Customer Reviews

Bloodfist 2 [VHS]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

THIS TIME AROUND, JAKE RAE [DON ''THE DRAGON'' WILSON] GIVES UP HIS WORLD TITLE AFTER KILLING AN OPPONENT IN THE RING. BUT, THAT'S NOT THE LAST TIME HE'LL BE COMPETING. SHORTLY THEREAFTER, HE'S CAPTURED AND ALONG WITH SEVERAL OTHER MARTIAL ARTS CHAMPIONS, HE'S BOUGHT TO AN ISLAND FORTRESS TO TAKE ON SOME DRUGGED-UP FIGHTERS. NOT AS GOOD AS ITS PREDECESSOR. WHAT SAVES IT IS THE VERY GOOD FIGHT SEQUENCES THAT OCCUR NEAR THE END. THE STORYLINE FOR THIS MOVIE SEEMS TO BE VERY SIMILAR TO THAT OF ''ENTER THE DRAGON''. BUT MOST MARTIAL ARTS FANS WILL LIKE IT ANYWAY.

For those of you that don't know, the Bloodfist films are the "Friday the 13th" series of kickboxing/karate flick as the shear number of these (their are 8!) outnumber any other series in the genre. I'm still in the process of viewing them all and of what I've seen, Bloodfist II is one of the best of the series and I even found it to be better than the original. The first film ripped off Bloodsport and this sequel rips off Enter the Dragon as Don "The Dragon" Wilson is kidnapped along with other champion fighters and taken to a remote island where they are forced to fight in gladiator style matches. The fighting scenes wer staged better than the first film and they were also more brutal. Though apparently Wilson plays the same character from the first film, his character doesn't appear to be the same as he is more tough, stern, and overall more likeable as an action character. Overall I found this be a highly entertaining B-Grade action flick that is sure to please fans.

this has some of the same actors as bloodfist 1 but not playing the same characters. this is no bad thing as one thing bloodfist is not about is character development. this is pure entertainment. it is the usual roger corman affair with all your favourite bits compiled amateurishly into one tasty melting pot. there's even a grab from the empire strikes back which looks like it was thrown into the mix after half the movie had already been filmed. don the dragon i salute you. you and knight rider stand on the pinnacle of outstanding service in the field of entertainments.

The original Bloodfist had plenty of things wrong with it: nonexistent acting, lackluster fight scenes, and generally poor filmmaking. While its sequel doesn't break all of the first one's bad habits, it does a resounding job of turning the series around, however briefly, from a lame snoozefest to a respectably entertaining martial arts franchise. Anybody who can't appreciate a beat-'em-up B-movie shouldn't even consider this one, but for kickboxing enthusiasts and fans of Don Wilson (or pretty much any of the legitimate fighters in the cast), this one is worth a watch or two.

The story: kickboxer Jake Raye (Wilson) calls it quits when he inadvertently kills an opponent. Years later, he receives a call from fellow boxer Vinny (Maurice Smith, Xtreme Fighter), who implores him to return to the Philippines to help him escape from a sadistic promoter establishing an illegal underground tournament (Joe Marie Avellana). Upon arriving, Jake is quick to realize that he, along with an entire stable of champion fighters, have been duped into competing in the same unbarred fight to the death.

While most of Don Wilson's films have adamantly supplied legitimate martial arts talent, few of these collections are as abundant and feature results as positive as those of this movie. Rick Hill, James Warring (The Opponent), Steve Rogers (Raw Target), Timothy Baker (No Retreat, No Surrender), Manny Samson, Monsour del Rosario (Bloodfist 2050), and Filipino muscleman extraordinaire Cris Aguilar put on some promising fights within the tournament, the quality of which ranges from watchable to creatively entertaining. The latter is best expressed by the Steve Rogers match, in which he manages to defeat a man while seated Indian-style for the fight's duration. There's no particular stand-out fight that I can point to as the best example of the film's brawling quality; instead, all of the fights together make a well-rounded film, with enough individual cool moves per encounter to make each reasonably fun.

