The Movie Bloodsport is a CLASSIC!!!!!!!The tournament martial arts film is practically a genre all its own. Dating back at least as far as Jimmy Wang Yu’s groundbreaking classic The Chinese Boxer (1970), the subject has been revisited countless times in film from Enter the Dragon (1973) to Extreme Challenge (2001). The basic concept is always the same; a heroic fighter trains in a fierce martial arts style, enters a competition, and takes on many adversaries skilled in different styles of martial arts. One of the most popular franchises based on this premise is the Best of the Best series. But one tournament film stands out as the best of the â€Ë,,80s and arguably the best of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s career. Bloodsport established Van Damme as a bankable action star and it was also one of the best martial arts films shot in the era of Rocky and Schwarzenegger.No one can discuss Bloodsport without touching upon the prickly topic of Frank W. Dux, the man whose purported exploits as a full-contact tournament champion was the source for the film’s inspiration. As the story goes, Frank was trained by a Japanese master in ninjitsu, the secret art of the ninja that he adapted into his own fighting style named â€..Dux Ryu†during a five-year winning streak in an underground martial arts tournament known as the â€..Kumite.†While many believe the tale including his legions of students, at least the same number of skeptics claim he is a fraud who invented the story for financial gain. Whether true or not, Frank’s story was indeed made into a film and he was called upon to choreograph the action. It began a seven-year collaboration with Van Damme that ended with a public dispute over Frank’s involvement in what was essentially a remake of Bloodsport initially entitled Kumite, but later rewritten and released as The Quest (1996).Van Damme plays Frank as a man who is compelled to abandon his military post to enter and win the Kumite in order to honor his dying sensei, Tanaka as played by Chinese actor Roy Chiao. (Here is an example of Hollywood's cultural ignorance at work again.) Frank arrives in Hong Kong for the competition and befriends walking white trash stereotype and fellow American fighter Ray Jackson (Donald Gibb) and also meets his friendly guide for the event, and a female reporter who is trying to get the big scoop on the competition. As Frank begins the competition, two US agents as played by Norman Burton and Forest Whitaker (Ghost Dog) arrive with old-fashioned tasers in hand to find him and bring him back. But the real action heats up in the ring as fighters of varying styles are eliminated one way or another, including Frank’s buddy who suffers a head wound at the hands of the previous champion as played by a seriously buff Bolo Yeung. The match finally comes down to Frank and his high kicks versus Bolo and his massive strength and dirty tricks as everyone places their final bets.The overall quality of Bloodsport is B-grade with a simple plot, modest to bad acting, and hideously dated and generic, Foreigner-like rock music for a score. But framed within this category, the film is fairly entertaining and polished within its means. Frank’s back story of how he comes to be Tanaka’s student and his subsequent training effectively establishes his character and motivation. Van Damme's acting is nothing special, but he at least exhibits enough charisma to carry the role. Virtually none of the remaining cast adds anything of value. Most of the fighters are pretty dull even though some effort is taken to give them distinction through their martial arts styles. A black fighter uses an agile monkey-like style and there are several beefy fighters who rely on their strength and size. UFC viewers in particular will note the appalling absence of grappling techniques. Most â€..real†fights tend to end with both opponents on the floor, but twirling kicks and forceful punches are the main tools of the trade here. Van Damme looks about as good as he ever has on screen as he belts out just about every Taekwondo-influenced kick in the book. His spinning roundhouses and his incredible dexterity are at their best here with camerawork that captures it all with little of the annoying quick cut editing that would become standard practice a decade later.Needless to say, the real treat for genre fans is Bolo Yeung’s outstanding physical performance as the buffed villain. Bolo was schooled in Hong Kong film through numerous kung fu classics and easily stood out from the masses thanks to his unusually well-muscled physique which was not the norm in the â€Ë,,70s. Bloodsport was his introduction to Hollywood and he was looking as good as ever. His over-the-top acting as a cold-blooded fighter who taunts Van Damme and feeds off the spectators’ cheers adds much needed flavor to the proceedings.Though Bloodsport ends with a loving tribute to Frank Dux and his accomplishments, the film should not be taken too seriously on any level, especially when his action choreography is neither as realistic or as gripping as it could have been. Van Damme puts forth his best effort which is adequate at best in comparison to the best that Hong Kong had to offer at the time. As one of Hollywood ’s top assistant directors Newt Arnold applies his talents to one of his only solo directing gigs with enough skill to make a mediocre script about as good as it will ever be. Taking the good with the bad, Bloodsport presents a decent alternative to the extravagant Hong Kong style of martial arts film and remains one of the better Hollywood productions of its kind.Bolo UNLEASHED
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