Bloodfist (1989) User Reviews

Not a bad movie, though the sequels (and remakes) are better

[Karthik · 6/10 · 10 August 1999]

Don "The Dragon" Wilson plays a kickboxer named Jake Raye. He receives news from Manila that his brother, Michael, was found murdered. So he goes to the Philippines, to try and find his brother's killer. He meets a man named Kwong (Joe Mari Avellana), who trains him to compete in a martial-arts tournament called "Ta Chang" -- because he suspects that one of the fighters there was Michael's killer.

Some of the actors (excepting Wilson and Joe Mari Avellana) are quite bad, and the fight scenes aren't choreographed very well (you can make out that the fighters aren't really hitting each other). Still, this is an entertaining movie.

"Bloodfist" was remade twice (at least as far as I know), as "Full Contact (1992)" and "Dragon Fire (1993)". I've seen both, and they're better than this one. "Full Contact" is the best of the lot (and it would have been even better had Don "The Dragon" Wilson been in it instead of Jerry Trimble).

Seven sequels (to date) have followed "Bloodfist" -- most of them have nothing to do with the first one. They're all better than this movie (especially parts 6 and 7).

If you like low budget action movies, and if you are a fan of Don "The Dragon" Wilson, you might want to see this early movie of his. Others will probably not like this movie.

Roger Corman's Thrilla in Manila

[RetroRoger · 5/10 · 7 September 2004]

First starring role for Light Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion Don "The Dragon" Wilson, 'Bloodfist' is worth every penny of the $4.95 I spent on the bargain DVD.

Forget the critics. This is one of Roger Corman's earliest ventures into the martial arts genre, and, like much of the Corman library, there's lots of respectable bang for the few bucks spent on the production.

First, let's get past the name thing. Wilson has taken some smirks in the media for adding "The Dragon" to his name. But the man was just being pragmatic. I mean, do you remember the other Don Wilson? The paunchy, bulldog-jowled, middle-aged announcer on the old Jack Benny Show? Prior to 'Bloodfist', he was the only Don Wilson anyone had ever heard of in showbiz.

Would you have lined up at the box office for a martial arts movie starring that guy?

The Set-up: Wilson's half-brother is a prizefighter in a shady Manila fight club who ends up dead after winning a fixed fight.

Cut to Wilson back in sunny Southern Cal, who promptly explains to a bunch of grade school field trippers that he runs a gym, but does not box professionally because HE ONLY HAS ONE KIDNEY. He donated the other to his (late) half-brother. This begs the question: Why was the brother fighting? One assumes that he also had one kidney (the donated one), unless Wilson generously gave one of his away because he felt his brother should have two ...?

As in the best Corman films, the action takes over fast, and the field trip isn't even out of the building before Don gets the call that his brother's dead.

The Dragon hops the next thing smokin' to the Philippines, officially to claim the body, but I can't help thinking that in the back of his mind, Don didn't wonder just a little about getting that kidney back. Imagine his disappointment when the Manila officials open a green file cabinet and hand him an urn. Full of his brother's ashes. Including at least one powdered kidney. Nothing left but revenge, since we're already here.

Wilson promptly picks up a painter-slash-kickboxing trainer, a party animal-slash-kickboxer roommate, and a translator-slash-exotic dancer love interest. Which brings us to actress Riley Bowman, who plays the love interest. Where did this woman go? 'Bloodfist' was not only her first, but also her last movie. And Riley exhibited ... ample ... uh ... skills. Exactly the type of open-minded, halfway-talented actress that Corman employed again and again and again in his New Horizon and Concorde flicks. What a loss.

Oh, well. Back to the action. You get a great selection of tournament adversaries for Wilson, who also double as suspects in his brother's murder.

There's a little twist to the ending, tantamount to Burgess Meredith whupping the daylights out of Rocky Balboa.

Better than 'Swamp Women'. Close to the pleasures of 'Attack of the Giant Leeches' or the first remake of 'Not of This Earth' (the Traci Lords one). No self-respecting Corman fanatic should be without a copy of this. 'Bloodfist' is worth a B-movie 5 out of 10.

Bloodfist is worth seeking out.

[tarbosh22000 · 6/10 · 30 April 2011]

Jake Raye (Wilson) is an L.A. area kickboxing instructor. A lot of his time is spent regaling elementary school kids with tales of his missing kidney, which he generously gave to his beloved brother, who is also a fighter. When it is discovered that Jake's brother has been killed because of shady dealings involving not taking a dive in underground punchfighting deathmatches, Jake goes to Manila to investigate.

