“Bloodsport” is supposedly based on the true story of martial artist Frank Dux but over the years, Dux’s has repeatedly been discredited and his success called into question. The film is basically a combination of “Enter The Dragon” and “The Karate Kid” and it makes no apologies for ignoring conventional aspects of films such as the plot and characters as pretty much goes from one action scene to another.
Jean-Claude Van Damme (“Timecop”) stars as Frank Dux, who takes part in an illegal fight competition in Hong Kong where he faces the best fighters from around the globe. Almost straight away we’re into the training montages and it isn’t much longer before the fighting begins with an occasional intermission.
Every now and then, the fight scenes stop and the characters talk or do something besides try to kick each other; such scenes are probably the film’s greatest weakness but they’re pretty much mandatory to stop the film from just being action. Van Damme is awful when it comes to dialog but he’s amazing when he’s beating people senseless. Bolo Yeung (“Enter The Dragon”) serves as the main antagonist and the role is pretty much perfect as he’s given very few lines and many opportunities to flex his muscles. Watch out for a young Forest Whitaker (“Phone Booth”) but aside from that, you won’t care about the actors.
“Bloodsport” may be the quintessential Van Damme film and it uses him almost perfectly; it doesn’t waste time trying to get you to find him interesting or even likeable, it just shows that he’s one great fighter. If you want to watch one fantastic fight scene after another then “Bloodsport” offers that with almost nothing to interrupt the action. I had a blast watching Van Damme kick his way to victory in this film and I think anybody that likes martial arts films will enjoy this.
