africa and do something kickboxing related...I think. I just finished watching it and I really don't remember.
One unusual plot point that is never expounded upon is the relationship between Kickboxer and his elderly, sweater-vest wearing, gentleman friend. At first, it seems that the gentleman is Kickboxer's gym manager, but a bit later, it appears they live together. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
MST3K fans will, of course, recognize James Ryan , here playing the head of the evil South Africa kickboxing syndicate, as "MacPhearson" from the classic Space Mutiny episode. Every time he appeared on screen I reflexively started yelling out David Ryder's nicknames.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to moving on to the next entry in the franchise.
Kickboxer 2 fans: now you know how WE felt!
sliat_198120 March 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Fans of Kickboxer 2, don't seem to mind that a character so important to the original (and played by such a presence as Van Damme) was killed off so easily and cheaply. But I see a lot of them raising a stink over David Sloane getting killed off. Basically they told us to "get over" it and "accept" this little wimp as the new kickboxer. David Sloane was a little weakling with no muscle that had no place in these movies. In all the sequels he would becoming back as the lead and people would think him as the "kickboxer". I loathed him and couldn't stand that his character was now the star while Van Damme's character was dead. Now, finally he's killed off and good riddance.They put in Mark Dacascos who really should have been in the sequel. He's a real martial artist with a strong build, unlike Satcha Mitchell who's a skinny B-grade actor, with no physique. I was actually glad to see David Sloane die as I never felt he deserved to live off Kurt's success. Now the David Sloane fans feel like all the other movies were pointless as he was going to die anyway. Well that's how us Van Damme fans felt in the sequel. They felt it was still a good movie despite being without Van Damme, well we fell this is a good one despite no Satcha Mitchell. I hope you feel as angry and annoyed as we were now that David was killed off so easily and cheaply as Van Damme was in the sequel. So enjoy this movie, cause David Sloane is never coming back! Accept it and get used to it!
hackneyed plot,too much running around and boring
disdressed1220 May 2007
this movie represents the slowest and most boring of the franchise(so far)i also found it pointless and even more devoid of any real story than any of the previous entries.there's some action scenes which are not bad and Mark Dacascos has some good fighting mood and i like his fighting style.he seems able to carry a movie all right,but the movie doesn't carry him.i did like the inclusion of James Ryan (from "Kill or be Killed"(1980) and "Kill and Kill Again)(1981)as the villain of the piece.he makes a pretty good villain and also has a very cool fighting style.but the problem with this movie,besides the hackneyed plot,is it is mostly just a bunch of endless foot chase scenes.in my opinion "Kickboxer 5" is a 4/10
Kickboxer 2-3-4-5
smitt-yd27 December 2008
WTF!Why did they ever make another Kickboxer without Van Damme? 2 and 3 were OK, but still they still don't compare at all with the first. Terrible fighting scenes.They should of left it alone after the first.Making 2-3-4-5 was very disrespectful to the original.(A CLASSIC)I think Kickboxer 4 just made Tong Po look so stupid and weak.In the original he lost to Van Damme but he still was a bad mofo.In 2 and 4 they made him like look an amateur.I know Van Damme ain't a great actor but his action scenes make up for that.Sasha Mitchell on the other hand is a terrible actor(acting scenes and fighting scenes)If your gonna make a sequel u better make it better then the first if not don't make it all.
Neat Martial Arts flick
Rautus27 May 2007
Warning: Spoilers
I enjoyed Redempition: Kickboxer 5 has much as I enjoyed the previous films, the fighting was good and the main villain Mr. Nagaal was Pretty good and so was the hero Matt Reeves. The film sees a Professional Kickboxing company called the Nagaal Federation wanting to recruit the worlds best Kickboxers to their company but if they refuse they kill them and that's what happens to David Sloan, the start explains that David has declined their offer so Nagaal tells them to kill him and then while the title credits start we see David Sloan battling a few of Nagaal's men but gets overpowered and killed.
We then go to retired Kickboxing Champion Matt Reeves (Mark Dacascos) who discovers his friend David was murdered and when his other friend is giving the offer to join the Nagaal Kickboxing Federation but declines they kill so Matt then goes to get revenge on Nagaal (James Ryan) but Nagaal sends Paul Croft (Geoff Meed) to kill Matt but Paul just used Nagaal to get out of prison and now wants to return home.
But it's not long before Matt and Paul are being hunted down my Nagaal's men so they try to escape them and when they go to the casino where Nagaal is Matt confronts him at his estate.