Now a man lost in a strange land, he meets up with Kwong (Avellana), a wise old trainer. Kwong informs him of The Red Fist, a secret fighting society that holds the said deathmatches, called Ta Chang. They hold yearly tournaments, that, according to Kwong, have "no rounds, no rules, no referees and no points". Despite his kidney ailments, Jake must enter the tournament in order to get answers about his brother's killer. So Kwong trains him, and Baby (Shaner), the "wacky" fighter, helps him out as well. There's also the love interest, Baby's sister Nancy (Bowman), and the token "mini-boss" fighter Black Rose (Blanks). Will Jake Raye kick and punch his way to the truth?

Hey, everyone has their own methods of getting answers. Columbo has questions, and Jake Raye has roundhouse kicks. Produced by Roger Corman, there, inexplicably, are nine Bloodfist movies. Only the first two have any connection to each other as The Dragon returns in the sequel as Jake Raye. But apparently this series has legs, whether the supposed sequels were in-name only or not. Looking through our local video store, we always noticed Bloodfist, mainly because of the title. We thought it was kind of silly, as if action movie makers have a list of prescribed words they must use to make a title. The list may go as follows:

Blood Kick Punch Cage Fist Fight/Fighter Death Rage Terminal Extreme Force Impact Maximum Best Match Sport

We are announcing two new action movies to go into production: "Bloodpunch" and "KickPuncher". If you have any more words to add to this tentative list, please write in and leave a comment today.

Back to the Bloodfist, The Dragon is always watchable, and you like him as Jake, the good-natured fighter. Vic Diaz, who has been in every Filipino movie ever made, plays the policeman who hands Jake his brother's ashes in a vase. I guess they cremate first and ask questions later. Joe Mari Avellana, a familiar face around these parts, is perfect as the wise elder who puts Jake through his rigorous training. A movie like this wouldn't be complete without training sequences. Lastly there's Billy Blanks in an early role just bein' Billy. (Just Bein' Billy should the name for an upcoming sitcom featuring Blanks).

The big selling point of Bloodfist is its use of actual fighters, and their official titles and/or ranks appear on screen along with their names in the credits. This was just as important as who they are. While harsher reviewers might call this nothing more than a Corman knockoff of Kickboxer (1989) or Bloodsport (1988), cooler heads should prevail and realize most DTV punchfighting product is all cut from pretty much the same cloth. Some are better than others. Bloodfist might not be the absolute best of the bunch, but it's nowhere near the worst. It's a fairly early entry into the punchfighting sweepstakes, and some sort of attempt was made to make it entertaining, what with the actual plot developments/twists, etc.

For its classic (or near-classic) status alone, Bloodfist is worth seeking out.

for more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

Fast, Cheap and Fun

[Michael_Elliott · 3 June 2012]

Bloodfist (1989)

** (out of 4)

THE KARATE KID meets KICKBOXER Roger Corman style in this 80's cult favorite. Don 'The Dragon' Wilson plays Jake Raye, a retired fighter who travels to the Philipeans to get his brothers ashes and seek vengeance against his killer. He ends up getting involved in a kickboxer tournament and ends up falling for a big-breasted blonde. If you're looking for an uplifting story or a heart felt drama then it's best you go somewhere else. BLOODFIST, the first of (so far) nine films, is 100% exploitation and you get pretty much what you'd expect from a film like this. It's fast, cheap, questionably made but the most important thing is that it's at least fun. I thought Wilson was pretty good in the lead role and while he really wasn't required to give a "performance," I thought his skill as an athlete was on full display. He really makes for a good hero and he managed to be very entertaining during the fight scenes. The supporting players really aren't all that memorable but you Billy Blanks fans should be happy. The fighting scenes are entertaining but at the same time there's no denying that they were all cheaply done and quite often you have to wonder what the editor was doing. Some of the editing is quite sloppy but I'm going to guess this was due to how much footage was shot and him having to try and piece it together the best he could. For the exploitation factor there's some nudity as well but really not as much as you'd expect to find in a Corman-produced film. There's no question that the film was cheaply produced and it's not going to be mistaken for a classic but fans of cheap action films should at least get some mild entertainment from it.

