the best kick boxing by Van damme

The movie that launched Van Damme on the world and some could say formed the basis for the original UFC. The stunts were decent for the time and the fighting was pretty brutal. Overall the story was weak, but who cares when you have so much ass kic... (read more) The movie that launched Van Damme on the world and some could say formed the basis for the original UFC. The stunts were decent for the time and the fighting was pretty brutal. Overall the story was weak, but who cares when you have so much ass kicking.

I wish I had more to say about Bloodsport than I do.

But there's really not a lot to it. A man named Frank Dux (pronounced dooks) is ditching the US Army to travel to Hong Kong in order to take part in a brutal martial arts competition... (read more) I wish I had more to say about Bloodsport than I do.

But there's really not a lot to it. A man named Frank Dux (pronounced dooks) is ditching the US Army to travel to Hong Kong in order to take part in a brutal martial arts competition known as the Kumite. People have died at the Kumite, and the white square of padding where the combatants square off is fairly drenched with blood before the battle ends. One man leans down and whispers in Dux's ear, "That's why they call it bloodsport."

So now we understand the title. Before heading to Hong Kong, Dux (Van Damme) stops by his martial arts teacher's house for one last goodbye. He has a long flashback, remembering how he as a child got caught sneaking into this house to steal a katana and how the head of the household agreed to train him and how his teacher's son died mysteriously and how he had to promise to be the best that he could be in order to win the Kumite. The scene keeps cutting back to Van Damme staring at the sword intently. Speaking of: wow, Van Damme is a pretty bad actor. So many scenes feel so awkward and stilted, and the flashback scenes with the children are really poorly scripted. When a kid gets beat up, he stands up and , "I'm going to make my father proud one day."

And so. Dux goes to Hong Kong and meets a hirsute man who looks as though he is ready to destroy anybody that gets near him. Of course, the two men become fast friends and by the end of the movie (SPOILER!) are kissing and speaking about how much they love one another. There is also a woman reporter who wants to get into the exclusive Kumite party, but will settle for having sex with Dux instead. Oh, and then there are inept FBI Agents (one of whom is played by Forrest Whittaker) that don't really do anything in the story, except indulge in a comical chase sequence with Van Damme where he stops and looks back laughing at them several times.

Other than that, it's just scenes of people fighting. People kicking and jumping around and punching and swinging and bleeding. And more of that, and more of that. And Frank Dux, who is apparently a real person, punching through stacks of bricks and being drawn-and-quartered for the sake of his martial arts. Er, sorry, martial science. If you aren't totally into different combinations of people squaring off against one another in choreographed fight sequences, a lot of the movie can be tiring.

That's about all there is to say. As with a lot of these well-known yet cheesy '80s films, I suspect that I would have a lot more fondness for the film if I had grown up watching it. But I didn't and I don't. It was okay, but not really my thing.

Arguably the greatest martial arts film outside of Bruce Lee's efforts. Van Damme's finest hour and still a classic.

Good move, gr8 fight moves, and van dame sure can do those splits lol!

There are the thoughts that sprung to mind when I watched this film:
+ my 5th or 6th watching of this movie, still quite strangely this somehow seems one of the better fighting films out there in general.. this has just martial arts without any exces... (read more) There are the thoughts that sprung to mind when I watched this film:
+ my 5th or 6th watching of this movie, still quite strangely this somehow seems one of the better fighting films out there in general.. this has just martial arts without any excessive talks, it is not boring nor is it too long a film.
+ this is so very 80's and the music is also very befitting to this era and to this film.
- corny, silly, childish and theatrical
- the plot is very simple, its just about guys beating each other up in a fighting tournament - it really has nothing else to it, except some vague attempts at what honor and respect might be about. I'm also not sure if this film is as much about martial arts as it is about acrobatic jumping around and synchronized movements, but vanDamme has an admirably low fat %, that can be said.
+ in some goofy way this film is, despite its violent plot and overacting,it is sympathetic and even sort of warm film. The characters are likable and despite the childish plot this remains one of the best fighting films by van Damme. Its also not nearly as violent as the rest of his movies have been. This is also a bit better than Kickboxer was.
Perhaps the film is not that realistic, it may also not be an accurate depiction of mr. Dux.
A fun detail: Bolo Yeung, who acted in Bruce Lee's movie 'Enter the Dragon', also acts as a bad guy in this movie, and he uses the same maneuvres and lines as Lee did.
I also have to say that its well filmed and compact as a whole, and the most important thing is that it has what you asked for: martial arts fighting done with the right kind of atmosphere, so that you can forget its bad stuff. Not bad in this film genre. The dvd has no extras, just the movie.