This is the third part in what must be one of the strangest, most specific movie franchises ever. The 'Penitentiary' series is about a prison where boxing tournaments seem to be par for the course. Despite the clearly unlikely set-up, the first film was actually a reasonably good blaxploitation prison drama. This third instalment, despite covering much the same ground, adopts a much different approach. It isn't so much a drama as a comedy, with all manner of ridiculous scenes. There is even homage to the most famous scene from the first film where the hero Too Sweet engages in an extended fight with a scary fellow inmate within the close confines of his cell. In this flick, Too Sweet again fights another adversary in his cell but this time it's a deranged midget! Like the scene from the first movie, this is also the best sequence in the film. Except this one really seems like a parody of the first in its sheer silliness. The midget is a psychotic madman who lives in chains in a dungeon underneath the prison, and he is brought out to batter prisoners who go against the grain. It's monumentally daft of course but is in keeping with the general tone of the entire film which is consistently ridiculous. To be fair, the movie does have some genuine funny parts too, such as when Too Sweet is driven to jail at the beginning to the melancholic sound of a saxophone, only for the camera to pan down and see that some fellow inmate is actually playing this music in the van. Penitentiary III is a film for those who want to watch a film for a few laughs with a couple of beers. It has its moments but overstays its welcome.
14 Reviews
A worthy companion piece for RAGING BULL...if RAGING BULL were directed by Ed Wood!
EL BUNCHO5 December 2001
There is no way that this movie could have been made to be taken seriously. I won't give away the plot(because it is so ludicrous that your mouth will be agape for the entire running time, I kid you not!), but ask anyone who has seen this about "The Midnight Thud" and get ready to see that person collapse in a fit of laughter. HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION FOR SHEER STUPIDITY!!!
Beyond Surreal
Maciste_Brother13 May 2003
A prison/boxing movie that has to be seen to be believed. It's almost impossible to explain. Too Sweet ends up in prison again because he violently pummels a boxer to death during a boxing match after his drink was spiked with some sort of drug that made him crazy and more violent. The prison has a dungeon(!!!) where a midget is kept like an animal and who is routinely left out of by the prison wardens whenever they want to get rid of a prisoner. The prison is basically controlled by a blond man who's prison cell is decorated with tacky red curtains and paintings. And he's got a "girlfriend," a man in complete drag. At one time, the killer midget is sent into Too Sweet's cell and the two fight a *really* long fight that's a real head scratcher. BTW, during this long fight Too Sweet is only in his underwear! This scene is the "highlight" of the movie.
There are more fights during the rest of the movie but I lost track of everything afterwards. The whole thing is just too weird. Everyone involved must have been on drugs or something. PENITENTIARY 3 exists in its own alternative Cannon universe.
There are more fights during the rest of the movie but I lost track of everything afterwards. The whole thing is just too weird. Everyone involved must have been on drugs or something. PENITENTIARY 3 exists in its own alternative Cannon universe.
Repulsive beyond belief.
mark.waltz28 March 2024
Warning: Spoilers
From tacky but thoughtful to pointless to disgusting, the three "Penitentiary" films prove the existence of metaphorical quicksand in film franchises that should not have continued after part one. The first film was obvious exploitation but had elements that indicated a thoughtful process in writing it. Part two isn't even set in prison, but was watchable if quickly forgettable.
Part three is an unintentional remake of "Freaks" (1932) where an extremely strong midget (Raymond Kessler) is turned into a monster to violently beat and rape new inmates, nearly killing Leon Isaac Kennedy, his third and fortunately last go round as boxer "Too Sweet" who only gains control at the end of their initial encounter.
Joining in this unnecessary entry is Anthony Geary whose fame on daytime TV was never matched on nighttime TV or in the movies, and he's the real monster here, basically a male version of Hope Emerson from "Caged". A prisoner with power, he runs his cellblock, has a live-in drag queen boyfriend (Jim Bailey), and even his own throne in his curtained off cell. He's horrible in this part, smug and scornful, a real chore to watch. Definitely one you can afford to miss. Messy and unpleasant.
Part three is an unintentional remake of "Freaks" (1932) where an extremely strong midget (Raymond Kessler) is turned into a monster to violently beat and rape new inmates, nearly killing Leon Isaac Kennedy, his third and fortunately last go round as boxer "Too Sweet" who only gains control at the end of their initial encounter.