Lame knock-off of Kickboxer with poor production values throughout

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 5 December 2015]

Produced by Roger Corman and shot in the Philippines, BLOODFIST screams 'cheap' from the outset. It's an obvious rip-off of KICKBOXER and BLOODSPORT, detailing the story of a young man forced to take part in a violent martial arts tournament while seeking his brother's murderer. There the similarities end. Although this film is notable for launching the screen career of fight champion Don 'The Dragon' Wilson, it's a complete mess, and frequently unwatchable.

The lack of budget and talent is obvious in the poor, uninteresting settings and inadequate lighting. The script feels like it was written on the back of a beer mat and the characterisation is cardboard-thin. The worst aspect, for me, is the choreography, which is so poor that you barely see a blow hitting, only people punching the air and their opponents pretending to fall backwards. This makes the many fight sequences laughable, and wastes the genuine talents of the little-seen Billy Blanks and other martial arts competitors.

Wilson himself is a bore, never showing the charisma or skill that made Van Damme a star, and he's hardly a hero to root for. The supporting cast is limited to a Pat Morita-style teacher who shows Wilson how to kick glass bottles off a bench (sad to say that this scene is a 'highlight'). There's also a buxom blonde in a parade of tight-fitting leotards and t-shirts, but she doesn't do a lot to raise the interest of even the dedicated male viewer of this nonsense. Things culminate in a boring showdown where our hero tears his enemy's earring off in fury – yes, that really is the height of the drama here. BLOODFIST is definitely one of the worst movies Roger Corman has ever been involved with. Incredibly, this spawned many sequels, so I guess somebody somewhere liked it!

Not quite a thrilla in Mannila, but enjoyable in its own way

[movieman_kev · 5/10 · 28 July 2012]

After his brother, Mike, is murdered in Manila, Jake (Don Wilson) travels down there to claim the body and must use his kick-boxing expertise to deal with the local highly-trained hooligans that had to do with his brother's untimely demise. He meets and stays with Baby and his sister Nancy (Riley Bowman)

If there's one fatal flaw with the film, I mean aside from the mediocre fight scenes, is the character of Baby, he's awful and brings the otherwise enjoyable , if not particularly good in the conventional sense of the word, don whenever he's on-screen. The writer of this is currently having fairly good fortune with hit TV show "The Good Wife", so the dues he paid were worth it, I kind of doubt he keeps this one on his resume though. Furthermore, 'The Dragon' would thankfully grow as an actor later in his career. I still hold a (unexplainable) soft spot for this film though.

Eye Candy: Riley Bowman and an extra get topless

This movie spawned a bunch of sequels?!!

[BrettErikJohnson · 1/10 · 30 August 2002]

I just saw my first movie out of the "Bloodfist" franchise. I decided that perhaps the best place to start would be the beginning. I wish I hadn't.

The production values are embarrassing. I realize that this film didn't have a massive Hollywood budget, but c'mon! Some things don't need a big budget to produce quality. Experienced kickboxers, boxers or karate champions should be able to make fight scenes look realistic. In this film, they often don't even come close. This is some of the absolute worst mock fighting I have ever seen in a movie.

The sound effects were laughable. It's as if the filmmakers used a couple of guys who used to work on old Warner Brothers cartoons or something. I expected huge letters to pop up on the screen - POW! WHAM! - like in the "Batman" TV series. It was that bad!

I especially loved the scene where the two guys were fighting outside in a terrible thunderstorm. There was lots and lots of booming thunder. Funny thing is...there wasn't even one (not one!) flash of lightning. Was the budget so tight that they couldn't afford to simulate lightning? Maybe they didn't understand that lightning creates thunder. If that was the case, I wouldn't be surprised.

"Bloodfist" has awful acting, uninspired directing, terrible editing, atrocious voice dubbing and on and on and on. I sure hope that the sequels were head and shoulders above the movie that started it all. Otherwise, I shudder to think what this world is coming to. 1/10

Worst of all bloodfist movies

[theromanempire-1 · 3/10 · 18 February 2012]

Don the dragon Wilson is one of my favorite martial arts champions so i was thrilled when i got all 8 bloodfists in one huge box set as a present.

Watching this first chapter i was so disappointed that i was thinking not to watch the rest of the sequels. Gladly i changed my mind and watched all the rest.

It's a shame cause all of the sequels were great for their standard and only part 1 is so poorly made that disappoints in every level.

Only don Wilson can't save this movie. The fights are bad and the story is so poorly made that is way below average even for these kind of b-movies.