Redemption: Kickboxer 5 is a good film that doesn't disappoint with the action. Check it out.
We then go to retired Kickboxing Champion Matt Reeves (Mark Dacascos) who discovers his friend David was murdered and when his other friend is giving the offer to join the Nagaal Kickboxing Federation but declines they kill so Matt then goes to get revenge on Nagaal (James Ryan) but Nagaal sends Paul Croft (Geoff Meed) to kill Matt but Paul just used Nagaal to get out of prison and now wants to return home.
But it's not long before Matt and Paul are being hunted down my Nagaal's men so they try to escape them and when they go to the casino where Nagaal is Matt confronts him at his estate.
Redemption: Kickboxer 5 is a good film that doesn't disappoint with the action. Check it out.
Cheap sequel has little to do with the preceding films
Leofwine_draca13 May 2016
THE REDEMPTION is the last of the KICKBOXER franchise. This fifth part was shot in South Africa and has little to do with the preceding films, given that the hero of those is killed off in the early scenes and Mark Dacascos is the newcomer hero.
There aren't really many tournament scenes and indeed not really much of anything when it comes to the plotting. There's your routine villain responsible for various deaths and the like and the clean-cut hero who's busy trying to track him down and get revenge for various grievances. It's all very cheap-looking and the dull direction from Kristine Peterson doesn't really help much either.
I always like Dacascos as a fighter and to be fair he isn't so bad here in the action stakes. There's still plenty of action and even if none of it particularly wows you, it's still fun to watch. However, THE REDEMPTION is let down by a very poor supporting cast, particularly the villain who isn't imposing in the least, and Geoff Meed is just as wooden as a supposed henchman who becomes something else as the story progresses. If you're a massive fan of '90s-era fight action you might get a kick or two out of this, but it really is barrel scraping stuff.
There aren't really many tournament scenes and indeed not really much of anything when it comes to the plotting. There's your routine villain responsible for various deaths and the like and the clean-cut hero who's busy trying to track him down and get revenge for various grievances. It's all very cheap-looking and the dull direction from Kristine Peterson doesn't really help much either.
I always like Dacascos as a fighter and to be fair he isn't so bad here in the action stakes. There's still plenty of action and even if none of it particularly wows you, it's still fun to watch. However, THE REDEMPTION is let down by a very poor supporting cast, particularly the villain who isn't imposing in the least, and Geoff Meed is just as wooden as a supposed henchman who becomes something else as the story progresses. If you're a massive fan of '90s-era fight action you might get a kick or two out of this, but it really is barrel scraping stuff.
The Best Kickboxer Sequel!!!
ManBehindTheMask639 August 2006
"Matt Reeves, a retired kickboxing champion must resharpen his hard-hitting fighting skills in order to take on his best friend's murderer in an explosive fight to the death." This film is full of exciting explosive action and contains some decent acting. Mark Dacascos shows off some awesome martial arts moves and the fight choreography is fast-paced and original. The storyline is nothing new but this movie has better action and excitement then the first 3 sequels. I bought the 5-disc DVD collection and was happily surprised with how entertaining the film was. After watching the Kickboxer 2,3 & 4, Redemption:Kickboxer 5 is without a doubt the second best film in the series. if you like martial arts action films this is a movie you will probably enjoy and have a good time watching. If your not a hardcore kickboxer fan you might not appreciate it. But it is also one of Dacascos' best films.
not a very good end to this series
darksorcerer11 August 2009
Kickboxer 5 isn't the best movie out there...it is by far not the worst.
The Kickboxer franchise missed its superstar Van Damme after Kickboxer. Though most fans really enjoyed the sequels with the charismatic Sasha Mitchell (David Sloane) who was good at fighting and good at comedy and despised the beastly Tiger Tong po character from 1 and 2.
This title has neither Van Damme, Mitchell or Tong po. We can also forgive KickBoxer 4 from switching the tong po character star Michael Qissi, though this movie barely connects to the kickboxer franchise, the only connection is a weak Six degrees of separation to the character of David sloane which is obviously mentioned to justify the title.
The movie seemed like a very poorly produced title to try and make a bit of a profit from the cult following this series has, as well as to appeal to the straight to DVD audience/market.
Costs are now down due to the removal of Mitchell. The shooting location of South Africa confirms how the costs were kept down, The lead actor Mark Dacoscos seems like a talented Martial Artist and stars in this movie with Geoff Meed and james Ryan. The action is Very good and fast paced, a small concern is the fact that all the stars appear to be doing other styles of fighting instead of Kickboxing or Muay ti.
