"Bloodsport," the 1988 debut vehicle of Belgian martial artist and "actor" Jean-Claude Van Damme, opens with one of the most impressive montages of fighters preparing for the Kumite, an illegal full-contact mixed martial arts tournament held in Hong Kong. It gets the audience ready for the bloodiest cultural display of martial arts combat in decades.
We're told that there are three ways to win a match in the Kumite:
1) You knock the guy out
2) The opponent gives up and shouts "matte," which is like saying uncle
3) You knock the other fighter right off the mat
Enter into the picture, clean-shaved United States military intelligence officer Frank Dux (Van Damme), of whom this film's story is supposedly based off of. Dux became the first Westerner to win the Kumite, after going AWOL from his post (and two officers including Norman Burton and an underused Forest Whitaker are dispatched to retrieve him), and used his superior combat training, indomitable spirit, and iron will to defeat the legions of vicious opponents sent his way. Dux (like, "put up your dukes") is first introduced as a teenager, coming under the tutelage of a venerable martial arts master who instructs the young man in a brutal regiment of non-stop combative training to prepare him for the Kumite.
Once in Hong Kong, Dux befriends fellow American Ray Jackson (Donald Gibb), also a Kumite fighter, and the two prepare for combat. There is a lot of mystery surrounding this illegal martial arts tournament, which has its origins in ancient Chinese culture. No one will talk about it, especially to nosy reporters like Janice Kent (Leah Ayres), much less pick fights outside the ring, which would result in an automatic disqualification if a brawl took place outside the Kumite.
When it comes time for the action of the great tournament, 40 or so fighters look over one another, eager in anticipation of jumping into the ring and duking it out. But Dux and Ray are prepared, but nothing can ready them for the hulking South Korean fighter and current Kumite champ Chong Li ("Enter the Dragon" Bolo Yeung), who has a reputation for fighting dirty and is rumored to have once killed one of his opponents.
The validity of Dux's story and military background have come under intense scrutiny in recent years but I'm not paying any attention to it. All I can do is pay attention to what's in front of me. "Bloodsport" is a perfect star-making vehicle for the Muscles From Brussels, though some studio execs didn't think so. Van Damme had to fight like there was no tomorrow to get "Bloodsport" released and even then, the critics were still not impressed but who cares? It's no where near as bad as it was made out to be, it still made the man a star, and the basis for one of my favorite fighters from "Mortal Kombat," Johnny Cage.
Director Newt Arnold keeps a fine pace but the only things that seem to hold it back are some cheesy moments of levity and Van Damme's acting (surprise, surprise). Again, who cares? "Bloodsport" is a martial arts movie, first and foremost - why a need for acting? When the combat begins (with action choreographed by the real-life Dux himself), blood flows as one fighter after the other is knocked out leaving a titanic duel between only-standing Dux to duke it out with the brutal Chong Li. In between, though, we see many great styles from all over the world including straight-up Chinese gong-fu, Karate, Hapkido (my own current style of training), Capoeira, Sumo, Monkey, Muay Thai, and some good old-fashioned American brawling.
Even in recent years, "Bloodsport" is still a wholly decent affair that does get bogged down in some cheap Hollywood theatrics. Van Damme doesn't seem to be fairing well either in these times, but we still have this film and some of his good earlier works to appreciate.
7/10
We're told that there are three ways to win a match in the Kumite:
1) You knock the guy out
2) The opponent gives up and shouts "matte," which is like saying uncle
3) You knock the other fighter right off the mat
Enter into the picture, clean-shaved United States military intelligence officer Frank Dux (Van Damme), of whom this film's story is supposedly based off of. Dux became the first Westerner to win the Kumite, after going AWOL from his post (and two officers including Norman Burton and an underused Forest Whitaker are dispatched to retrieve him), and used his superior combat training, indomitable spirit, and iron will to defeat the legions of vicious opponents sent his way. Dux (like, "put up your dukes") is first introduced as a teenager, coming under the tutelage of a venerable martial arts master who instructs the young man in a brutal regiment of non-stop combative training to prepare him for the Kumite.
Once in Hong Kong, Dux befriends fellow American Ray Jackson (Donald Gibb), also a Kumite fighter, and the two prepare for combat. There is a lot of mystery surrounding this illegal martial arts tournament, which has its origins in ancient Chinese culture. No one will talk about it, especially to nosy reporters like Janice Kent (Leah Ayres), much less pick fights outside the ring, which would result in an automatic disqualification if a brawl took place outside the Kumite.
When it comes time for the action of the great tournament, 40 or so fighters look over one another, eager in anticipation of jumping into the ring and duking it out. But Dux and Ray are prepared, but nothing can ready them for the hulking South Korean fighter and current Kumite champ Chong Li ("Enter the Dragon" Bolo Yeung), who has a reputation for fighting dirty and is rumored to have once killed one of his opponents.
The validity of Dux's story and military background have come under intense scrutiny in recent years but I'm not paying any attention to it. All I can do is pay attention to what's in front of me. "Bloodsport" is a perfect star-making vehicle for the Muscles From Brussels, though some studio execs didn't think so. Van Damme had to fight like there was no tomorrow to get "Bloodsport" released and even then, the critics were still not impressed but who cares? It's no where near as bad as it was made out to be, it still made the man a star, and the basis for one of my favorite fighters from "Mortal Kombat," Johnny Cage.
Director Newt Arnold keeps a fine pace but the only things that seem to hold it back are some cheesy moments of levity and Van Damme's acting (surprise, surprise). Again, who cares? "Bloodsport" is a martial arts movie, first and foremost - why a need for acting? When the combat begins (with action choreographed by the real-life Dux himself), blood flows as one fighter after the other is knocked out leaving a titanic duel between only-standing Dux to duke it out with the brutal Chong Li. In between, though, we see many great styles from all over the world including straight-up Chinese gong-fu, Karate, Hapkido (my own current style of training), Capoeira, Sumo, Monkey, Muay Thai, and some good old-fashioned American brawling.
Even in recent years, "Bloodsport" is still a wholly decent affair that does get bogged down in some cheap Hollywood theatrics. Van Damme doesn't seem to be fairing well either in these times, but we still have this film and some of his good earlier works to appreciate.
7/10