No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990)

Two feuding brothers (one a policeman, the other a martial arts expert) of different political views, join forces to avenge the death of their father, a retired agent, killed by the mafia.

Director:

Lucas Lowe (as Lucas Lo)

Writer:

Keith W. Strandberg (screenplay)

Stars:

Loren Avedon, Keith Vitali, Joseph Campanella

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Loren Avedon	...	Will Alexander
Keith Vitali	...	Casey Alexander
Joseph Campanella	...	John Alexander
Wanda Acuna	...	Maria
Luke Askew	...	Atteron
Rion Hunter	...	Franco
Mark Russo	...	Russo - Franco's Henchman
David Michael Sterling	...	Angel
Philip Benson	...	Macpherson
Sherrie Rose	...	Jodie
Mike Genova	...	Head Terrorist
D. Christian Gottshall	...	Franklin
Brett Ancell	...	Farmer
B.J. McQueen	...	Man at Bar
Tracey Berg	...	Amy

Storyline

Two feuding brothers (one a policeman, the other a martial arts expert) of different political views, join forces to avenge the death of their father, a retired agent, killed by the mafia.

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Plot Keywords:

american flag | terrorist | held hostage in a bank | pretending to be crippled | character says saved by the bell | 

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Taglines:

The first was for honour, The second for his country, This time it's family.

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Genres:

Action

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for martial arts violence.

Did You Know?

Trivia

There's a climatic speed chase sequence by actor Loren Avedon on motorbike in the film. This was the second time a similar sequence happens in a No Retreat No Surrender movie. That's when Loren Avedon's character (Scott Wylde) is fleeing from police on motorbike in No Retreat No Surrender 2.

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Goofs

At the start of the movie when Will and Casey's dad is cutting the cake, the boom mic is visible above them.

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Quotes

Casey Alexander: What are you doing here?
[both Casey and Will fall to the floor]
Will Alexander: Killing you!
[points to the window]
Casey Alexander: [realizes the situation] Oh sorry. I should have guessed!
[puts Will's hand on his throat and fake yells]

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Alternate Versions

The UK video version featured a shorter print which missed out some dialogue scenes and footage of butterfly knives. The DVD runs around 7 mins longer and features the complete version.

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Connections

Featured in The King of the Kickboxers (1990)

User Reviews

An enjoyable, mindless martial arts movie from the 90s.

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

Details

Country:

Hong Kong

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 1990 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers

Filming Locations:

Tampa, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Imperial Releasing, Seasonal Film Corporation, St. Petersburg Clearwater Film Commission

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)