Overall the movie ain't to bad. It is a let down compared to the other Kickboxer films. I believe the title grab of Kickboxer 5 was more a money grab to receive more profits, when without the references to the Sloane family and the Kickboxer name as well as a bit more drama/character development this film could have easily Stood Alone and Made the same money without the kickboxer name.
Overall 4/10
The Kickboxer franchise missed its superstar Van Damme after Kickboxer. Though most fans really enjoyed the sequels with the charismatic Sasha Mitchell (David Sloane) who was good at fighting and good at comedy and despised the beastly Tiger Tong po character from 1 and 2.
This title has neither Van Damme, Mitchell or Tong po. We can also forgive KickBoxer 4 from switching the tong po character star Michael Qissi, though this movie barely connects to the kickboxer franchise, the only connection is a weak Six degrees of separation to the character of David sloane which is obviously mentioned to justify the title.
The movie seemed like a very poorly produced title to try and make a bit of a profit from the cult following this series has, as well as to appeal to the straight to DVD audience/market.
Costs are now down due to the removal of Mitchell. The shooting location of South Africa confirms how the costs were kept down, The lead actor Mark Dacoscos seems like a talented Martial Artist and stars in this movie with Geoff Meed and james Ryan. The action is Very good and fast paced, a small concern is the fact that all the stars appear to be doing other styles of fighting instead of Kickboxing or Muay ti.
Overall the movie ain't to bad. It is a let down compared to the other Kickboxer films. I believe the title grab of Kickboxer 5 was more a money grab to receive more profits, when without the references to the Sloane family and the Kickboxer name as well as a bit more drama/character development this film could have easily Stood Alone and Made the same money without the kickboxer name.
Overall 4/10
Despite some of the slowdowns, we recommend Kickboxer 5, especially to fans of the series.
tarbosh2200030 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
When an evil former kickboxer from South Africa named Mr. Negaal (Ryan) decides to form his own kickboxing association, it puts the entire kickboxing world in turmoil. With a mostly-inexplicable burning, seething hatred against all the other associations, the ruthless Negaal demands that all the best fighters join his group - or die. This hits home for Matt Reeves (Dacascos), a fighter with a heart of gold. It seems that the Negaal organization has senselessly killed off David Sloan, the man audiences had come to know and love in the prior sequels. So, of course, Reeves travels to South Africa to get justice. Along the way he meets fellow fighter Croft (Meed) and the two men finally go after Negaal. Much like if you turn in your bottles and cans at the bottle return, they're looking for REDEMPTION.
Kickboxer 5 has some good things going for it. First and foremost is Mark Dacascos in the lead, who is very likable. That goes a long way, especially when facing off a very bad, "boo-hiss" baddie like Negaal, who is very well-played in Billy Drago-esque fashion by James Ryan. So right there we have two things that a lot of movies of this ilk don't have - a good good guy and a bad bad guy.
Dacascos shows he has some great and very acrobatic fighting moves, and Ryan shows range after being the hero in Kill or Be Killed (1976) and Kill and Kill Again (1981). Other characters of note include Reeves's mentor and old salt Chalky, not to be confused with Rocky's Mickey or Hercules in New York's Pretzie. Reeves's sidekick Croft looks like a more bulked-up Vanilla Ice, and Negaal's henchman is a dead ringer for Christopher McDonald. Naturally, there's a fight in a warehouse, which is a movie highlight, and there's a decent amount of local South African color.
So that's all good, but even with its very fair 87-minute running time, things start to drag at times and the pacing is all over the place. One minute you're having a grand old time, the next it's slow as molasses. Still, it's an improvement over director Petersen's prior film to this, the disappointing The Hard Truth (1994). At least here, there are moments of action and excitement. And a training sequence that features very intensive neck exercises. Don't worry, they're very important.
Sure, the plot - especially as it relates to former characters Kurt Sloan, David Sloan, or Tong Po - doesn't make much sense, but, hey, it's the fourth DTV sequel to Kickboxer, so whaddaya want? When looked at in that light, it's a bit better than it has any right to be.
Despite some of the slowdowns, we recommend Kickboxer 5, especially to fans of the series. It's better than the latter-day sequels, if nothing else.
Kickboxer 5 has some good things going for it. First and foremost is Mark Dacascos in the lead, who is very likable. That goes a long way, especially when facing off a very bad, "boo-hiss" baddie like Negaal, who is very well-played in Billy Drago-esque fashion by James Ryan. So right there we have two things that a lot of movies of this ilk don't have - a good good guy and a bad bad guy.