Fortunately all the sequels faired a lot better and i suggest u skip this part and begin with part 2.

After part 2 there is no plot continuity as don Wilson play different characters so u don't have problems with plot continuity.

All in all the bloodfist box set is great but not this movie.

If u like don Wilson also check out for the following gems in which he stars...

BLACKBELT

RING OF FIRE TRILOGY

OUT FOR BLOOD

MOVING TARGET

BLOODFIST 2-8

Don "The Dragon"Wilson makes his debut.

[DigitalRevenantX7 · 3/10 · 10 August 2015]

Los Angeles gym owner Jake Raye is shocked to receive a phone call from police in Manila stating that his brother has been found dead in an alley after being savagely beaten. Arriving in the Philippines, Jake stumbles upon a clue that suggests the murderer is a contestant in the Ta-Chang, an underground freestyle fighting ring that his brother also fought in. With the help of his late brother's trainer, the mysterious Kwong, & a fellow contestant named Baby Davies & his stripper sister Nancy, Jake agrees to take his brother's place in the Ta-Chang & try to uncover the killer. But as he fights his way through the opponents, Jake begins to suspect that Kwong might not be telling the truth about his brother's death & that he might have an ulterior motive in the fight.

Bloodfist is one of the martial arts genre's most well-known cult films – the start of a franchise that at time of writing this numbers at nine films long. It is also the film that brought the world's attention to a kickboxing champion named Don "The Dragon" Wilson. The film was initially meant as a cheap knock-off of the Van Damme classic BLOODSPORT, but made a surprisingly large amount of money in its limited theatrical release that Corman promptly turned it into a franchise.

For a film that makes no pretence other than to rip off the films of Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bloodfist is largely successful in delivering on its promise. It might not be a particularly good film – the bad acting & predictable plot (I personally managed to correctly guess the entire story by the fifteen-minute mark, including the revelation that Kwong is responsible for the murder) conspire to rob the film of much of its impact – but it does feature a lot of martial arts combat, which will be quite entertaining for martial arts fans despite the fact that the fights are often poorly choreographed.

The film tries hard to get by on some of its stunt casting – Corman had the bright idea of putting in a lot of real-life martial arts champions (Billy Blanks, Rob Kaman, Kris Aguilar & Don Wilson himself) into the film in order to prop up the film's martial arts pedigree. But most of these people are not decent actors. Still, if you want something to pass the time & you're not picky about the film you're watching, then Bloodfist might fit the bill.

On the acting front, Don Wilson (later to add the nickname "The Dragon" to his name around the time of his third film FUTURE KICK) is just starting his acting career here & has almost no acting skills except for an annoyed attitude that makes watching the film a laugh riot. On the other hand, the rest of the cast are clearly not in the same league as Wilson, their performances (especially that of Kris Aguilar, whose performance entirely consists of him walking around beating the crap out of his opponents in a poor characterisation of a character who's supposed to be a napalm survivor of the Vietnam Conflict despite having no scars on his body) being very poor. The writing is also quite slack – the characters are slimly drawn to the point that they resemble clichés & cardboard cutouts.

If you want a quick recommendation, Bloodfist might make a good beer-&-pizza film for you & your friends to sit around at night & laugh at the various martial arts mayhem but as a serious martial arts film, it disappoints somewhat. You might do better with Van Damme's early work.

Small budget, big canvas

[verexal · 7/10 · 17 January 2011]

Okay, let's say it up front, Bloodfist is on the cheesy side, mostly a product of its budget. But that being said, it generates a whole lot of horsepower for the four cylinders it's running on.

I found it in a re-release bin a few weeks ago and had a blast watching it with my karate-taking kid. It boasts volcanoes, a spectacular bay, a cock fighting arena as martial arts arena.

But the fights themselves are terrific (nothwithstanding the occasional whiff) -- the camera is constantly on the move, the editing is sharp and drives the action, the music expands what's on the screen.

The acting is passable -- these are fighters, including the great Billy Blanks. Don "the Dragon" Wilson is green, but so is the character he's playing.

What struck me the most is how the movie presages the MMA era we're now enjoying. Bloodfist helped bring back the martial arts movie, and sprang loose the early fittings for the relentless stuff in Strikeforce and others.