B-movie charm permeates the entire film, for better or worse. With the exception of the streets of Manilla, just about every location looks as though it's the property of one of the crewmembers, and those that had to be created from scratch are quite obvious. Very few of the players are given any depth of character, so they don't elicit much of an emotional response if they die. The acting mostly goes to the dogs, but that was what you expected, right? Drama isn't mandatory conditioning in most martial arts schools, so the fighters as a whole stink up the screen when they're not throwing kicks. Joe Marie Avellana, who was one of the few things of the prequel, has packed on weight and hams it up disappointingly this time around. Military B-movie veteran Robert Marius (American Commandos) plays his cowardly German lackey role to the hilt. Bombshell Rina Reyes remains the only real grey area: though she was obviously brought in solely to supply the mandatory busty female sidekick, she's a practiced credit to Filipino cinema and occasionally gives the impression that she could have done more with her role if given the chance...but, again, that's hardly necessary for a movie like this.

When you think of all the flops that Don has had in his film career, it's worth looking past the faults of a film like this for the sake of its unabashed guilty pleasures. Alas, the 'the Dragon' would never be Van Damme, Norris, or Lee, but with a little help from his friends, he came close and therein gave the world his first under-appreciated classic. C'mon - if you can spare some time to watch Bloodsport, then it won't be a big drop in standards to give this one a viewing.

Bloodfist 2 again stars Don "The Dragon" Wilson, along with an array of real-life martial arts world champions. Compared to the first Bloodfist (which was made only a year before this one), there is not much of a story, but the amount of action makes up for it greatly.

Jake Ray, now retired from fighting, goes to the Philippines to help his friend Vinny who has been captured by a man named Su. It becomes nothing more than a trap for Jake and a group of world class fighters, brought to fight in Su's own private tournament for his audience of guests. Su owns a group of his own fighters, including Vinny, who are on a special steroid and can't feel any pain when fighting.

Bloodifst 2 is packed with action (mostly fight scenes) from beginning to end. Unlike the 1st Bloodfist, the scenes are much better choregraphed and more realistic. The tournament is a lot better in this film too, lasting a good 20 minutes straight with fighters of a variety of styles and abilities. Some of the fights even get a little dirty - smashing heads into walls, using pipes, and a few bone-breakers.

Again, don't expect a story with this one and there is no suprise ending or any kind of twist of fate. Fortunately, it ends well on the action note. If you want an easy going movie with lots of well-choreographed fights, Bloodfist 2 is right up there.

I feel this film is a rare sequel to ver pass it's original, it has twice the action of the original film and features many more Martial Arts cahmpions. The story has Don "The Dragon" playing a karate champ who is kidnapped along with half a dozen other fighters. All enter (against their will) a tournament which gambler Mr. Su (Joe Mari Avelana) has rigged by pitting them all against steroid freaks with their own fighting skills. Wilson's climatic showdown with Maurice Smith is by far the best of the entire movie, and this flick stands out (as do all the other BLOODFIST titles) as a particularly fun Martial Arts saga.

Bloodfist 2 was a pretty good low budget sequel. The plot was a little shaky but the martial arts was pretty good. Art Camacho provided the action sequences on most of Don's films which were most behalf on the mediocre side. The good thing about the films is the martial art champions that were brought. There were shoot fighting champions, tae kwon do, hapkido, judo, and shotokan. The last fight scenes in the ring were pretty good. Don Wilson displaying some great continueous single kicks. Overall a average martial arts film with some good fight sequences.

First, the location - Puerto Azul in the Philippines - is fantastic.

2nd - there are at least 3 really good martial artists in this movie - guys that really know what they are doing. There is kungfu kickboxer Don "The Dragon" Wilson, ultimate kickboxer Maurice Smith, and a filipino tae kwon do champion named Monsour del Rosario (see monsourdelrosario.com).

3rd - Forget the story - it's the action that counts. Feel free to turn the sound off and crank your favorite tunes.

And finally - Better than Bloodfist 1. Better fighters, better action!