The Last Kumite 4K Review (Capelight Pictures)

The Last Kumite is a 2024 independent martial arts film co-written, shot, and directed by Ross W. Clarkson (General Commander, Vixen, and Captured). It was written and produced by Sean David Lowe (Basketball Time Machine and Lion Fist). Scott Adkins was considered for the lead. Composer Paul Hertzog (Kickboxer, Bloodsport, Breathing Fire, Dangerous Love, and My Chauffeur) to come out of retirement to score the film. It was financed through Kickstarter. Martial artist Michael Rivers (played by: Mathis Landwehr from V for Vendetta, Sky Sharks, and Ultimate Justice) is victorious at a tough martial arts competition which grabs the attention of ruthless promoter Ron Hall (played by: Matthias Hues from Dark Angel, No Retreat No Surrender 2, Big Top Pee-Wee, Kickboxer 2, Blackbelt, TC 2000, Cyber Vengeance, Talons of the Eagle, Maximum Impact, Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich, and Mission of Justice) with his henchman Wolf (played by: Michel Qissi from Kickboxer franchise, Bloodsport, Lionheart, Bloodmatch, and Terminator Woman). He also deals with human trafficking. He invites Rivers to compete in a dangerous underground tournament in Bulgaria for a million dollar prize. Rivers quickly turns him down and he decides to retire. Hall is desperate for quality fighters to go against underground champion Dracko (played by: Mike Derudder from GWF Machtkampf) so he kidnaps daughter of the retired martial artist Bree (played by: Kira Kortenbach from Berlin Ninja and Lion Fist) that forces him to enter the gruesome tournament. Rivers meets other fighters which includes Damon Spears (played by: Kurt McKinney from No Retreat No Surrender, Sworn to Vengeance, General Hospital, Guiding Light, and Sworn to Justice) and Lea Martin (played by: Monia Moula from Zero Dark Thirty, Switch, and Out of the World) who were also blackmailed into doing this. Rivers is trained by Dracko’s former Sensei Julie Jackson (played by: Cynthia Rothrock from China O’Brien franchise, Martial Law franchise, Tiger Claws franchise, Lady Dragon franchise, No Retreat No Surrender 2, and Eye for an Eye) with Master Loren (played by: Billy Blanks from The Last Boy Scout, Lionheart, Bloodfist, Showdown, The King of the Kickboxers, TC 2000, Talons of the Eagle, and Back in Action) to prepare to fight for his life and his family. As the unauthorized and secret tournament begins, these desperate fighters battle against their will for freedom. Who will survive this last Kumite???? The Last Kumite is a throwback film to 80’s action and martial arts movies from back in the day. The greatest thing about The Last Kumite is that it features all kinds of iconic actors from that sub-genre. Director Ross W. Clarkson brings you back to all those familiar vibes for those old school popular features that dominated the direct to video market during the 80’s. Mathis Landwehr is solid as the lead, he looks the part and he can hold his own when it comes to the fights. Action icon Matthias Hues has always been a fantastic villain, The Last Kumite is no different. It’s great to see him return in something like this. Michel Qissi actually looks more like himself as the brutal henchman Wolf. He’s mainly known for being Tong Po from the Kickboxer series which changed his natural look so much. It’s great to see him in this same type of movie after all these years. Kurt McKinney shined in a few earlier martial arts features a long time ago, he plays an older fighter known as Damon Spears in this. Martial arts legends Cynthia Rothrock and Billy Blanks are amazing as the main character’s teachers as he trains for this death tournament. They both ease into these familiar roles especially Blanks like he did with Showdown. It’s cool to see both of them evolve as performers in The Last Kumite. Most of the movies that made them famous would have been them playing the reverse characters so it’s a unique change up for them. It has solid supporting cast that includes Monia Moula, Kira Kortenbach, Mike Derudder, Abdel Qissi (The Quest, Lionheart, and The Order), Mike Möller (The Expendables 4), David Kurzhal (Order of the Dragon), David “Bolo Jr” Yeung (The Circuit 4), and Janos Tiborcz (Guns Akimbo). The Last Kumite provides plenty of quality fights with legit martial arts choreography and violence for fans of this sub-genre. It has an old school soundtrack and score that brings you back to the 80’s. There’s no CGI or doubles for the competition, it’s all natural like it was back in the day. It’s very entertaining and it’s a lot of fun. This low budget fight feature has solid replay value. I really appreciated all the nods and respect it shows to all of those martial arts projects from the past, RECOMMENDED!!!!Let’s discuss this high definition presentation and special features from Capelight Pictures! This 2160p (1.78:1) transfer with Dolby Vision and HDR10 looks great especially for being a smaller feature. I was a little surprised that The Last Kumite got this type of treatment for home video. I will say the fight scenes really pop on this 4K restoration. It has a few different audio options which includes English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and German: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 tracks on the UHD. All of the dialogue is crystal clear, the action is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It has English SDH and German subtitles. It comes with a blu ray of the release. It has the almost 22 minute “Behind the Scenes” feature directed by Christina Grey. It has all kinds of footage from the production here especially with their training . It has interviews with Kurt McKinney, Cynthia Rothrock, Mike Derudder, Sean David Lowe, David Kurzhal, Jason Brant, Kira Kortenbach, and Billy Blanks. They talk about how they got involved in the project. They discuss the film and their roles in it. It has around 47 minutes of “Interviews” with Kurt McKinney, Michel Qissi, Mathis Landwehr, Matthias Hues, Sean David Lowe, Jason Brant, and Paul Hertzog. They talk about their influences, their favorite feature that they were in, the sub-genre, how they got the film, their characters, and working on The Last Kumite. They joke around about doing more sequels to this. All of them are in English except for Mathis Landwehr and Sean David Lowe. That’s in German with English subtitles. “Sean and Mathis Comment on Previs” is almost 6 minutes. It features lead actor Mathis Landwehr and writer Sean David Lowe. They go over their experiences. They watch some scenes and give their own commentary on it. It’s in German with English subtitles. It has an almost 4 minute music video from Stan Bush for “No Surrender”. It has the original “Trailer” and “Teaser” for the martial arts movie. The Last Kumite has excellent packaging for this limited edition steelbook. It’s available everywhere right now, CHECK IT OUT!!!!