apaternite This movie provides a heavy dose of nostalgia for me and is what motivated me to become a blackbelt in karate when I was a kid. After rewatching it now, it's funny to see how 80s the movie is. The fight scenes however are very entertaining. Definitely an 80s classic.

cinemajesty Movie Review: "Bloodsport" (1988)An highly-trained as disciplined actor by the name of Jean-Claude Van Damme, at the age 27, leads this 85-Minute-Cut of an low-budget 1.1 Million-Dollar action-movie released primarily in South Korea on VHS video in January 1988 before "Bloodsport" directed by Newt Arnold (1922-2000), known for being second unit director for Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather: Part 2" (1974) starring Al Pacino and Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" (1982) starring Harrison Ford, gets a chance to be domestically released on the U.S. market to find a niche target audience apart from megastars as Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger high-end Hollywood production splendors.This Martial Arts gem takes his time with precisely-chosen production design from mentor trainings fearturing Roy Chiao (1927-1999) and short-lived first appearance of Academy-Award-winning actor Forest Whitaker; all in favor of main character Frank Dux, an U.S. American stranded in the Hong Kong Underworld of Martial Art arena fighting to the death, when nemesis character portrayed by Bolo Yeung, already world-famous for confronting Bruce Lee (1940-1973) in "Enter The Dragon" (1973), comes an exceptionally-emotional shot 10-minute-showdown fight scene with title-given intensity between Van Damme vs. Yeung that after 30 years on the the video market it is still a must-see of full-frontal martial arts filmmaking exposure.Copyright 2018 Cinemajesty Entertainments LLC

maximbouts Bloodsport is the best martial arts film ever! It's the finest of its kind. Certainly one of the most entertaining films I've ever seen. It has everything you can ask for and is the best film about competition in my opinion (whether its sports, business, work, personal life etc.). It is highly motivating and uplifting. This film has it all for me: action, comedy, romance, friendship, competition, interesting characters, awesome music, you name it. Pure entertainment! When watching or reviewing a film like Bloodsport, it is important to relax and let go of high expectations and standards set out by professional film critics. Just take it for what it is at face value. It's a martial arts film meant to entertain and excite us. I do not understand what certain people expect from films like these? People coming into it expecting top acting performances and Oscar-quality will be sadly disappointed. These types of films are made to purely entertain and Bloodsport totally delivers. It's proof that a movie doesn't have to be Oscar-worthy to be good. It's not always about acting. If the story and characters are great, it makes the film highly enjoyable. The film is perfectly paced as well. There isn't a single dull scene. Yes, there are tons of clichés, stereotypes, and cheesy moments but that's what it's supposed to be. It's an 80's action flick filled with cheese. The movie does not pretend to be anything else other than a fun-packed action film. For that, I respect it.Van Damme may not be the greatest actor out there but he sure is one of the best movie stars. He is a martial artist first and foremost; not an actor. However, as an action star, he shines. He has a gift at making you care about his character besides showing off his martial talent. You actually feel his pain and want to root for him. He has a way of making you feel sorry for him. I think these are qualities that only the best actors possess so a huge plus for him. Most of his contemporaries (action heroes) definitely did not possess such qualities. The only one who comes close is Stallone in 'Rocky'. Also, Bolo Yeung's 'Chong Li' is arguably the best movie villain ever. Again, he is no actor but he plays his part realistically with natural and raw emotion that is very intense. Keep in mind this guy is a bodybuilder and martial artist who also happened to star in Bruce Lee films. Ohh and how can I forget about those awesome one-liners! The film is filled with them and they are highly memorable. Basically, when you have many people reciting lines from a particular movie, it means the movie did an amazing job! Bloodsport is also an excellent example of how music should be used in movies. The film contains a perfect music to visual relation. One of the best soundtrack's ever! 80's music rocks! Very catchy tunes especially the theme song 'Kumite', which will have you chanting "kumite, kumite, kumite" out loud as you root for your favorite fighters. The music in the film creates a unique and dynamic atmosphere hence other films should follow suit.In conclusion, Bloodsport is one of my favorite films growing up and of all-time! You know the movie is good when you are reciting lines, singing songs, and kicking/punching along and well after it's over! I would recommend this film to anyone. Lay back and enjoy! Movie + Music = Masterpiece 10/10

jimbo-53-186511 Frank Dux (Jean-Claude Van Damme) decides to turn his back on the military so that he can compete in the Kumite (which is a full contact fighting tournament held in Hong Kong). However, this is a no-holds-barred event where participants have been killed in the past. This competition puts Dux on a collision course with the undefeated champion Chong Li (Bolo Yeung) and Dux finds that he must pull out all the stops in order to come out of this competition alive.Bloodsport contains many of the staple ingredients that you can expect from a Van Damme film; wooden acting, cheesy dialogue, a predictable story and some rather in-your-face direction. I personally think these things form part of the charm with his films and with these expectations in mind I seldom criticise his films for continually serving these things up (sometimes I just like watching these nonsense films). There are however some things which are not really forgivable in a JCVD film such as....POOR PACING; I think part of the problem here is that this film seemed to introduce unnecessary elements which did seem to slow the film down - the two officials going to Hong Kong to try to get Dux out of the competition which seemed to just act as an unneeded sub-plot. I also could have done without the underdeveloped and uninteresting love interest with the news reporter as well. These aspects served no real purpose and should have been omitted from the story - yes I'm aware it's based on a true story, but how about just focusing on the interesting stuff? The story is also quite poorly developed which wouldn't be as much of a problem if it was a fictional story with a fictional character in the lead role. However, Bloodsport is based on a real character and it perhaps could have offered a little more insight into its central character.Despite the above problems, the 'meat' of the film is actually quite good - the fight sequences are pretty good (although many of the fights are a bit too short for my liking). The fights are quite brutal here and director Newt Arnold leaves very little to the imagination - there is one truly horrific scene that caused me to look away from the screen. The friendship that blossoms between Dux and Ray Jackson was also quite a nice angle to the story.I quite enjoyed Bloodsport, but what really lets it down is its rather poor pacing and its lack of insight which I've previously mentioned. Taking everything into account though this is an OK film which should please Van Damme fans.