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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
A well-oiled Jean-Claude Van Damme makes his starring debut in what may be one of the few kickboxing films to be based on a true story. The Muscles from Brussels plays Frank Dux, the first Westerner ever to win the extreme "whupfest" known as the Kumatai (a long-running, no-holds-barred fighting tournament in Hong Kong). While a bit deficient in the script department (to say the least), this undeniably exciting flick succeeds by letting Van Damme play to his strengths: namely, minimal acting and a lot of impossibly acrobatic splits while kicking people in the head. A guilty-pleasure testosterone blast of the highest order, with a memorable villain (the massive Bolo Yeung from Enter the Dragon), and a multitude of well-choreographed fight scenes. An embarrassed-looking Forest Whitaker cameos as a hapless (and non-kickboxing) cop. --Andrew Wright
Product Description
An American major flies to Hong Kong for an outlawed martial-arts contest called the Kumite.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
You all know the storyline. It's kinda cheesy and cliche by today's standards, but still... I've been watching this movie since I was a little boy and to this day I never get tired of it! Like someone else said... if this movie is on TV, there is NO WAY I'm not going to finish watching it. The whole thing just never gets old! Wow... for a movie made in 1988, it's still shown over and over again on cable television. That says something about how popular this movie is. It's by far the best Van Damme movie there is. And as a young impressionable boy, this movie is what got me interested in martial arts. I would stand in front of the TV watching this movie while trying to imitate all the moves I saw. Needless to say, I was the best fighter in first grade and performed many punches to kids' groins and spinning kicks to their faces while also breaking necks Chong Li style (ok im just kidding... but it does raise the issue of TV violence and its influence on children, doesn't it?) Anyways, good classic fight scenes that are also realistic (i.e. no wires, just man-to-man fighting). While in a real fight you would never perform the flying spin kicks nor would you take your sweet time walking up to your opponent and kicking him in the face as if he was too slow to react, the fight scenes are definitely entertaining and will put you into a hypnotic trance that will render you speechless and cause drool to drip out of your mouth (ok maybe not). Another thing I like about the movie is the movie soundtrack, i.e. the background music that's playing whenever there's a fight. Gets me pumped up and ready to go spin-kick someone at a gas station... then we start our own kumite in the back alley! Anyways, hope you enjoyed reading my review, because I enjoyed rambling during my review :D
20 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I'm not a fan of martial arts movies. I'm not a fan of Jean-Claude Van Damme. But if I see this movie playing on one of my cable channels, put a fork in me, because I'm cooked for the next 90 minutes.
After 30 minutes of attempted plot development, "Bloodsport" really gets going with some of the finest one-on-one fights I have seen as the Kumite competition begins. There are different fighters with all different types of styles, from brute strength, unorthodox defense methods such as hoping around like a kangaroo, and Van Damme's martial arts style. The Kumite makes up most of the remaining 60 minutes of the movie and is riveting.
Van Damme can't act to save his life (and I get a kick - no pun intended - out of his American accent), but he puts on a good show here. That's because he doesn't have much dialogue. Bolo Yeung, who plays arch-nemesis Chong Li is ripped and very convincing as the villian. Donald Gibb (Ogre from the "Revenge of the Nerds" movies) plays Van Damme's fellow Kumite participant who gets his clock cleaned by Chong Li, causing Van Damme an extra incentive for revenge.
It's cheesy, it's silly, it's poorly acted, but it is a lot of fun. A must!
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Van Damme's best martial arts movie - heck perhaps best movie ever, considering his others were lousy except for Timecop and In Hell. Bloodsport can arguably be ranked right behind Enter The Drgaon as a true fight classic. In fact, in many ways, Bloodsport not only gets inspiration from Bruce Lee's masterpiece, but by finally seeing the massive baddie Bolo fight a worthy opponent, it does it one better.
One of the most incredible visuals and kinetically amazing cast members of Enter The Dragon was Bolo Yeung. Never actually classically trained as a martial artist, Bolo was a Chinese bodybuilder - sort of China's Schwarzenegger. He was bigger than life, bigger than Bruce, bigger than anybody he shared the screen with, yet when the credits rolled, he had only broken the necks of a few lame bodyguards and had fought Roper, played by John Saxon. Now, Saxon is a fine actor and a pretty good martial artist, however he's no Bruce Lee. The confrontation everyone was waiting for in Enter The Dragon never happened, until that is Bloodsport came along.
Now, yes, Van Damme isn't Bruce Lee. There are many who would say he couldn't hold Bruce Lee's jockstrap. But in his muscular prime his lightning fast style has beyond most come close to Lee's high kicking, hard punching brand of film fighting. So when Chong Li severely injures Frank Dux's big buddy Ray Jackson, you know Frank's gonnna get revenge and we're gonna get the fight we never got but wanted to see in Enter The Dragon.