Joining in this unnecessary entry is Anthony Geary whose fame on daytime TV was never matched on nighttime TV or in the movies, and he's the real monster here, basically a male version of Hope Emerson from "Caged". A prisoner with power, he runs his cellblock, has a live-in drag queen boyfriend (Jim Bailey), and even his own throne in his curtained off cell. He's horrible in this part, smug and scornful, a real chore to watch. Definitely one you can afford to miss. Messy and unpleasant.
Even Worse Than Its Predecessor
Uriah4322 August 2022
This film begins with "Martel 'Too Sweet' Gordone" (Leon Isaac Kennedy) once again in the boxing ring fighting against an opponent that he highly respects. Unfortunately, unknown to him, his manager slips a drug into his water bottle between rounds which causes him to go into an uncontrollable rage and results in the death of his opponent. Not only does this death fill him with extreme regret afterward, but he is then sentenced to prison as a result of lab tests done after the fight which showed the presence of an illegal substance. Although he declines the offer made by "the Warden" (Ric Mancini) to fight on his boxing team, he soon learns that refusing to fight on a rival team headed by an inmate named "Serenghetti" (Anthony Geary) has severe consequences. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that I didn't honestly care for this movie at all as the plot was much too silly to be taken seriously. As a matter of fact, although it is billed as an action film, some of the scenes are so ridiculous that it should probably be listed as a comedy instead. And even then the comedy wasn't that good. That being said, those who enjoy bad films might find some value in it, but otherwise I would recommend avoiding it altogether.
This movie is bad - bad meaning good!
dfusion24 December 2002
How can you go wrong with a plot like "A man is framed for murder and sent to prison. He is beaten and tortured, then forced to fight the prison's worst killer, a martial-arts fighting midget called Thud." ??
This is a B-grade pen movie but it is so bad that it's actually a lot of laughs. I saw this movie ten years ago when I was 16 but I bet I'd enjoy it again if I were to watch it now.
7/10
This is a B-grade pen movie but it is so bad that it's actually a lot of laughs. I saw this movie ten years ago when I was 16 but I bet I'd enjoy it again if I were to watch it now.
7/10
a Jamaa Fanaka classic!
Judexdot16 May 2005
After beginning in a very sort of "afro-Rocky" way, unsung berserk exploitation director, Jamaa Fanaka, return to his blaxploitation roots with this one. Tony Geary, former "General Hospital" star, returns to his roots as well, with his strangest film since he got raunchy with future "Ilsa" Dyanne Thorne, in "Blood Sabbath" (1972). Leon Isaac Kennedy returns as "Too Sweet", and ends up boxing, in prison, again. But this time he meets an eventually helpful, mystical dwarf,"The Midnight Thud", who teaches him Kung Fu when not smoking crack. Geary gets all strange as the nasty "Serengeti", and seems to be channeling Chris Walken throughout. Fanaka knocks this out of our normal dimension, but doesn't quite equal some of his other, less profitable work, like "Welcome Home Brother Charles" (aka "Soul Vengeance"), where other mystical midgets also assist the "hero".
What!?!
BandSAboutMovies26 March 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Five years after we last saw Martel "Too Sweet" Gordone (Leon Issac Kennedy), he's back in jail after being framed for murder. And by set up, Too Sweet is given some PCP in his water bottle during a boxing match and he turns his opponent El Cid's (Madison Campudoni) brains into so much jelly.
Who would set up our hero in such a way? Serenghetti (Anthony Geary, yes, Luke from General Hospital) who makes a team of fighters in the big house that once a year challenges the warden's (Ric Mancini) team of fighters.
The last thing Too Sweet wants to do is ever box again with blood on his hands, so he sends The Midnight Thud to assault our hero and take his manhood. Fog surrounds the jail cell, we hear bestial growling and then realize that Thud is played by Raymond Kessler, who you may know better as small size wrestler The Haiti Kid. Yes, a small but feral beast is unleashed for eight minutes of battle and wow. Just wow.
By the end of the movie, the crack smoking Thud - he smokes so much that he kills the rats in his cell - trains Too Sweet through yoga as he goes for revenge, as his cellmate Roscoe (Steve Antin, Rick from The Last American Virgin and the brother of New York Doll Robin Antin) has been beaten unmerciful by another PCP fighter See Veer (Danny Trejo).
This movie has it all and by all, I mean Rick Zumwalt (Bull Hurey in Over the Top) as a prison guard, Magic Schwarz (Stone Cold, Mad Dog Joe DeCurso in Grunt! The Wrestling Movie) as Hugo the final boss, Too Sweet in a leather codpiece/Bruce Lee outfit, Geary having a luxury cell with a French chef and a trans lover, Zap from American Gladiators, female boxers decided to stop fighting and instead start kissing and boxing matches that feel more like pro wrestling.
