Leofwine_draca This is a decent little martial arts flick very much in the Hong Kong mould – although it's an American movie, there's a lot of Chinese talent behind the scenes which means that the varied fight scenes are identical to the ones you'll find coming out of Hong Kong during the same period. The film this directly reminded me of was Yuen Biao's ABOVE THE LAW, for example. It's the third in a series of films that seem to get slightly better as they go along. The first was a fun take on the KARATE KID story, the second used a Rambo-era Vietnam backdrop for the action, and this one is just a stand alone action flick.The first thing I noticed was that the acting is absolutely diabolical – the worst of the series, and among the worst I've seen even in this genre. Keith Vitali is a more than able fighter but his attempts at emoting are frankly atrocious – and it's little wonder that he didn't go on to star in much after this. Loren Avedon, returning from the last film, is better, but not on the level of a Van Damme or Seagal in their heyday. Not that it matters much – the supporting cast are bad enough to make Vitali and Avedon look good on occasion, with the exception of Rion Hunter, the weird-looking bad guy who plays this thing down to a tee. Wanda Acuna, in comparison, the Puerto Rican love interest, is awful.But anyway – who watches these flicks for the acting? I certainly don't – it's all about the action, and that's where NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER 3: BLOOD BROTHERS triumphs. The fight scenes come thick and fast and are expertly choreographed to best show off the genuine skills of the participants. They can be funny (Avedon pretending to kill his brother) and they can be violent (the last, extended bout which doesn't disappoint at all) but the key thing is that they're all good – even the brief ones. They're also packed with stunts, from the usual 'guys smashing through windows' stuff to that effect I love, where somebody is kicked and spin around and around, incredibly fast, in the air before hitting the ground. Weapon play, shoot-outs, and the classic two-versus-one climax – I loved every bit of it.Okay, so the story is pretty weak when it comes down to it, although the opening murder of the father was sufficiently violent to have me shocked and rooting for the good guys to kick some backside. The film meanders in places, and comes across as very dated in terms of the fashions, the haircuts, and the mannerisms, but hey, it was still the '80s when they filmed it. BLOOD BROTHERS is nothing more than a popcorn action flick and works very well for what it is.

jimminysnickety The Alexander brothers are nearly going to kill each other... both are trained fighters with different personalities. Their semi-retired CIA dad stubbornly wants another crack at putting some Terrorists away for life. The patriarch about to have his 65th birthday and only chance at any intervention with the two sons.Loren Avedon as the younger brother Will Alexander demonstrates some of his signature KICKS,SWEEPS, and FLIPS. He is a Martial Art Instructor by day and a vigilante by leisure. Keith Vitalli as Casey Alexander plays the overly domineering and arrogant older sibling. He has got into his dad's profession which his bro Will has no interest for. The dad played by Joseph Cappanelli (sorry about the spelling) is oblivious of the for-boding drama.The brothers ultimately have to pursue the Terrorists but they take different paths to find them. The Lead Terrorist Franco is heavily guarded by dozens of armed men. He even has a right hand man Russo.Franco uses Will after successfully joining forces. Now under his corny new alias Jesse Roby he kills his CIA brother or does he? Franco meets rogue CIA Agent Atteron (Luke Askew) who basically spoils Will's cover. Franco captures Casey Alexander and threatens to kill him if Will Doesn't do what he says.The finally has some fast paced martial art choreographed scenes. Franco is maybe the most badass villain in martial art movie history with his brutal moves.

BA_Harrison I wasn't expecting much from No Retreat NoSurrender 3: the DVD I watched was a bare bones pan and scan effort (meaning that the distributor either couldn't be arsed or thought the film unworthy of much attention), and the director and 'stars' were unknowns to this fan of fight-fests. However, despite some awful acting and an unimaginative story, Blood Brothers actually proved to be quite good fun. Not groundbreaking in any way, shape or form, you understand, but solidly entertaining stuff nonetheless, particularly if you enjoy silly action trash from the 90s (it comes packed with nasty hairstyles, a naff soundtrack, and plenty of hard-bodied babes).Loren Avedon and Keith Vitali play Will and Casey Alexander, two brothers who fail to see eye to eye; Casey is a womanising CIA operative, whilst Will is a selfish Karate instructor with a strong moral sense (but no fashion sense—check out his denim and leather blouson jacket, chinos, and aviator shades combo!). But when their father is murdered by a group of terrorists, led by white-mullet-ed baddie Franco (Rion Hunter), they eventually learn to work together in order to bring the killers to justice.Casey uses his connections in 'the company' to locate the whereabouts of those responsible for his old man's demise, and then convinces Maria, his ex-girlfriend (and also an ex-employee of Franco's), to help him make contact with them; Will, on the other hand, is a little more impetuous and hot foots it to Florida on his own (after taking a peek at his brother's Top Secret file on the case), changes his name to Jessie, and gets a job with the bad guys as a 'heavy'.Inevitably, Will's true identity is discovered and big brother Casey must come to the rescue.Of course, it's not the quality of the story that matters in a film like this—it's the action. And with bone-crunching stunts, and loads of fast and furious martial arts, fans of the genre should not be disappointed. What Avedon and Vitali lack in acting skills, they more than make up for with their ability to kick ass.The fighting is certainly impressive stuff: acrobatic, fast, and very painful looking, with bodies crashing through glass, falling from great heights, and generally being treated in a manner that would cause mere mortals like me to spend many months in hospital (or, quite likely, an eternity six feet under). The use of some unconvincing stunt-doubles, particularly in the film's closing moments, kinda spoils things a tad (Hunter's stand-in wears a VERY bad wig), but, on the whole, as low-budget actioners go, this one delivers the goods where it matters most.6.5, rounded up to 7 for IMDb

davideo-2 STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging Behind * The Pits Will (Loren Avedon) returns to be with his CIA brother Casey (Keith Vitali) at their father's 65th birthday party. However, when the old man is murdered by the evil Franco (Rion Hunter) they are both re-united in a quest for revenge...When the movie opens, we see a foiled bank hold-up where American Imperialism self-righteously prevails when we see that the gangs agenda appears to be against American-imposed wars abroad. From there, we're left to gawp at just how much charisma Avedon actually had and how sad it was that he never moved on to bigger and better things. His delivery's a little ropey, but other than that, he's a spot on action star. Hunter in the bad guy role also has a genuine presence to him that is typical of DTV action fudd of the time that this movie was released.From here, we see what is essentially a very weak film. It's predictable, clichéd, simplistic and lazy. But, for fans of the past two films, who get a kick out of the hammy over-acting, corny 80s soundtracks and the cleverly choreographed martial arts sequences, it may just pass muster all the same, but it is an undeniably wise final edition to the series. **