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Rating: 3 out of 5
Kumite! Kumite! Kumite! Here we go with the review of one of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s best films and cult classic, Bloodsport. Bloodsport is that film that is not about the acting but all about the fighting that goes on in the story. Hell, this is a freakin entertaining movie because when your heart is on fire, and those kicks are happening, you can only watch.
The film centers on Frank Dux (Van Damme), a United States Army Captain and ninjitsu practitioner trained under the legendary sensei Senzo Tanaka. Frank is about to go on furlough, and when his supervisors find out, he is trying to travel to Hong Kong to participate in the KUMITE!! The Kumite is a secret underground, full-contact martial arts tournament to which only the world’s best fighters are invited. Frank visits his sensei and says goodbye to him as he is on his deathbed. When the Army learns that Frank is going to compete, they send Two Criminal Investigation Command agents, Helmer (Burton) and Rawlins (Whitaker), to track him down and bring him back. After passing the test to compete, and looks to become the first person from the Western Hemisphere to win the tournament. Along the way, Frank becomes friends with American fighter Jackson (Gibb) and catches the eye of the defending champion Chong Li (Yeung), known for his brutality and for killing people during his matches. Will Frank win or fall at the hands of Chong Li?
Okay, like the synopsis states, Frank competes in the Kumite. The story is straight and to the point. Nothing too crazy about it. The story does go in some directions, with the two investigators trying to find and catch Frank, but overall, it is not too much to it.
Bloodsport is all about the martial arts. If you are looking for over-the-top martial arts fighting, then this is the film for you. Nothing better than seeing people beat the living shit out of each other with epic music, blood, and everything else you want in a fighting movie. This is like Street Fighter meets Mortal Kombat and everything else. You have many other different forms, and they all are great to watch. Some of the fights show incredible and extreme feats of fighting and skills. Other fights show differences in styles. Some of them were ones who jumped around like a monkey. Another was one who used his size and skills to dominate his fights.
When it comes to Dux, homeboy comes to honor his sensei. One of the first things he has to do is the Death Touch. This is the first scene of his skills. Homeboy destroyed a brick on the bottom of a stack of three. Also, Frank showed those splits that seemed quite interesting. Now for the fights, when Frank beat that Middle Eastern or Indian dude, with one kick, and it was impressive. With each fight, the skills get crazier and crazier. When Frank fought the big dude, you can tell where Johnny Cage got his iconic move from. Now the fight with Chung Li was really good because there were some personal emotions in that fight. You deserve to get your ass beat when you are a cheat.
You will be surprised to see that the freakin music in this film is pretty awesome. Stan Bush must be applauded because his songs were AWESOME!! First, “Fight to Survive” was one of the best songs and fight songs you will ever listen to. It was the perfect song to play when the Kumite first started and showed the fighters’ skills. Another cool song was “Steal the Night” by Michael Bishop. It was a fun, and playful song played when Frank was running from Helmer and Rawlins. The final song that was good was “On My Own,” performed by Bush once again. I thought it was Phil Collins. It’s one of those songs that played where Frank is thinking because he saw his friend get his ass beat.
As far as the acting goes, it was pretty bad. There were zero Academy Award-winning performances in this film, but it does have a future Academy Award winner. Van Damme went over the top with his scenes, and they were so bad sometimes. Good thing he can kick and punch because his acting wasn’t that great. Donald Gibb as Ray Jackson was pretty good because he played that meathead friend. There are some scenes that annoyed me, but overall, I like his character because he was just trying to have fun.
Bloodsport is a cult classic martial arts film. Leave the acting and boring story out of it. It is all about the fighting and martial arts. The matches are fun to watch, and Van Damme knows how to fight and kick with those splits. Watch the Muscles from Brussels do his thing. Kumite! Kumite! Kumite! FIGHT TO SURVIVE!!!!
