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56 out of 70 people found the following review useful: Greatest movie of all time... fighting that is, 10 December 2005 Author: fourmont4 from United States
Honestly... this is my favorite movie of all time. I'm a huge action fan and this movie remains to this day my favorite fighting movie... nay, favorite movie period, of all time. Granted, there is no good acting and there was no reason for all the splits the man performs, but damn it the tournament was the greatest in-movie fighting tournament I've ever seen. Never duplicated or improved upon. Yes, they did stereotype everyone in the world.... literally, but boy was it funny... and oh so entertaining to see how they put the fights together.Greatest fighting movie of all time... a perfect cult classic... and the ultimate treat for the Van Damm fan
39 out of 42 people found the following review useful: Great Martial Arts Movie from the 80's, 12 May 2005 Author: sveknu from Bergen, Norway
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
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 style 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 perfect for it. Enjoy!
38 out of 45 people found the following review useful: Van Dammes VS Bolo Yeung for the first time., 21 January 2002 Author: martymaster (martymaster@hotmail.com) from Fredrikstad, Norway
This movie all about fighting,and the fact that it is based on a true story just makes it better. This is the first time Van Damme fights Bolo Yeung and it is a spectacular fight he also fights him in Double impact. Bolo is the perfect evil guy and his fighting style is one of a kind.They dont make movies like this anymore. Bad acting and story,but you gotto love it anyway.
25 out of 32 people found the following review useful: 'best martial arts film of the century', 24 January 1999 Author: Deceiver from Cannington, Australia
Bloodsport is, and always will be, Van Damme's greatest display of his martial talent. While it seems to have a similar storyline to other martial arts films, this one differs in that it is based on the true events of Frank Dux, who also assisted the fighters for this movie.Anyone at all that doubts Van Damme's talent as a fighter, should see this film.Bolo Yeung also makes a spectacular appearance as the evil one in the tournament. He acts about as cruel and heartless as one can get, and he makes the perfect climax for the film.If you are after a good quality martial arts film, and you haven't seen Bloodsport, then this is the one for you. If you have seen it, then you will know why it deserves the title of 'best martial arts film of the century'.
30 out of 42 people found the following review useful: Probably the best Martial Arts movie, ever !!, 29 September 1999 Author: power-10 from Sarpsborg, Norway
Bloodsport is an excellent movie, which includes everything a martial arts fan can possibly dream off... Great fight-choreography, excellent filming, fine music and a good story. The movie takes you to a world of fighting where "only the strongest wins". Jean Claude van Damme as Frank Dux, a young, talented martial artist. This was THE movie for van Damme, beside Kickboxer, he has never preformed so well.Watch & Enjoy !!
32 out of 47 people found the following review useful: "Gay Karate Guy" makes his best movie, 25 April 2005 Author: sirbriang2 (sirbriang2@hotmail.com)
I am not a huge Van Damme fan, but I have seen (and commented on) several of his movies. When you watch Van Damme, you want to see bad acting, bad accents, decent action, and several slow motion kicks to the face. Bloodsport delivers like no other.Let's just start with the acting. Van Damme was not quite full of himself at this point in his career, having played "Gay Karate Guy" in 1984's Monaco Forever, so he's actually not as bad as usual. His main supporting actor is Donald Gibb, best known for playing Ogre in the Revenge of the Nerds movies. He basically plays Orge in this movie, too, although he doesn't shout "NERDS!" He should have, but he didn't. That is why this is 8 out of 10 instead of 10 out of 10. Forest Whitaker is in this, too. Apparently, being a supporting actor in Platoon, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Color of Money, Stakeout and Good Morning Vietnam was not enough credit to land him the coveted role of the main military policeman that is constantly outsmarted by Van Damme (!) in this film. Instead, the actor with the best film credits in the movie is the second-in-command military policeman who serves under the person that is constantly outsmarted by Van Damme. Either the casting director was racist, or he could see into the future and knew that Forest would eventually costar in Battlefield Earth and was thus deserving of punishment. Bolo Yeung, the Asian bad guy with the huge pecks, plays a suitably evil villain at the impressive age of 50.The soundtrack is pretty awesome, too. You have a nice blend of lame 80s music combined with a strange theme song that has the refrain "Ku-mite! Ku-mite!" The song is so good, it makes you wish Ah-Ha covered it.The plot of the movie is silly. To avenge the death of his Asian friend and make his mentor proud, the military-trained Van Damme sneaks off to Asia to compete in the Kumite. This is the world's most hard-core fighting tournament and it is ultra-secret. The military doesn't want Van Damme to fight, so two men are sent to Asia to get him. They fail frequently until they eventually decide to let him compete. There is a nosy reporter woman that wants to cover the Kumite. Naturally, her main purpose in the movie is to give us a reason to see Van Damme's ass. Van Damme and Ogre become friends after Van Damme beats him in a karate video game. Ogre (for reasons unbeknownst to me) identifies Van Damme's accent as American and the two become good friends. After a shot of Van Damme beating someone up is shown in slow-motion two or three times, Ogre stands up and shouts, "That's the fastest thing I ever saw!" You see, if he hadn't said that, the audience wouldn't have known it was fast; they would have had to rely on the timer above the ring that said "new world record." Obviously, Van Damme has to fight a number of people, most of whom have comically unique styles of fighting. Just as obviously, Van Damme has to fight Bolo in the end. Van Damme has several slow motion kicks to the face and seven different times where he does the splits. Van Damme doesn't get much better than this.By the way, this is based on a true story. HA!
