A troubled teen resists the tough love approach of his family and the martial arts community, but ultimately finds his way in this action-packed, family friendly film, coming to Blu-ray, DVD and digital download July 19 from Traditionz Entertainment.
The Martial Arts Kid was awarded five Doves by the Dove Foundation – its highest possible score – and is Family Approved for ages 12+; won four awards in film festival competition, including a Platinum Remi Award at the 2015 WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival; and was released theatrically in 20 cities in fall 2015.
Starring Jansen Panettiere, the younger brother of Hayden whose film and television career is rapidly taking off; teen actress Kathryn Newton, who starred in Paranormal Activity 4 and has been seen in such hit films as Bad Teacher and in roles on such popular television series as Supernatural; Don “The Dragon” Wilson, an 11-time world champion kickboxer who has scored 47 knockouts, is a European Martial Arts Hall of Famer and a veteran star of more than 30 action films, including such box office hits as Batman Forever and Say Anything; Cynthia Rothrock, who holds six black belts and is one of the first female martial arts action stars, with over 50 movies to her credit; Mathew Ziff, who has appeared in such films as Treachery with Michael Biehn and Six Gun Savior with Eric Roberts and Martin Kove; and T.J. Storm, a world-class martial artist and actor who has appeared in dozens of action films and television series.
About The Martial Arts Kid … When Robbie (Panettiere), runs into trouble once again in his Ohio hometown, his beleaguered grandmother sends him to spend the summer with his aunt (Rothrock) and uncle (Wilson), who owns a martial arts school in a sleepy, Florida beach community. The defiant teen is less than pleased with the “tough love” arrangement … until he encounters a local girl named Rina (Newton). However, her boyfriend, Bo (Ziff), is the town bully and, backed by a posse of tough pals, seems to run things.
Making matters even worse … Bo is a student at Dojo Extreme, a mixed martial arts gym run by a fierce coach (Storm), who – unlike Robbie’s well-regarded uncle – flouts the traditional martial art principles and philosophies of honor, teaching his students that might makes right.
With things spiraling out of control and desperately wanting to prove himself to his family and Rina, Robbie reluctantly turns to his uncle for help …
Directed by producer-writer-director Michael Baumgarten (Pretty Obsession), probably best known for writing/producing Smitty, starring Mira Sorvino, Louis Gossett, Jr. and Peter Fonda; the film also features cameos by a who’s who of Karate masters and grandmasters from across the country, including Gerry Blanck, Pete “Sugarfoot” Cunningham, Jeff Smith, Olando Rivera, Christine Bannon-Rodrigues, Dewey “Black Kobra” Cooper, Glenn Wilson, Barry Broughton, Sergio Barriga, Sayed Qubadi, Jody Nolan, Ewart Chin, Dr. Richard Hill and Kevin Bergquist.
Featuring a stellar soundtrack with music from such artists as Martin Blasick (“Ladies of Tampa,” Magic Mike); YouTube star Megan Nicole; Christian performer Jamie Slocum; The Gills; Malik Williams; Kayley Stallings (who also plays “Katie” in the film); and more.
The Martial Arts Kids is available on Blu-ray, DVD and digital download on Amazon.com and for digital download on iTunes. Presented in widescreen, with an aspect ratio of 16 x 9 (1:78), and 5.1 stereo.
I received a copy to review and I highly recommend this one for ages 12+.
Credit:
Traditionz Entertaiment: With offices in Los Angeles, Calif., and Cocoa, Fla.,Traditionz Entertainment produces family friendly feature films, television and digital programming. Currently, the company is in post production on the action-comedy film, Paying Mr. McGetty, directed by Michael Baumgarten and starring martial arts champion Don “The Dragon” Wilson and R. Marcos Taylor, who portrayed Suge Knight in Straight Outta Compton and will soon be seen in Baby Driver, opposite Kevin Spacey and Jamie Foxx; and is in development on The Martial Arts Kid 2 and the vampire-action flick Blood Raid.
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