Bloodsport (1988)

Very good…but brick don’t hit back.

If I’m honest, the majority of “Bloodsport” (1988) is quick burst fight scenes taking up mere seconds (perhaps accurate in that a majority of UFC and martial arts matchups aren’t all that long), training montage (Dux, a French-American learning ninjitsu from Senzo Tanaka (Roy Chiao)), and Dux trying to evade two American agents (Whitaker and Burton) in Hong Kong to retrieve him for leaving his country without permission (in the army, on furlough, but not allowed to leave, Dux does so anyway). Leah Ayres (of “The Burning” (1980)) as a reporter (and Van Damme’s romantic interest) interested in the Kumite, an illegal Hong Kong fighting tournament, and Douglas Gibb (“NNNNNERRRRRDDDDSSSSS!”) as a boxer entrant who befriends Dux are fun casting, but the absolute star to me is Bolo Yeung as the vicious and cold-blooded Chong Li. Li is notorious for killing fighters during the tournament, and does so again for all to see, including Dux who must prepare for him in the finals (obviously). The film always makes sure to put the camera on Li or Dux after each one fights to reassure us these two will met in the finals. That is the main piece of melodrama the film has going for it besides Gibb’s Ray Jackson turning his back on Chong Li when he has gained the upper hand, receiving a swift pounding, resulting in a sharp kick to the head that would have killed most folks hadn’t he not a noggin that is thick as lead. Ayres’ Janice worries about Dux when she gets into the Kumite and watches Li just decimate folks (one fighter, with a rather reckless style, gets caught with a thrust to the face that staggers him, and Li drops a kick that fractures his leg with a bone sticking out!)…so you get the conversations about Janice trying to talk sense in Dux. Paco (Paulo Tocha) is one of the more memorable fighters, using a striking style with both his elbows (fists up) and knees that I have seen emulated similarly in mixed martial arts fights. Of course, Dux lands the kicks where they need to in order to eventually vanquish him. There is one character whose “monkeying around” the mat against opponents trying to catch him works until he is opposite a big bear of a man with a thick, intimidating presence, who grabs him in a bearhug and snaps his back. And that same big guy is a handful for Dux who lands a number of blows that fail to drop him (including a slow motion palm strike to the gut) until he goes for the low hanging fruit. The exciting music (I’ve always liked the songs and the immersive score gives the action an almost ethereal quality), use of slow motion (Van Damme’s facial expressions and guttural cries to go with his punches and kicks are hilarious) to emphasize the fierce blows, and number of colorful fighters in various shapes and sizes (and fighting styles) all assist in why I continue to enjoy “Bloodsport”. The training montage will certainly remind those who sunk their teeth into 80s and 90s low budget action and fight films of “Kickboxer” (1989). The great martial artist who took this kid under his wing and made him a serious talent through a tough, rigorous, mentally and physically exhausting exercise in pain tolerance, fighting skill, and finding a balance of mind, body, and spirit. I always thought Van Damme and Gibb made for a fun odd couple…they seemed like such a fun team. But Chong Li getting all pissed when those in attendance would chant for Dux, actually punching a fallen fighter right into the head and snapping his neck just to make a point is the stuff of pure action film villainy…his stance on the mat and how he presented himself, the way the camera would shoot him as this towering figure of doom, Bolo Yeung just owned the screen. And throwing a drug in Dux’s eyes to gain advantage only failing to realize that he had this ridiculous billfold training gives the big fight another cartoonish development that is hard to swallow but nonetheless adds to the drama as the contest unfolds. Bolo Yeung is quite a character. Van Damme marching towards the main room, down a hall that yields Hong Kong Police who drop like falling trees at one punch each, and even avoiding tasers aimed his way makes Dux out to be this over the top character, more of a comic book hero than real man. Include the scene where Dux snatches a coin and replaces another coin in a rival’s fan, as the two contest for Janice’s company, is yet another in a line of superhuman developments (see example of the bottom brick in a pile of bricks that bursts when Dux palm strikes the top brick). I just go along with it instead of worrying about how much of this is Hollywood storytelling as opposed to truth. If I were to accept everything presented in this film, I would have to acknowledge that Dux is superhuman. As a larger than life action film fighter, I can better let slide the Dux offered to us. 3.5/5