I really liked this film growing up, haven't seen it for a long time and came across it on Prime now. It's still a pretty fun watch, the beginning, with Dux having a flashback to his youth and as well as some other moment in the film are pretty b-movie-ish. But once the setting moves to Hong Kong it's a pretty cool film around, I really loved the fights as a kid, nowadays they don't look as impressive anymore. But still, the story is still pretty good, from Dux evading military police, the introduction of the Kumite and the progression of the tournament. And the film also excels with the characters, the casting and the score. Van Damme looks simply excellent, he had a great athletic and muscular form in this. Gibb as Jackson is also a fun character, nice to see Whitaker in a young role as well and the city of late 80's Hong Kong is a character in itself too. Having frequented the city often, I especially enjoy seeing feature in the film. So at times the film is pretty campy, taking itself too seriously too, but as a whole it's also pretty engaging and as it's become a part of film culture and history it absolutely makes it worth viewing.
B+ It's funny how the Wiki entry has evolved from the OP back in 06.
Quote:
Bloodsport is a 1988 American martial arts film directed by Newt Arnold. The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, with a supporting cast of Leah Ayres, Forest Whitaker, Donald Gibb, Roy Chiao, and Bolo Yeung. The film centers on Frank Dux (Van Damme), a United States Army Captain and ninjutsu practitioner who competes in an underground full-contact martial arts tournament called the Kumite in Hong Kong. Based on Dux's real-life claims, the film was marketed as a true story. It was one of Van Damme's first lead roles and showcased his abilities, launching his career as a mainstream action star.
The screenplay is based on many of Dux's claims first covered in the November 1980 issue of Black Belt magazine. The real Dux served as the action choreographer and technical advisor. After its release, many of Dux's claims were disputed, including by co-screenwriter Sheldon Lettich, who claimed Dux fabricated his fight record and the existence of the Kumite.