* OUT OF FIVE

[bronsonskull72 · 3/10 · 7 July 2003]

Don "The Dragon" Wilson stars as Jake Raye a kickboxer who trains for a revenge match, after the murder of his brother. Bloodfist would be a half way decent movie if it contained crisp actionscenes, however most of these fightscenes are not done well, even the Don "The Dragon" Wilson VS Billy Blanks fight isn't exciting. Bloodfist is a total no brainer without any redeeming value.

Smashing!

[GOWBTW · 8/10 · 11 August 2006]

Many martial art films come and go, and yet some are very interesting to watch. Don "The Dragon" Wilson packs a punch and strong kicks in "Bloodfist". I liked all the fight and power-breaking scene. kicking the bottles, smashing the bricks, and the matches, are accounted for will be memorable for all times. The quest is getting the fighter who killed his brother. And boy was he ever brutal! Billy Blanks did a short role as Black Rose. I liked the part where he smashed all the bricks with one chop, and I liked the part where he cartwheels every move. The problem was who won the match between Jake Raye(Wilson) and Rose. That was a bit of a downer. And the real surprise of the movie is where the guy he trained with is a dirty double-crosser, especially when he laced that mango with a narcotic. At least he was able to get the fighter and ripped off his earring was enough to really ridicule him. I would have done the same myself. A entertaining movie, and very articulating in the fighting, which I like the most, could have been better though. 3 out of 5 stars.

Good old fashion 90s fighting tournament movie

[DogFilmCritic · 6/10 · 22 February 2015]

I'd be lying if I say I do not love this movie, Bloodfist was one of those movies you see on TV all the time to fill some space in the programming, is a typical martial arts film of the nineties,enters the fighting tournaments genre,nineties were plagued by this type of movies and it was awesome,the titles in those movies were very generic like Bloodsport,blood fist,blood match,ring of fire,forcé to fight,showdown,American kick boxer,you put two words together than meant something intense and you had your title,it is more likely that if you saw two or three of these films saw virtually all,with a minimum differentiate in each one all these tournament fighting movies had the same plot, but Bloodfist was the most cliché of all these films, not only that this film was cloned at least twice: Full Contact (1993)and Dragon Fire (1993)which does not involve a dragon or a technique called fire dragon,these three films have in common the same exact plot, I mean scene by scene they are exactly the same movie just in different locations and with different actors but dialog and the characters are the same in each of the films.

This is because these three films have the same writer credited to each one Robert King if you think this was his nadir, he is one of those responsible for the screenplay of Cutthroat island his most decent work was red corner (1995),back to Bloodfist as any illegal martial arts tournament film it begins when the protagonist learns that his brother was killed by participating in an illegal tournament, in search of the murderer and the ends participating in the tournament and wins it, that basically sums up this movie, one has little interest in the plot what catches our attention are the fight scenes in the movie, they usually use real martial artists in this movies for their credit they accomplish more believable fighting scenes what makes this film so entertaining,in other hand the acting is not that great but who cares let's see some kicking and punching.

another remarkable thing in this film are the so cliché characters let's start with the protagonist starring Don 'The Dragon' Wilson as Jake Raye, Wilson was the star of all the nine Bloodfist movies, This is the best known of all, Jake Rayne is the archetype of the good guy in this films, clean cut nice guy who believes in the fundamentals of martial arts, always looking for justice/revenge, never starts a fight but always trouble is looking for him, basically random people will pick a fight with him and they will always go one at the time even if they are 50 they will let their friend get beat up so the next one can go and get kicked as well, we have his new found best friend Baby (Michael Shaner) a compulsive gambler and kick boxer if you ask why his called Baby its explained in the movie and trust me it is as bad as joke can get, he serves as comic relief and as the guy that always gets killed fighting the main villain because it's his friend, baby has a girlfriend called Angela that I won't talk about (nothing interesting to say about this character) but he has a sister Nancy (Riley Bowman...her first and last film ) that is the F.R.I. : forced romantic interest, in all B-grade American martial arts film is full of this lazy strategy to put T&A in the movie, then we have Kwong (Joe Mari Avellana),our ¨Mr. Miyagi¨ who knows the tournament inside out and offers to train Jake in the martial arts so he can compete in the tournament in hopes of finding his brother's killer. Then we have the competition usually there's not much story about them but they have some character trades such as Raton (Dutch kick boxing champion Rob Kaman), who listens to music to get his adrenaline pumping, like many of athlete's do but somehow listening to music makes him a super fighter just don't mix his music or he will get distracted and loose then there's Black Rose (Billy Blanks),Tae Bo creator plays a high-kicking powerhouse, he has his menacing stare that makes him look like a rapist more than a fighting stare and of cores his nickname has to include the word black and Chin Woo (Kris Aguilar), a monster fighter who uses his brute strength to take out/kill his opponents, if you see him fighting it actually looks like his killing them more than taking them out , but hey his the main villain he has to do villainies stuff like killing it common sense right, he looks like the Asian Mr. T , if you're asking if his the one that killed Jakes brother you have to find out and see in the end you probably won't care who did it you will be glad it's over . and that's all I have to say about Bloodfist its cheesy, action packed, with bad writing and horrible editing but it's entertaining from start to finish if you are hangover with a rainy day you should give it a go