Jamaa Fanaka directed and wrote all three movies in this series as well as Welcome Home Brother Charles and Street Wars. Somehow, this series went for urgent melodrama to a Mr. T appearance to this and I'm there for all of it.
Who would set up our hero in such a way? Serenghetti (Anthony Geary, yes, Luke from General Hospital) who makes a team of fighters in the big house that once a year challenges the warden's (Ric Mancini) team of fighters.
The last thing Too Sweet wants to do is ever box again with blood on his hands, so he sends The Midnight Thud to assault our hero and take his manhood. Fog surrounds the jail cell, we hear bestial growling and then realize that Thud is played by Raymond Kessler, who you may know better as small size wrestler The Haiti Kid. Yes, a small but feral beast is unleashed for eight minutes of battle and wow. Just wow.
By the end of the movie, the crack smoking Thud - he smokes so much that he kills the rats in his cell - trains Too Sweet through yoga as he goes for revenge, as his cellmate Roscoe (Steve Antin, Rick from The Last American Virgin and the brother of New York Doll Robin Antin) has been beaten unmerciful by another PCP fighter See Veer (Danny Trejo).
This movie has it all and by all, I mean Rick Zumwalt (Bull Hurey in Over the Top) as a prison guard, Magic Schwarz (Stone Cold, Mad Dog Joe DeCurso in Grunt! The Wrestling Movie) as Hugo the final boss, Too Sweet in a leather codpiece/Bruce Lee outfit, Geary having a luxury cell with a French chef and a trans lover, Zap from American Gladiators, female boxers decided to stop fighting and instead start kissing and boxing matches that feel more like pro wrestling.
Jamaa Fanaka directed and wrote all three movies in this series as well as Welcome Home Brother Charles and Street Wars. Somehow, this series went for urgent melodrama to a Mr. T appearance to this and I'm there for all of it.
unbelievable - FEEL IT IN THE GUTS!
panik6515 August 2004
Warning: Spoilers
This film is one of the greatest human achievements ever. A boxer, "Too Sweet," framed for murder, is sent to prison where he must fight a crack smoking, inmate raping, kung fu midget called the "Midnight Thud." At first "Midnight" is a snarling beast, the willing retainer of another homosexual inmate - Serengetti - and his tranny 'girlfriend' and does nothing but smoke crack in his dungeon (yes, there is a dungeon) beneath the prison and snarl. Episodically he is released by his handlers (prison guards wearing welding suits and masks!) to discipline various inmates. In fact, his mere existence seems to threaten the manhood of the entire prison. There is evidently a LOT of crack smoking going on down there, since the floor of the dungeon is knee high in billowing crack smoke. Also, there are no women in this film, only transexuals. Even Too Sweets 'conjugal visit' near the end was clearly not a (biological) woman.
Later we discover 'Thud' is a great martial arts trainer and enjoys smoking expensive tobacco from fancy pipes (as well as crack), and he eventually trains Too Sweet - in a Rocky style montage episode - to win the prison boxing match. Wouldn't you win too if a three foot crack addict was yelling "ENEMA TOO SWEET!" in YOUR corner?
The absurdity of this movie isn't a slow burn but a head scratching, perfectly ballistic sustained crescendo; it never lets up, escalating into a jaw dropping finale. Bravo!
Later we discover 'Thud' is a great martial arts trainer and enjoys smoking expensive tobacco from fancy pipes (as well as crack), and he eventually trains Too Sweet - in a Rocky style montage episode - to win the prison boxing match. Wouldn't you win too if a three foot crack addict was yelling "ENEMA TOO SWEET!" in YOUR corner?
The absurdity of this movie isn't a slow burn but a head scratching, perfectly ballistic sustained crescendo; it never lets up, escalating into a jaw dropping finale. Bravo!
I don't give away the ending, but most of the plot
cleo-2620 September 1999
Howdy howdy folks, Malibu Stacy: Film Critic has been on a long hiatus. I got very depressed because the Wellesley News does such a damn fine job reviewing all the latest in cinematic achievement that I felt I was a pathetic superfluity. (For those Newsies reading, that means that I felt I was useless and unneeded.) But late one night while I was home for spring break waiting for my mom to stumble home from the bars, I caught a terrific movie that I think the crack reporters down at the News might have missed.
