An annual contest brings together the fiercest fighters on a remote island to earn the title of the Ultimate Champion. Two fighters must join forces to win the tournament and escape with their lives.

An evil scientist creates a device that controls humans. With a press of the button, the subject will explode. A special forces team called "Total Force" must seek out and destroy the scientist and his lab. Later on in the film they are supported by terrorist Jack O'Hara, played by Frank Stallone. 'Comic relief' is provided by a corrupt senator, whose character is not at all funny.

Two Nevada border officers, Dave Quarry (Don "The Dragon" Wilson) and John (Ken McLeod), amuse themselves off duty by honing their kick-boxing skills via virtual reality combat. Elsewhere, a computer tycoon prepares to market his company's latest invention, a combination of DNA and virtual reality that creates beings and creatures who look and feel real.