Really Bad 80s Martial Arts Film

[actionstar-89625 · 3/10 · 27 June 2019]

Two brothers are kickboxers. Don "The Dragon" Wilson plays one of these brothers Jake, but has retired due to giving up one of his kidneys to his brother. But, that very brother has been killed and Don is looking for vengeance. So, Don flies off to Manila (seems the #1 pass time is robbing) to look for his killer.

To sum this film up in one word it would be bad. The acting is bad, the direction seems to be lifeless and what's the worst is the fighting appears so utterly bad. Which is crazy because there are four kickboxing and karate champions from all over the world in this film including Billy Blanks who I don't think has any lines in this film.

Must say though that the setting of Manila does add some interest to the film. Hard for me to believe this steaming pile was able to generate eight (I think) sequels. The good news is all the ones I have seen so far are better than this one.

Your fist and feet

[dee.reid · 3/10 · 25 April 2007]

OK, so "B"-movie Kickboxing sensation Don "The Dragon" Wilson is no great actor, that's a given. That he even starred in the Roger Corman-backed "Bloodfist" (1989) and its eight sequels is proof that perhaps Wilson may have something to offer (which I'm sure he can; even I can find the smallest bit of talent in a "B"-movie martial arts star), but the man just hasn't gotten a whole lot of really fair play, not even in the "B"-movies, and "Bloodfist" and "Bloodfist II" (1991) are really all that he has to show for it?

In the first "Bloodfist," Wilson is Jake Raye, an American Kickboxing champion who travels to Manila, The Phillippines, to retrieve his brother's ashes after learning he had been murdered. A little deeper into his brother's actions in Manila lead Jake to an illegal underground Kickboxing tournament, and learns that his brother had been favored to win in the high-stakes combat.

In order to find his brother's killer, he enlists the aid of a Kickboxing master named Kwong (Joe Mari Avellana), who takes him under his wing and prepares him to enter the ring against some of the best fighters in the world, a la plot devices found in "Enter the Dragon" (1973), "Bloodsport" (1988), and any other martial arts tournament movie that you can think of.

Director Terence H. Winkless is behind the camera of this low-budget, "B"-grade martial arts vehicle that's a perfect showcase for Wilson's Kickboxing skills, if nothing else. We've seen a plot like this many times before in the martial arts movies, so not much of what you see here is original. As you could expect from a film by Corman, its production values are indeed low, the script is even lower, and the acting is submerged in a Manila river full of garbage. The only real pleasure here is the fighting, which features Wilson's skills and a few familiar Kickboxing faces (including Billy Blanks as one of Raye's toughest opponents).

It would seem that Don "The Dragon" Wilson would only gain a little more respectability with the not-much-better mixed martial arts romp "Bloodfist II" a year later.

3/10

A true insult to martial arts and film

[bth2004 · 1/10 · 31 August 2006]

I have no idea why these people went through with making this piece of crap movie, but it was sickening in its pathetic-ness. There was not one thing good about this whole thing.

For starters, the plot. The plot is basically a crappy combination of Bloodsport and Kickboxer. The hero, Jake, goes to the Far East to track down the one who killed his brother. In order to do so, he gets entered into the same underground fighting competition that his brother had been in when he got killed. In the process, he falls for a white woman who is an exotic dancer at a club in the city there. Cliché-ridden and a knockoff of two good movies.

Second, the cast. I really can't call any of these people actors. Don Wilson, while he may be the greatest kickboxer of the century, is one of the worst actors to ever be put on camera. The rest of the cast whose names I don't know were about as pathetic as Wilson.