It's called Penitentiary III, and, while I have not seen Penitentiaries I or II, I can only assume they are among those superior indie films that languish unsung beneath the big budget Hollywood blockbusters that threaten to irradiate innovative projects like these. Okay, what happens is this: a boxer called Too Sweet (as usual I forget his real name, it had a lot of syllables) is convicted of first degree murder because he killed a man in the ring while under the influence of a strength inducing drug, which we later learn he took unknowingly. We first meet Too Sweet as he dejectedly rides the prison bus to his new home. On the bus he finds out that the prison is controlled jointly by the warden and a prisoner, Serengeti (like the African plains) to whom the warden is deeply in debt. Between them, the warden and Serengeti run a boxing circuit and they take turns drafting the most promising prisoners as prize-fighters. Naturally, Too Sweet is the first draft pick, but he refuses first the warden's offer and then Serengeti's because he has renounced violence as a way of life, unfortunately he picked a bad time to try that.
It is also at this point in the movie that we learn about Serengeti. When Too Sweet's is required to have an audience with the powerful prison gang lord, he is instructed to back into the cell, which is curtained in red velvet. However, we find out what kind of rebel T.S. is when he whirls around to face Serengeti because he `likes to face a man when he tells him no.' Serengeti is a frail old white man who did his best to look like Christopher Walken. He likes to wear a red silk robe and have his long nails manicured by his transvestite bitch called Cleopatra.
Serengeti doesn't like to be balked of course, so he sets loose his secret weapon on T.S., a thing they call... The Midnight Thud. The Midnight Thud is a bald black midget that Serengeti has the guards keep in `the hole' and torture with electric shocks. As Too Sweet's cellmate and good buddy, Rosco-the-sax-playing-inmate, tells him, `The Midnight Thud has been robbed of his humanity.' He was also robbed of any clothes except boxer shorts and a dog collar. Armored guards throw Thud into a cell with T.S. and the two fight. The Thud has the advantages of only making growling sounds, having been given a lead pipe and knowing how to fly up into the air and land in his opponent's shoulders and strangle him with his thighs. Too Sweet has the advantages of being a full grown adult, a boxer and the fact that the Thud is hungry and he keeps forgetting to fight while he tries to eat Too Sweet's oranges. Too Sweet wins the fight, but in his new status as a pacifist decides not to kill the unconscious Thud. Serengeti, left with no recourse for vengeance, has Too Sweet sent to the hole where he is tortured by electroshock and he begins to be robbed of his humanity too. His friend Rosco however, convinces the Warden (who, other than his compulsive gambling, is not such a bad guy) to take an interest in T.S. if Rosco wins a boxing match for him, which he does. The warden tells T.S. that he'll get him out of the hole if he trains Rosco to win the big tournament, allowing the warden to win back all the money he's gambled away to Serengeti. Even though T.S. has renounced violence, he's tired of eating rats and being growled at by Thud so he agrees to train Rosco, which he does in a very stirring montage set to music by White Snake. Meanwhile, the prison boxing matches continue and the warden even invites inmates from the lady prison across the lake to come over and lady-box as well as be spectators in the men's events. For me, the climax of the movie comes (literally) when, on the day of Rosco's big fight, he and the warden sneak in the champion lady boxer who looks like a Denny's waitress in Hooter's Girls' clothing. She hasn't `been with a man since her sentencing' and after some strained banter, she and Too Sweet make animal love. Unbeknownst to Too Sweet however, Serengeti knows about the training and has moved up Rosco's match while T.S. and his lady are having a conjugal visit, and as extra insurance, he has a guard lock the door, which, of course was not already locked even though this is a prison. Serengeti, who watches the fights with Cleopatra on a closed circuit television as someone videotapes them, sees that even without T.S. present, Rosco is winning, so he sends word that he wants his fighter to take a dose of the same drug that landed Too Sweet in prison. This turns the fighter into the Incredible Hulk and Rosco takes a licking. Too Sweet is finally let out in time to see Rosco passed out or dead, it's hard to tell. Now that it's personal, he vows to seek revenge and begins to train to fight Serengeti's best fighter, a guy who was too big and burly to join the World Wrestling Federation. Too Sweet trains himself in the hole, to the same montage that Rosco used, until The Midnight Thud tells him he can teach him `big magic.' It turns out Thud has not quite lost all his humanity, and once Too Sweet gets a shirt on him, he's a very articulate guy who tells T.S. that a man's power is in his guts. So T.S. trains by having Thud ram a doorknob into his stomach while yelling `GUTS! GUTS! GUTS!' Finally the day of the big fight arrives, and I'll leave the final outcome to the reader's imagination, mostly because about then my mom came home and I was busy putting her to bed and telling the sailors to go back to their ship. But Penitentiary III, like all the movies I review, is not just a fine film; it also teaches a lesson. That lesson is, if you have to go to prison, and you still don't like girls, the only chance you may have for getting action is to become a lady boxer.
