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Cast: Don 'The Dragon' Wilson, Cynthia 'Lady Dragon' Rothrock, TJ Storm, Matthew Ziff, NASSIM 'Young Dragon' FARAS LAHRIZI, Bill 'Superfoot' Wallace
A coming of age story about troubled Cleveland teen Robbie Oakes (Jansen Panettiere) who moves to Cocoa Beach, Florida to live with his Aunt Cindy (Cynthia Rothrock) and Uncle Glen (Don "The Dragon" Wilson) after getting arrested in Ohio. Upon his arrival, he meets a beautiful girl, Rina (Kathryn Newton), whose boyfriend, Bo (Matthew Ziff), has made it his personal mission to make Robbie's life as difficult as possible. Now with something in his life to stand up for, Robbie soon finds himself learning martial arts from his Aunt and Uncle to protect himself and the people he cares about.
"The Martial Arts Kid" tells the story of teen Robbie. Robbie's dad left him and his mother when he was little and in his mom was killed when she was hit by a car so his Grandma raised him but the problem is he is always getting into trouble. His latest arrest is the last straw and his Grandma ships him out to Florida to live with his Aunt and Uncle. Robbie's first day in Florida doesn't start off very well. For starters he sneaks out late at night and after meeting a cute girl at a local store her boyfriend beats Robbie up. It doesn't take long for Robbie to find out that his Aunt and Uncle are Martial Artists and his Uncle runs a school. Sick and tired of the path he is leading Robbie asks his Uncle to teach him and in the process Robbie learns some important lessons in life.
I really liked this film, it of course reminded me of "The Karate Kid" in some ways but the film brought enough of its own ideas to the table as well making it a film adults can watch with their teenage kids. The film also sends some good messages as well, some of them deal with learning martial arts for the right reasons, it also teaches kids to have respect, discipline and it also sends very strong messages about bullying others.
There are some scenes and some dialogue in the film that are a little cheesy but for the most part it is a well-told story that combines some good acting with some very good fight scenes. Speaking of the acting how can you not love a movie that has Don "The Dragon" Wilson and Cynthia Rothrock it in? Both play Robbie's Uncle and Aunt in the film and they give terrific performances. The film's star is Jansen Panettiere who plays Robbie, Jansen has the acting chops like his older sister and he gives a very good performance here. I can see him being a star before long. The other notable performance in the film belongs to Kathryn Newton who plays Robbie's love interest. And the rest of the supporting cast did a great job as well.
"The Martial Arts Kid" does a great job at entertaining and teaching our young some valuable lessons. There are some good action scenes, laughs and drama as well which makes it a great addition to your home video library. It also has some of the greatest martial artists ever assembled in one film and a very talented young cast.
Available now on DVD and Blu-ray with Special Features that include:
Theatrical Trailer
Commentary from Film Makers and Cast
Deleted Scenes
Bonus Materials
You can order the DVD and Blu-ray HERE.
Released by Traditionz Entertainment
**** Out Of *****