Bloodsport (1988)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Newt Arnold

Writers:

Christopher Cosby (screenplay)
Mel Friedman (screenplay)

Release Date:

26 February 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Biography | Sport

Tagline:

The secret contest where the world's greatest warriors fight in a battle to the death.

Plot:

Frank Dux has spent most his life being trained by Tanaka to participate in the Kumite, the ultimate martial arts tournament...

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Tournament | Martial Arts Tournament | Death | Fight

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jean-Claude Van Damme	...	Frank Dux (as Jean Claude Van Damme)
Donald Gibb	...	Ray Jackson
Leah Ayres	...	Janice Kent
Norman Burton	...	Helmer
Forest Whitaker	...	Rawlins
Roy Chiao	...	Tanaka
Philip Chan	...	Inspector Chen
Pierre Rafini	...	Young Frank
Bolo Yeung	...	Chong Li
Ken Siu	...	Victor Lin (as Kenneth Siu)
Kimo Lai Kwok Ki	...	Hiro
Bernard Mariano	...	Sadiq Hossein
Bill Yuen Ping Kuen	...	Oshima
Lily Leung	...	Mrs. Tanaka
Joshua Schroder	...	Chuck / Older Boy

Runtime:

92 min | Finland:71 min (video release) (1991) | Finland:89 min (DVD release) (2006)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (TVC)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (heavily cut) (1991) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (2006) | Canada:14A | South Korea:12 | Australia:R | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:18 | Poland:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:18 | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2003) | UK:18 (original rating) | UK:18 (video rating) (1989) | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Hong Kong, China

Company:

Cannon International

Trivia:

Jean-Claude Van Damme does his trade mark splits a total of seven times during the film.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: During the epilogue, it states that Frank Dux retired from active competition in 1980, thus, all of the events in this movie are supposed to take place in or before 1980. Before the Kumite, in which Dux competes, Dux and Jackson are playing the arcade game Karate Champ, which didn't come out until 1984.

Quotes:

[Jackson is getting ready to fight Chong Li]
Frank Dux: Go for the gut. He's soft there.
Ray Jackson: What the hell are you talking about?
Frank Dux: Chong Li's weak in the gut. That's how Parades surprised him.
Victor: [nods curtly with a look of grim encouragement]
Frank Dux: Hey. You listening to me? Go for the stomach. And stay away from his right leg.
Ray Jackson: Will you stop worrying, Frankie? I've got it under control. You sound like my mother. Man alive.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Kung Phooey! (2003)

Soundtrack:

STEAL THE NIGHT

No plot to speak of, no performances either but the fights are good and chances are that's all you've come for

In Hong Kong an illegal, brutal and sometime lethal martial arts competition is being staged. Fighters come from all over the globe to compete in the three day 'kumite' with the last man standing being declared the world champion – a title being defended this year by the fearsome and cruel Chong Li. In an effort to honour his death friend and his dead friend's father, Frank Dux deserts his post in the US military and flies into Hong Kong to compete. He makes friends with fellow fighter Ray Jackson, romances journalist Janice Kent and prepares to compete till the finish. Meanwhile two military policemen arrive in Hong Kong determined to return Dux to his station and not allow him to fight.

The illegal fight tournament is a frequently used plot device in films of this genre, in fact Van Damme himself has used it several times (and his 2005 project looks like it will be a return to the setting of this film – Kumite). But just because it is a common setting for martial arts movies and video games doesn't mean that it alone will supply a good plot and an engaging film and Bloodsport is certainly proof of the former even if it sort of pulls off the latter. In terms of plot there is really little more than a bit of window dressing around a series of fights which, lets be honest, is what most of us have come to see. There is practically nothing in terms of characterisation to make the 'plot' more interesting and things like the military policemen, the vague love interest and Dux's background and honourable quest are basically just pointless items that just serve to reduce fighting time without actually adding any value of their own. However it is the fights that are the main attraction and they are enjoyably tough and physical with plenty of good moves refreshingly free of cgi people and wirework. Although the eventual outcome of the tournament is pretty much the safest bet you'll ever get the fights still manage to be enjoyable even if they do lack tension too often. As you'd expect from something like this, it hasn't dated very well and the occasionally bad dubbing, travelogue footage and cheesy 1980's music all take their toll but happily their impact is minimal during the fight scenes.

The cast are roundly bad but in fairness few of them will have been cast for their ability to emote! Van Damme is lean and has pretty-boy looks and winning smile that almost make up for his inability to deliver more than a very basic performance. Physically he is good and he has many of his trademark moves here (including some very painful looking splits and the obligatory arse shot!). The support cast features some good martial artists even if some of their styles look very unusual and occasionally funny (is that money style stuff really a discipline?!) but Gibb is not one of them. He is the least skilful of the fighters and he exists as merely a comedic sidekick for Dux (and an inevitable plot device in his own right), a role that he doesn't do very well and just ended up being a rather annoying sub-par WWF wrestler. Ayres is a pretty blonde with long legs and long hair……and that's her contribution pretty much summed up. Forest Whitaker is a strange find but a good one and the support cast features quite a few faces that will be familiar to fans of the genre including Roy Chiao and the mighty Bolo Yeung.

Overall this is an OK film if you know what to expect from it – people getting kicked. If you are looking for dialogue, characters, plot, tension or emotional involvement in the story then you will be sorely disappointed however hands up how many people came here for anything more than the martial arts action? Yeah, thought so – like the advert says 'this does exactly what it says on the tin' and it does it better than many of Van Damme's films have more recently.