It's called Penitentiary III, and, while I have not seen Penitentiaries I or II, I can only assume they are among those superior indie films that languish unsung beneath the big budget Hollywood blockbusters that threaten to irradiate innovative projects like these. Okay, what happens is this: a boxer called Too Sweet (as usual I forget his real name, it had a lot of syllables) is convicted of first degree murder because he killed a man in the ring while under the influence of a strength inducing drug, which we later learn he took unknowingly. We first meet Too Sweet as he dejectedly rides the prison bus to his new home. On the bus he finds out that the prison is controlled jointly by the warden and a prisoner, Serengeti (like the African plains) to whom the warden is deeply in debt. Between them, the warden and Serengeti run a boxing circuit and they take turns drafting the most promising prisoners as prize-fighters. Naturally, Too Sweet is the first draft pick, but he refuses first the warden's offer and then Serengeti's because he has renounced violence as a way of life, unfortunately he picked a bad time to try that.
It is also at this point in the movie that we learn about Serengeti. When Too Sweet's is required to have an audience with the powerful prison gang lord, he is instructed to back into the cell, which is curtained in red velvet. However, we find out what kind of rebel T.S. is when he whirls around to face Serengeti because he `likes to face a man when he tells him no.' Serengeti is a frail old white man who did his best to look like Christopher Walken. He likes to wear a red silk robe and have his long nails manicured by his transvestite bitch called Cleopatra.
Serengeti doesn't like to be balked of course, so he sets loose his secret weapon on T.S., a thing they call... The Midnight Thud. The Midnight Thud is a bald black midget that Serengeti has the guards keep in `the hole' and torture with electric shocks. As Too Sweet's cellmate and good buddy, Rosco-the-sax-playing-inmate, tells him, `The Midnight Thud has been robbed of his humanity.' He was also robbed of any clothes except boxer shorts and a dog collar. Armored guards throw Thud into a cell with T.S. and the two fight. The Thud has the advantages of only making growling sounds, having been given a lead pipe and knowing how to fly up into the air and land in his opponent's shoulders and strangle him with his thighs. Too Sweet has the advantages of being a full grown adult, a boxer and the fact that the Thud is hungry and he keeps forgetting to fight while he tries to eat Too Sweet's oranges. Too Sweet wins the fight, but in his new status as a pacifist decides not to kill the unconscious Thud. Serengeti, left with no recourse for vengeance, has Too Sweet sent to the hole where he is tortured by electroshock and he begins to be robbed of his humanity too. His friend Rosco however, convinces the Warden (who, other than his compulsive gambling, is not such a bad guy) to take an interest in T.S. if Rosco wins a boxing match for him, which he does. The warden tells T.S. that he'll get him out of the hole if he trains Rosco to win the big tournament, allowing the warden to win back all the money he's gambled away to Serengeti. Even though T.S. has renounced violence, he's tired of eating rats and being growled at by Thud so he agrees to train Rosco, which he does in a very stirring montage set to music by White Snake. Meanwhile, the prison boxing matches continue and the warden even invites inmates from the lady prison across the lake to come over and lady-box as well as be spectators in the men's events. For me, the climax of the movie comes (literally) when, on the day of Rosco's big fight, he and the warden sneak in the champion lady boxer who looks like a Denny's waitress in Hooter's Girls' clothing. She hasn't `been with a man since her sentencing' and after some strained banter, she and Too Sweet make animal love. Unbeknownst to Too Sweet however, Serengeti knows about the training and has moved up Rosco's match while T.S. and his lady are having a conjugal visit, and as extra insurance, he has a guard lock the door, which, of course was not already locked even though this is a prison. Serengeti, who watches the fights with Cleopatra on a closed circuit television as someone videotapes them, sees that even without T.S. present, Rosco is winning, so he sends word that he wants his fighter to take a dose of the same drug that landed Too Sweet in prison. This turns the fighter into the Incredible Hulk and Rosco takes a licking. Too Sweet is finally let out in time to see Rosco passed out or dead, it's hard to tell. Now that it's personal, he vows to seek revenge and begins to train to fight Serengeti's best fighter, a guy who was too big and burly to join the World Wrestling Federation. Too Sweet trains himself in the hole, to the same montage that Rosco used, until The Midnight Thud tells him he can teach him `big magic.' It turns out Thud has not quite lost all his humanity, and once Too Sweet gets a shirt on him, he's a very articulate guy who tells T.S. that a man's power is in his guts. So T.S. trains by having Thud ram a doorknob into his stomach while yelling `GUTS! GUTS! GUTS!' Finally the day of the big fight arrives, and I'll leave the final outcome to the reader's imagination, mostly because about then my mom came home and I was busy putting her to bed and telling the sailors to go back to their ship. But Penitentiary III, like all the movies I review, is not just a fine film; it also teaches a lesson. That lesson is, if you have to go to prison, and you still don't like girls, the only chance you may have for getting action is to become a lady boxer.