12 out of 13 people found the following review useful: Cult, 18 October 2005 Author: australianfreak1 from Australia
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.
11 out of 12 people found the following review useful: Bloodsport is a excellent fighting film!, 25 May 2002 Author: Movie Nuttball from U.S.A.
This is one of the great movies of the 80s in MY collection that I think about all the time. Minor SpoilersBloodsport is arguably Jean-Claude Van Damme`s best film next to Hard Target. It begins with such a cool intro with the fighters and cool music by Paul Hertzog. It has a few good songs too! It has very good fighting and it is a serious movie. Here is a brief look at the film`s best competitors that are most likely to win the Kumite.Bolo Yeung as Chong Li - Chong Li is the undefeated champion that holds many records and will do anything to win a match whether it is to break a man`s leg, knock him out or even kill his opponent. He has huge muscles and there is no telling how strong he is. Every fighter is in trouble when they step in the ring against him.Jean-Claude Van Damme as Frank Dux - Frank Dux is a great fighter taught by Tanaka. He a hansome,musclar,smart,and kind man that cares. He know just about it all when it come to fighting thanks to his great master. He really cares for his new friend Jackson. Paulo Tocha as Paco - There is one kickboxer type fighter named Paco. He is a great fighter but he doesn`t block well but he has two advantages. 1. Paco`s opponent`s should not trust him when he reaches out to shake hands because he is a cheater and 2. is when he grabs ahold of his opponent its all over with!Donald Gibb as Jackson - Jackson is a massive man with a bad attitude but is a good friend to Frank Dux. He is very tuff,strong, and is able to beat up anyone though he fools around too much and that`s his only mistake.Michel Qissi as Parades - Parades has big thick legs that hits his opponents hard but like Paco he is not a good blocker and that is his only flaw.Bloodsport has many other great figters but these are top ones in the Kumite. If you like Jean-Claude Van Damme and fighting films then be sure to check this awesome Jean-Claude Van Damme movie out soon because in MY opinion it is a classic!
17 out of 25 people found the following review useful: Van Damme`s first American movie is still viewable, 5 August 2000 Author: action-6 from Froland, Norway
Bloodsport is Van Damme`s first American film and it is a great B-movie. The plot and acting isn`t this movie`s strongest point but the movie delivers many great and some spectacular fight-scenes. This movie introduced the American audience to Van Damme from Belgium, and was the first of Van Damme`s entertaining action-flicks. 8/10
8 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Look at it like this!!!, 3 October 2005 Author: fake_plastic_trees_ from United Kingdom
Being a film watcher that looks for great acting, i surprised myself when i enjoyed this film.Being more a film fan than a martial arts fan i was expecting to be writing a bad review for this flick. No one can deny that van damme is a great martial artist, but his acting is so so the opposite.You have to look at it as a martial arts film (which it is) and accept the stunning fight sequences (especially the final fight scene which was very well choreographed) the film offers.Yes, people will talk about how bad his acting may be, but what people forget is that he is a martial artist more than an actor. Movies are just the way he can express his great skills to an audience.I recommend this film to any martial arts fan but not so much to anyone looking for a compelling dramatic, mystical thriller because you will be disappointed.On all it's a basic, pure, martial arts film that i feel is underrated.
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