Then there's the fighting. Dear Lord in Heaven, I have never seen such sorry, atrocious fighting in my entire life! These supposed-to-be expert fighters and martial artist--with the exception of Don Wilson and Billy Blanks, none of these people should be mentioned in the same conversation with the martial arts! I don't know where these knuckleheads came from, but their "martial arts" was almost nauseating to watch--especially Wilson's friend that he trained with: how those were supposed to be kicks, I couldn't fathom if I were on PCP! This truly is one of, if not the, worst films I have ever seen in my life, and I have seen some pretty crappy stuff! For the sake of your brain cells, especially to your sense of the martial arts if you have any, DO NOT WATCH THIS FILM!!!!!

Toes of vengeance...

[fmarkland32 · 2/10 · 15 June 2006]

Don Wilson (I refuse to write "The Dragon" after Don) stars as Jake Raye a boxing champion who trains in kickboxing to get revenge on the man who killed his brother. Seems Raye's brother was a crooked fighter who refused to take a dive and so he died for this deed, suffice to say there is a tournament and the leading competitor maybe the killer. Bloodfist was recommended to me by the video store clerk, after he noticed how much I liked Bloodsport and Kickboxer. "You might like this one Frankie!" Suffice to say it was the last time I ever listened to a video store clerk. Bloodfist was terrible. The fight sequences (Which are the only things that matter in a film like this) are shot with such poor technique that I could often times see the kicks miss by miles and the punches barely graze the body. How is it possible that a movie this bad could produce sequels? Who knows, although this remains the only one i've seen and will ever see (That was until I had a Bloodfist binge). As for Don Wilson's talent in acting, well if you can't say something nice...

* out of 4-(Bad)

Watered down version of "Bloodsport"...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 1 January 2023]

I had actually never heard about this 1989 martial arts action movie titled "Bloodfist" before here in the beginning of 2023, as I had the opportunity to sit down and watch it. And with it being a movie that I hadn't already seen, and seeing that Don "The Dragon" Wilson was on the cast list, of course I opted to watch it.

Writer Robert King apparently must have had been watching the 1988 movie "Bloodsport" prior to writing the script for the 1989 movie "Bloodfist", because there were some massive similarities between the two movies. Of course "Bloodsport" is a far better movie than what "Bloodfist" turned out to be. And with that being said, don't get me wrong, because "Bloodfist" is not a bad movie, not at all. It just was a somewhat watered down version of "Bloodsport" with some tweaks to the storyline.

The acting performances in the movie were okay. I mean, you know you're not in for an evening of Shakespearian performances, of course. But for a martial arts movie, then the acting performances were fair enough, and as to be expected.

The martial arts sequences were, for the majority, good enough to watch and came off as being watchable. There were some scenes that were sluggish and amateurish, and not all the fighters were really convincing in their styles and fighting, especially Michael Shaner (playing Baby Davies).

I actually found "Bloodfist" to be an enjoyable movie and entertaining movie, despite of the similarities to "Bloodsport". If you enjoy the martial arts movies of the late 1980s and early 1990s, then you will definitely also find enjoyment in director Terence H. Winkless's "Bloodfist" movie.

My rating of "Bloodfist" lands on a five out of ten stars.

Foot in Mouth

[NoDakTatum · 4/10 · 4 December 2023]

Don Wilson gets involved in the tough world of Filipino kickboxing in order to follow through on a story that is older than the hills. Wilson plays Jake, who partners with Hal (Kenneth Peerless) in a small martial arts academy. Jake's brother, Mike (Ned Hourani), is killed in Manila after winning a kickboxing match, so Jake must fly there to claim the body. The body was cremated, and Jake swears vengeance on Mike's murderers. Jake then meets all the supporting players, one right after the other. Kwong (Joe Mari Avellana) decides to help train Jake. Baby (Michael Shaner) is the wild kickboxer with no discipline. Nancy (Riley Bowman) is Baby's sister, as well as a stripper/translator (!), who falls for Jake. Jake and Baby enter the kickboxing tournament, and Mike's killer is supposedly one of the competitors. Then, like "Murder, She Wrote," the suspects are eliminated one by one until the true killer's identity is revealed, although I do not remember Angela Lansbury slamming a guy's nose back into his skull during a darkened blood match to the death.