Excellent B movie
patrickodonell0019 May 2005
As far as B movies go this is one of the best. I laughed at the funny parts. The Action was great. Its definitely a Quentin Tarintino like film. All 3 are worth catching, this one is the best though. Mr.T makes an appearance in part 2 which is pretty good as well. The Midget smoking crack and kicking some a@@ rules. If you like Oz on HBO, this was the precursor. The prison footage is real raw and nasty. Definitely one to own, not just rent. This movie is probably more for guys than girls. Its one to break out around your friends who probably missed it the first time around. You get pretty pumped up during the fight scenes as well. I guess some of the acting could be better, but you could say the same thing about the Rocky movies.
GUTS!
Longwhip1 July 2002
The greatest prison boxing film featuring a black midget called The Midnight Thud ever? I think so and I think you will too after watching. If Rocky was trained by The Midnight Thud he woulda beat Clubber Lang the first time. Unfortunately Raymond Kessler who portrayed The Thud passed away earlier this year which means he won't return for the rumoured Penitentiary 4 to be directed by Woody Allen.
The Third Time Wasn't the Charm
Michael_Elliott4 February 2017
Penitentiary III (1987)
* 1/2 (out of 4)
Too Sweet (Leon Isaac Kennedy) is in the boxing ring when he goes crazy and beats the other boxer to death. He's sentenced to three years in prison and sure enough he gets there just in time to join a boxing competition put on by the warden and one of the most powerful inmates there.
The final film in Jamaa Fanaka's trilogy appears to have a bigger budget than the first two and it's certainly much more polished but at the same time there's no question that it's the weakest of the lot. Cannon produced and released this third film and it's hard to believe that you could ever say that they made the "best looking" film of a series but I think this is part of the problem.
The film just look too good for its own good. The less-than-stellar quality of the first two films made them perfect exploitation movies. This film here doesn't reach the same levels of camp and it just comes across as a rather bland "C" movie without too many memorable scenes. The highlight is a scene early on when Too Sweet must battle an almost demonic character that turns out to be a midget! This fighting scene is good and certainly the best thing about the picture.
The performances are much better this time around and as I said there's no question that this film looks a lot more professional. Sadly, the story itself is nothing original and there's really just nothing all that entertaining here. It's really too bad because the first two films are so awful that you can't help but love them. This third film just doesn't have the same charm.
* 1/2 (out of 4)
Too Sweet (Leon Isaac Kennedy) is in the boxing ring when he goes crazy and beats the other boxer to death. He's sentenced to three years in prison and sure enough he gets there just in time to join a boxing competition put on by the warden and one of the most powerful inmates there.
The final film in Jamaa Fanaka's trilogy appears to have a bigger budget than the first two and it's certainly much more polished but at the same time there's no question that it's the weakest of the lot. Cannon produced and released this third film and it's hard to believe that you could ever say that they made the "best looking" film of a series but I think this is part of the problem.
The film just look too good for its own good. The less-than-stellar quality of the first two films made them perfect exploitation movies. This film here doesn't reach the same levels of camp and it just comes across as a rather bland "C" movie without too many memorable scenes. The highlight is a scene early on when Too Sweet must battle an almost demonic character that turns out to be a midget! This fighting scene is good and certainly the best thing about the picture.
The performances are much better this time around and as I said there's no question that this film looks a lot more professional. Sadly, the story itself is nothing original and there's really just nothing all that entertaining here. It's really too bad because the first two films are so awful that you can't help but love them. This third film just doesn't have the same charm.
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