Okay, let's say it up front, Bloodfist is on the cheesy side, mostly a product of its budget. But that being said, it generates a whole lot of horsepower for the four cylinders it's running on.
I found it in a re-release bin a few weeks ago and had a blast watching it with my karate-taking kid. It boasts volcanoes, a spectacular bay, a cock fighting arena as martial arts arena.
But the fights themselves are terrific (nothwithstanding the occasional whiff) -- the camera is constantly on the move, the editing is sharp and drives the action, the music expands what's on the screen.
The acting is passable -- these are fighters, including the great Billy Blanks. Don "the Dragon" Wilson is green, but so is the character he's playing.
What struck me the most is how the movie presages the MMA era we're now enjoying. Bloodfist helped bring back the martial arts movie, and sprang loose the early fittings for the relentless stuff in Strikeforce and others.
I found it in a re-release bin a few weeks ago and had a blast watching it with my karate-taking kid. It boasts volcanoes, a spectacular bay, a cock fighting arena as martial arts arena.
But the fights themselves are terrific (nothwithstanding the occasional whiff) -- the camera is constantly on the move, the editing is sharp and drives the action, the music expands what's on the screen.
The acting is passable -- these are fighters, including the great Billy Blanks. Don "the Dragon" Wilson is green, but so is the character he's playing.
What struck me the most is how the movie presages the MMA era we're now enjoying. Bloodfist helped bring back the martial arts movie, and sprang loose the early fittings for the relentless stuff in Strikeforce and others.