"Bloodfist" is too typical. There is a final twist in the story that surprises if you have not been paying attention at all through the film. Billy Blanks, the "Tae Bo" guy, moves faster than the camera can react, and I wish more time had been spent on him. Wilson is okay, if a little stiff. The rest of the supporting cast goes through the paces. This is more than a little reminiscent of the "Rocky" and "Karate Kid" films, complete with the grizzled older fight instructor, and training montages. While not a complete disaster, "Bloodfist" has little to put it over other late 1980s/early 1990s cheap martial arts films. Camera shadows are more than evident, fake blood is spit and spilled often, and some of the multiple slow motion shots just show many of the kicks and punches come nowhere near connecting. This launched a ton of sequels, which I am sure contain more of the same. "Bloodfist" is weak.

Enter (Don) The Dragon (Wilson)

[Viva_Chiba · 6/10 · 6 June 2011]

Roger Corman had an eye of what kind of movies the audience wanted to see....in the 80's and 90's there was a huge boom in the martial arts genre, Corman produced many martial arts movies starring kickboxing champion Don "The Dragon" Wilson.

The movie itself is stuff that you already saw: martial arts tournament, revenge and some twists (if you have seen Bloodsport and some other movie like that you know of what i am talking about), but is not so bad to get a 3.8 rating and it's not even the worst martial arts movie ever (trust me, i have seen crappier MA movies) My favorite scene in Bloodfist is the fight scene between Don Wilson and Billy Blanks, the slow-motion sound effects are just worth the whole scene.

The sequels are FAR better than this one.

Don Wilson's best movie

[ivo-cobra8 · 10/10 · 28 April 2007]

Bloodfist is one of Don Wilson's best movie and only movie.Don Wilson stars as Jake Raye who travels to Manila to find his brother's killer.The trail leads him to boxing club the red fists who every year holds a competition calls the Ta Chang.To find his brother's killer he must enter in the tournament himself,to find the killer.This is Don Wilson's best and only movie he ever made.Seven sequels made after the first Bloodfist and this is only the best movie.Because all Bloodfist's hold different story and Don Wilson play'different't characters except part 2.But Bloodfist 2 is worst movie than part 1.Ok Don play's the same character but it's no th the sequel with 1 it s like Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon and it s to short.The part 2 ruined the first Bloodfist.I did not see all Bloodfist's.But second Bloodfist it s no't good movie,i'did not see part 3,part 4 and part 5.But i' see part 6,7 and 8.For Bloodfist 6 i'said that the movie is too short i's so post to be 20 min.longer not short.Part 7 is good but it s different story and part 8 it's nothing to compeer with first for the part 2 and 3 i said it s copy with different character's in second its dead arena in third it's prison and in the fourth and fifth i don't know what it is,like in seven or eight.For other Wilson's movie i Say'd there the worst movie he made.Like in the Red sun Rising bad story.Lion strike it s also bad movie.I read for the ring of fire that vars the worst movie of Don Wilson he made because he did not fight in the movie,except in the end for 10 min.I'said the when you are Don Wilson 's fan watch this movie it's worded to see for other movies it's up to you tho dissed.I' won't know just why they had the same titles when they are different't story then the first movie.I' recommended that you buy the first movie on DVD and enjoyed.

Formula martial arts

[lor_ · 1 May 2023]

My review was written in October 1989 after a Times Square screening.

Several notches below the level of Chuck Norris and Jean-Claude Van Damme pics is "Bloodfist", a cheapo martial arts action for undiscriminating fans of the genre.

Pic gets underway with a novel opening credits sequence, in which each leading actor (i.e., kicker) is listed with his karate and/or kickboxing titles. Film quickly heads downhill with formula script, utilizing virtually th same premise as recent Van Dammr vehicle "Kickboxer".

Don (The Dragon) Wilson plays Jake (yes, the knowing screenplay by Robet King makes an in-joke about Robert Towne's "Chinatown"), who heads from L. A. to Manila when his brother is murdered following a kickboxing match. Under the tutelage of Kwong (Joe Marie Avellana), Wilson trains for a Ta Chang fighting competition, seeking vengeance on one of the combatants who he suspects killed his brother.

Pic has a couple of plot twists plus a statuesque blonde leading lady (Riley Bowman) to distinguish it from others in the genre. Unfortunately, the editing is ragged and photography hit-and-miss, while the fighters-turned thesps show little acting ability.

Lead Wilson, who's vaguely in the Mike Stone school of martial arts heroes, has a bland scr4een personality. Fans undoubtedly will be attracted by the high kicks and bloodletting. Roger Corman followers will be glad to see Vic Diaz again, stalwart of so many Filipino-lensed actioners of the early '70s.