While older action fans will certainly need cellophane tape to keep their eyelids pried open, even the kiddie crowd may turn up their noses at this lame children's fare about preteen female martial-artists who take on a greedy land developer.
Unbeknownst to the prize pupils of Lee's Tae Kwon Do Academy, an unscrupulous real estate whiz, Mr. Lucero (Frank De Angelo), is scheming to gobble up the school's property for razing and rebuilding. Because the school is like a second home to Kirsten Robinson (Rebekah Bartlett) and her sister
Tracy (Shawna Rae Dee Larson), and their dad, Matt Robinson, (Jack Savage) runs the Academy for Mr. Lee (Bobby Kim), the Robinson sisters and their best friends Shawna (Nicole Burks) and Lupe (Ka'imi Kuoha) decide to take matters into their own hands. After six thugs working for Lucero fail to
dent the girls' courage, Lucero steps up pressure by hitting Matt with a car and drugging him on the evening of his appointment with child welfare worker Julie Morgan (Shannon Marketic). Matt and Julie soon join forces to save the school; in the meantime, Mr. Lee is kidnapped by Lucero.
As preparations are made for a fundraiser, Matt learns that Mr. Lee has outfoxed Lucero by signing the building's ownership papers over to him. After the Robinson sisters are attacked by Lucero's hired goons, the real-estate war escalates as the girls outsmart the competition and persuade a
double-crossing cohort, Dean (Michael Baldoz) to defect to their side. After a decisive battle royale between Mr. Lee and Lucero's finest enforcer ends with Lee's victory, Lucero flees by boat with a captive Matt. Kirsten makes a daring leap onto the vessel, unties her father, and nabs Lucero
before he can make a getaway.
Acted in the style of "The New Mickey Mouse Club," this witless escapade does offer young girls some welcome role-models and is a respite from all those similar coming-of-age adventures for boys. Delivering a minimum of suspense out of its plot line, the movie swims in an ocean of cliches.
Die-hard action-movie fans will be so bored by this under-produced kung fu class palming itself off as an action adventure that they will be cheering for the greedy gangster to put the school out of business once and for all.(Violence.) leave a comment
