Bloodsport (1988) Reviews

• A cult classic best martial arts Van Damme Style movie!

  ivo-cobra82015-12-29

  Bloodsport (1988) is my favorite action Van Damme movie. It was the first movie I ever saw about Van Damme that introduced me in to his movies. This is the film I grew up with it, I have first see it, when I was 8 years old! I love this movie to death! In my opinion is Van Damme's best martial arts film! Beside Hard Target, Bloodsport is one of his best movies till date. I Love it so much. Best martial arts movie, is never boring, is fast and entertaining and It is awesome seriously. And I still love it today, Bloodsport also introduced me in to martial arts. Jean Claude Van Damme's Bloodsport is still today it's best. After this movie there were a few copycat movies that copy the idea from this movie. Like were Bloodfight (1989) with Bolo Yeung returning, with the same name, but playing different character from the Bloodsport and Bloodfist (1989) with World Kickboxing champion Don "The Dragon" Wilson. I also love the music from this movie lately it helps me a lot the song "On My Own - Alone", I also love the song "Fight to Survive". This is my favorite tournament fighting film too. This film also inspired the video game Mortal Kombat and for that? This film is twice as awesome to me. This is a film where you see JCVD at his peak and this is my second favorite JCVD flick after Hard Target and Universal Soldier. It holds up really well to this day and it's a shame the film does not have a special edition on DVD and Blu Ray. The film does have a big cult following so it not getting any features to this day is lame. Great concept, great cast, charismatic characters, bad ass fights, and a kick ass soundtrack. This is definitely one of the best martial arts flicks ever made without a doubt for me. Fell in love with the film ever since I saw it on VHS when I was a kid. As for the Bloodsport sequels? For the most part? They all suck. They can't even hold a candle to this film. Bloodsport is a classic and a fight that is worth watching anytime, anywhere. I still own this movie on VHS and on Blu-ray. I don't have the DVD I don't need it. I am going to say it again I love this movie to death, it is my childhood JCVD film and I grew up with it. I have always enjoy it. It has a real bloody bad-ass fights. Van Damme and Yeung kicks fighters to the ground. Original this movie was almost never released, but Van Damme helped edit the film so that it could be released, this movie is praised and loved all over the World including Asia, USA and East Europe. The real Frank Dux was the fighting coordinator for this film. When Jean-Claude Van Damme was cast, Dux announced that Van Damme wasn't nearly in good enough shape, and put him through a 3-month training program. Van Damme called those three months "the hardest training of his life" - this despite being a world-championship martial artist in his own right. It does feel good to go re-watch films like this especially dealing with the very sad fact that films like this classic aren't made anymore and seeing Van Damme these days on film, he just seems to stone faced or depressed. I have enjoyed training sequences, flashback sequences on Frank Dux's earlier childhood life and a life of a young man. The chase sequences where Helmer and Rawlis are chasing Dux was hilarious and very entertaining. Chong Li, in my opinion, is one of the best non horror villains out there. My personal favorite JCVD villain and my favorite martial arts villain. Also, though it isn't the same character; almost like a bizarro world version, another Chong Li appears in a movie called Bloodfight (Bloodsport knockoff) played by Bolo Yeung. Van Damme maybe had some problems in his later years, but I always admired him for everything he did to make this movie well known back in '88, from re-editing the original cut to promoting the movie by putting posters of it himself in cinemas. This movie for me is a perfect 10, I don't care what anyone says.

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• Great Martial Arts Movie from the 80's

  sveknu2005-05-12

  I had never seen a van Damme-movie before this one. And oh boy, I was surprised in a really positive way. The best thing about this movie is that it's from the 80's. That means really GREAT music, and in this movie, the music makes up a really magnificent atmosphere for the viewer through the whole film. Of course, the fighting is good. It's not just good, it's great. It was really exciting to see different fighting styles from all over the world. And Bolo Yeung did a really great job as the villain. He barely talks, but shows with his behavior that he is Mr. ruthless himself. The final fight with van Dammes trademark, the 360-kick, shown several times in slow motion, is a feast for the eye. Hong Kong is the location for the movie, and the city fits perfectly for it. Enjoy!

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• best martial arts movie of all time

  leestallion552006-11-17

  If you look at the rating for this film it is only 5.8 percent at present that is a serious understatement of this films genius. This film deserves a much more higher rating. Okay its not an Oscar winner for acting, but who cares! its not about acting its about true martial arts and fighting on the big screen and Bloodsport brings this to you superbly. One of my favourite movies it also provides the Rocky pump, as in like Rocky it has the emotion both in action and through the films music and the fighting makes you want to get up and starting punching and kicking anything! and you don't get that sort of feeling with many films. Rocky had it and Bloodsport has it, and if a fighting film makes you get up and fight your living room wall then its a winner! Van Damme is excellent, his fighting manoeuvres are breathtaking, the range of different styles of fighters is great and well know martial artist Bolo Yeung's destruction of all opponents is wonderfully filmed, and as Van Dammes main contender we have a great adventure. All the fighters give great performances and the fighting scenes are superb. Great performance from big Donald Gibb as the hilarious Ray Jackson. His running punch on his first opponent is worth watching for that alone! Donald Gibb is excellent and brings humour to the role as well as some excellent and sometimes hilarious no nonsense fighting! The story too is superb, the kumite bringing the worlds greatest fighters together and by invitation only and the location also brilliant. Hiden in the depths of Hong Kong badlands. A winner in all departments. I remember watching this with friends and going out in the garden for some Bloodsport kicking and punching well not each other, thin air! but it makes you feel alive. Not many films do that. 10/10 for me. Fantastic film!

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• Cult

  australianfreak12005-10-18

  I love this man. His acting wasn't very good. (I do think though it improved over time... a little.) Bloodsport was inspiration for a whole generation to start learning martial arts. A Cult movie. I grew up some of my life in Asia and it amuses me to see those buff cliché white men jumping around through colourful, but grubby marketplaces/ back alleys. In fact the whole movie is simple and has even a nice tidy cliché structure: Man starts terribly, improves through tough training and develops into sexy fighting machine. Some people who commented on this movie said he is no Bruce Lee. But that is the beauty of it. He is somebody from a western country trying to measure up and fit into the eastern culture. Good stuff.

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• Greatest Film of All Time

  Invictus1999-12-26

  I would like to say that I have not seen a better film than Bloodsport.In my lifetime of 20 odd years, I have seen plenty of films. The Martial Arts genre is unique, and one musn't compare it to other types of movies because they are like apples and oranges. Therefore, I will say it is the greatest martial arts film of all time, and in my mind, better than anything else I have seen, even though it is hard to compare it to non-m.a. films. This movie is more than just about fighting. It transcends the entertainment value it was made to provide. This story is about Dux's journey through life, and his struggle to bring honour to his Shidoshi. He is not in it for money, or bragging rights, but simply for honour. Now how many people in today's world care about honour? Not very many. This is one out of many reasons why I love and am inspired by this movie. Sometimes one must undergo great pain and sacrifice to honour and respect someone or something. And that is an important lesson.

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