On B List of Movie Reviews
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Bloodsport (1988)
Rate:
5
Viewed:
5/12, 7/21
5/12:
Bloodsport is among Jean-Claude Van Damme's best films.
It's based on Frank Dux's accomplishments. A simple internet search will lead you to this inevitable conclusion:
Frank Dux was a fraud who happened to have watched Enter the Dragon one too many times when he was a kid.
Nonetheless, it doesn't take too much away from Bloodsport, showing what an underground tournament should look like.
Jean-Claude Van Damme has a breakthrough role, becoming an international star who'll go on to appear in pretty good action
films.
However, Donald Gibb and Leah Ayres get in the way constantly. The last five minutes is corny, effectively killing
off the ending. No sane world-class fighter will have sex prior to the main event that he has worked so hard for. What Frank
Dux did isn't believable given how much he used meditation to build his self-discipline.
Bolo Yeung's character always wins all fights in every film until the final one and then loses it every single time. It's
Enter the Dragon all over again for him, and he even goes so far to say, "But bricks not hit back."
All in all, Bloodsport is a highly watchable picture that'll make time go fast.
7/21:
A breakout film for Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bloodsport is a quick watch, but it's cheesy most of the time.
Honestly, Kickboxer is better in all aspects. The story is fresher, the action edgier, and the martial arts
less fake. In Bloodsport, it's just a lot of fights, and Bolo Yeung the Hong Kong bodybuilding champ does the same
stuff in many martial arts films before and after. He even paraphrases a famous line from Enter the Dragon.
Meanwhile, you should feast your eyes on the inside of Kowloon Walled City as it doesn't exist anymore.
Now, we turn attention to Frank Dux himself, the notorious spinner of many tall tales. Notice the ending of the film which
spoke of his accomplishments. They never happened. There's no such thing as the Kumite, not like the one as shown in
Bloodsport. If it did exist, many fighters would've never made past two or three hard-fought battles and still be
ready for the next one in such a short span of time.
All in all, Bloodsport is an easy watch, but it's not a good movie.