Dacascos shows he has some great and very acrobatic fighting moves, and Ryan shows range after being the hero in Kill or Be Killed (1976) and Kill and Kill Again (1981). Other characters of note include Reeves's mentor and old salt Chalky, not to be confused with Rocky's Mickey or Hercules in New York's Pretzie. Reeves's sidekick Croft looks like a more bulked-up Vanilla Ice, and Negaal's henchman is a dead ringer for Christopher McDonald. Naturally, there's a fight in a warehouse, which is a movie highlight, and there's a decent amount of local South African color.
So that's all good, but even with its very fair 87-minute running time, things start to drag at times and the pacing is all over the place. One minute you're having a grand old time, the next it's slow as molasses. Still, it's an improvement over director Petersen's prior film to this, the disappointing The Hard Truth (1994). At least here, there are moments of action and excitement. And a training sequence that features very intensive neck exercises. Don't worry, they're very important.
Sure, the plot - especially as it relates to former characters Kurt Sloan, David Sloan, or Tong Po - doesn't make much sense, but, hey, it's the fourth DTV sequel to Kickboxer, so whaddaya want? When looked at in that light, it's a bit better than it has any right to be.
Despite some of the slowdowns, we recommend Kickboxer 5, especially to fans of the series. It's better than the latter-day sequels, if nothing else.
the end
SnoopyStyle10 July 2023
David Sloane refuses to join Mr. Negaal (James Ryan) and his kickboxing federation in South Africa. Negaal's thugs have him killed. Johnny Styles is the next to be approached and he gets thrown off the roof. His friend Matt Reeves (Mark Dacascos) arrives too late and his friend dies in his arms. He wants revenge.
Sasha Mitchell doesn't even return after getting a steady gig. This B-movie franchise is really on its last legs. The writing is a mess. I followed it fine up to a point until I stopped caring. I don't care about any of these new characters. Dacascos is a B-action star and Iron Chef character. I marginally care about him. This one tries to be a little funny. The production is 90's TV level. The action is nothing new. This is the end, my friend... until somebody wants this bottom of the barrel IP.
Sasha Mitchell doesn't even return after getting a steady gig. This B-movie franchise is really on its last legs. The writing is a mess. I followed it fine up to a point until I stopped caring. I don't care about any of these new characters. Dacascos is a B-action star and Iron Chef character. I marginally care about him. This one tries to be a little funny. The production is 90's TV level. The action is nothing new. This is the end, my friend... until somebody wants this bottom of the barrel IP.
Ruined the series
fullenw5 July 2006
Warning: Spoilers
The plot has Mr Negal, a man more dangerous than he appears assassinating anyone that doesn't join his federation. David Sloan ends one up being one of them and not played by Sasha Mitchell this time.
I didn't enjoy the fight scenes that much. The 1st one (as short as it was) and the last one were the only fights fun to watch.
This isn't a bad movie as the characters are pretty interesting. The plots creative. Marc Dacascos does a great job.
It seemed they just included David Sloan's death to connect to the franchise. Average "redemption" film (no pun intended) but as a kickboxer film its just a cash in.
I didn't enjoy the fight scenes that much. The 1st one (as short as it was) and the last one were the only fights fun to watch.
This isn't a bad movie as the characters are pretty interesting. The plots creative. Marc Dacascos does a great job.
It seemed they just included David Sloan's death to connect to the franchise. Average "redemption" film (no pun intended) but as a kickboxer film its just a cash in.
David Sloan out...Matt Reeves in
AlbertV7920 September 2002
Warning: Spoilers
This was better than Kickboxer 4. However, what was disappointing was that David Sloan was killed off. His death is seen in the opening credits of the film. However, David has a best friend in Matt Reeves, played by the always fantastic Mark Dacascos. Mark collaborated with Burton Richardson on all the fights involving him. It was great to see James Ryan after the karate films Kill or be Killed and Kill and Kill Again this time as bad guy Negaal. What annoyed me though was Negaal's goons, Moon and Boller...they should've been dead from the beginning. It's easy to see why the filmmakers call it Kickboxer 5. A suggestion to the filmmakers: If you ever do Kickboxer 6, have Matt Reeves fight Tong Po in the ultimate battle for honor and revenge...not only for Matt, but for the Sloans as well.
Good Movie
Bon-529 June 1999
Not as good as the first Kickboxer movie but better than all the other ones. I recommend this movie if you like the Kickboxers movies because it is a good movie and Mark Dacascos is pretty good in the movie and it is also a good martial arts movie.
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