Certainly there are many other good things about this movie. The acting is always decent, Forest Whitaker plays an FBI agent in an early role and even Van Damme is relaxed, confident and comes off better than most any other role. However when all is said and done, Bloodsport works on a purely adrenalin pumped level of martial arts action that is unmatched - save for Enter The Dragon. So, when the credits roll this time, we're satisfied that someone as incredible as Bolo has been used to full measure and the [...] kicking we longed for is the high point of this movie - visually and emotionally.
One of the most incredible visuals and kinetically amazing cast members of Enter The Dragon was Bolo Yeung. Never actually classically trained as a martial artist, Bolo was a Chinese bodybuilder - sort of China's Schwarzenegger. He was bigger than life, bigger than Bruce, bigger than anybody he shared the screen with, yet when the credits rolled, he had only broken the necks of a few lame bodyguards and had fought Roper, played by John Saxon. Now, Saxon is a fine actor and a pretty good martial artist, however he's no Bruce Lee. The confrontation everyone was waiting for in Enter The Dragon never happened, until that is Bloodsport came along.
Now, yes, Van Damme isn't Bruce Lee. There are many who would say he couldn't hold Bruce Lee's jockstrap. But in his muscular prime his lightning fast style has beyond most come close to Lee's high kicking, hard punching brand of film fighting. So when Chong Li severely injures Frank Dux's big buddy Ray Jackson, you know Frank's gonnna get revenge and we're gonna get the fight we never got but wanted to see in Enter The Dragon.
Certainly there are many other good things about this movie. The acting is always decent, Forest Whitaker plays an FBI agent in an early role and even Van Damme is relaxed, confident and comes off better than most any other role. However when all is said and done, Bloodsport works on a purely adrenalin pumped level of martial arts action that is unmatched - save for Enter The Dragon. So, when the credits roll this time, we're satisfied that someone as incredible as Bolo has been used to full measure and the [...] kicking we longed for is the high point of this movie - visually and emotionally.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Can't Get Any Better Than Van Damme and Bolo Yeung.
Viewed: 5/12
Rate: 8
5/12: Bloodsport is among Jean Claude Van Damme's best films. However, there is a strange story behind the film concerning about the supposed... Read more
Rate: 8
5/12: Bloodsport is among Jean Claude Van Damme's best films. However, there is a strange story behind the film concerning about the supposed... Read more
Published 16 days ago by John Doe
a rock hard Van Damme competes in the kumite in Hong Kong...
Loosely based on the life of fighter Frank Dux, Bloodsport (1988) has a very familiar storyline, where a westerner trained in the martial arts goes to Hong Kong, to participate in... Read more
Published 3 months ago by trebe
Dripping with cheese but...
Poooooaaaaahhh! (Does splits)
Cheesy as hell but, its still good entertainment, if anything for sheer laugh value. Read more
Cheesy as hell but, its still good entertainment, if anything for sheer laugh value. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Dan The Man
"One Of Van Damme's Best!"
Jean-Claude Van Damme and Donald Gibb star in this 1988 martial
arts drama based on a true story. A martial artist goes to Hong
Kong to enter in a fighting competition. Read more
arts drama based on a true story. A martial artist goes to Hong
Kong to enter in a fighting competition. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Gregorypwilson
Classic Van Damme
Who doesn't occasionally want to travel back in time a decade or two and watch some good old Jean Claude? Read more
Published 16 months ago by N. Martinez
opinion1
Amazon.com service was very nice.
I expected the delivery to be a bit more faster. But it was reliable and fine.
I am happy. Read more
I expected the delivery to be a bit more faster. But it was reliable and fine.
I am happy. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Patrick
Van Damme's Finest Work
This is seriously the first movie I remeber watching. And I was three! The storyline stuck with me until this day and i still get goosebumps everytime i see it. Read more
Published 17 months ago by tpg1188
Bloodsport 8/10
Bloodsport from 1988 directed by Newt Arnold he's done a lot of 2nd unit work on big big name movies. What more can I say. Read more
Published 18 months ago by J. Paul
"What kind of a deal?"
One of the best Van Damme movies by far. I've seen this movie like a million times and it never fails to entertain. Pretty easy to spot the 80's style clothing. Read more
Published 18 months ago by JD
the best fighting movie in the 80's
thank you god that this movie was made in my life time. if you are a big fan of fighting movies and don't have this movie put this movie on top of your list, you will not be... Read more
Published 19 months ago by margaret
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