"Bloodfist VIII" is about as watchable as any "Part VIII" of a film series could ever hope to be. Not that it has to do anything with the previous entries anyway - is the name "Bloodfist" such a money maker that they couldn't simply release this as "Trained To Kill"? At first, this appears to be an acting stretch for Don Wilson - he is a math teacher with typical problems in his relationship with his teenage son. But don't worry, we soon find out that he is an ex-CIA agent, targeted for death by Italian hit men and even some of his former employers! The one new element here is the Irish setting for much of the action - and apparently someone thought we were too thick to get the fact that we're in Ireland, because there is this "folk" (I don't know how else to describe it) music score that keeps on playing throughout. At least the close-contact fight scenes are mostly good, with Wilson in top form. (**)
8 Reviews
Hard Way To Kill...
fmarkland3224 July 2006
Don Wilson stars as George MacReady who kicks into high gear, when his son is kidnapped by CIA agents who are targeting him for death because of his secret identity being blown, now he must fight his ex-comrades and save his son, while not ripping his pants in the process. That is not an unworthy observation, Don Wilson wears jeans so tight they might as well be spandex and it becomes quite believable that Wilson is a true martial artist because somehow he can kick way over his head and do so without once tearing a hole in his pants. If anything else though, Bloodfist VIII is a one man show with Wilson quite invincible against assembly line villains who say everything that villains of this nature do. The one interesting element is that the characters are named after classic actors and directors such as George MacReady, Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell. Other then that the production values are better this time around although who ever was behind the radio shock effect should be walloped with a tire-iron, overall i'm saying this is the least terrible of the last 4 sequels. But really this is a fifty cent rental at best, once again Don Wilson fans will enjoy this but other then that it holds little appeal. Also John Patrick White has to be the oldest teenager ever.
*1/2 out of 4-(Poor)
*1/2 out of 4-(Poor)
An Irish Bloodfist?
DigitalRevenantX710 August 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Rick Cowen is a shy maths teacher who is raising his son Chris after the death of his wife. Father & son aren't getting along too well but all that changes when a team of hit men make an attempt on their lives. To Chris' amazement, Rick single-handedly wipes out the assassins using some pretty impressive martial arts skills. Rick reveals that he is actually a former CIA agent who took early retirement after a mission he was on went wrong & a target was killed. Fleeing to Ireland, where Rick has some allies, the pair must dodge Italian assassins bent on killing them as revenge for their leader's death as well as the CIA station chief who wants them silenced as they have important information that would pose a threat to his impending promotion as director of the agency.
The Bloodfist series has become one of the 1990s' most enduring el cheapo action franchises. Which is a bit on the astounding side as the original film was nothing more than a cheap knockoff of the Jean-Claude Van Damme classic BLOODSPORT only with real life martial arts champions cast as fighters. After the third film, which was the best film in the series & an underrated prison drama, the series turned into a generic action franchise.
By the time of Bloodfist VIII: Trained to Kill (also known in some places as Bloodfist VIII: Hard Way Out), the series had largely lost its way. Despite a reasonably watchable seventh entry, the people of Los Angeles must have told Roger Corman that seven Bloodfist films was pushing it as far as it goes. Taking advantage of the Irish tax shelter program at the time, Corman decided to mount a sequel over there.
Like the previous film (Bloodfist VII: Manhunt), Trained to Kill is just a routine actioner, nothing more than that. But like Manhunt, the film manages to infuse the already limited formula with some new ideas, some of which had been used in a slightly different format in previous Bloodfist films. The location of Ireland might be somewhat of a novelty but it works wonders for the film, along with some decent fight scenes, car chases, a healthy bodycount & some decent twists that make Trained to Kill the second best film in the entire series.
Don "The Dragon" Wilson has come a fair way since the original Bloodfist, here managing to have a reasonable performance (although for some reason his introduction scene as a maths teacher gave me a bad case of the titters (suppressed laughter) given that he does not strike me as an ideal candidate for a high school teacher). That said, he still has the personality of an annoyed pit bull but he does his best in what he probably knew was going to be his last Bloodfist appearance, giving the role the old college try. As for the rest of the cast, John Patrick White looks far too old to be a convincing teenager while the series continues its time-honoured tradition of returnee actors with Jillian McWhirter returning to play the villainess in this one. The climactic fight on the fishing barge, which mixes martial arts, Uzi submachine guns & improvised bombs is an interesting climax although not nearly as brutal as some of the fights in previous films in the series.
The Bloodfist series has become one of the 1990s' most enduring el cheapo action franchises. Which is a bit on the astounding side as the original film was nothing more than a cheap knockoff of the Jean-Claude Van Damme classic BLOODSPORT only with real life martial arts champions cast as fighters. After the third film, which was the best film in the series & an underrated prison drama, the series turned into a generic action franchise.
By the time of Bloodfist VIII: Trained to Kill (also known in some places as Bloodfist VIII: Hard Way Out), the series had largely lost its way. Despite a reasonably watchable seventh entry, the people of Los Angeles must have told Roger Corman that seven Bloodfist films was pushing it as far as it goes. Taking advantage of the Irish tax shelter program at the time, Corman decided to mount a sequel over there.
Like the previous film (Bloodfist VII: Manhunt), Trained to Kill is just a routine actioner, nothing more than that. But like Manhunt, the film manages to infuse the already limited formula with some new ideas, some of which had been used in a slightly different format in previous Bloodfist films. The location of Ireland might be somewhat of a novelty but it works wonders for the film, along with some decent fight scenes, car chases, a healthy bodycount & some decent twists that make Trained to Kill the second best film in the entire series.
Don "The Dragon" Wilson has come a fair way since the original Bloodfist, here managing to have a reasonable performance (although for some reason his introduction scene as a maths teacher gave me a bad case of the titters (suppressed laughter) given that he does not strike me as an ideal candidate for a high school teacher). That said, he still has the personality of an annoyed pit bull but he does his best in what he probably knew was going to be his last Bloodfist appearance, giving the role the old college try. As for the rest of the cast, John Patrick White looks far too old to be a convincing teenager while the series continues its time-honoured tradition of returnee actors with Jillian McWhirter returning to play the villainess in this one. The climactic fight on the fishing barge, which mixes martial arts, Uzi submachine guns & improvised bombs is an interesting climax although not nearly as brutal as some of the fights in previous films in the series.
The final entry - and not a moment too soon
Wizard-812 February 2011
It was around this time that Ireland started offering foreign filmmakers generous tax breaks for making movies in Ireland, which got a number of B movie filmmakers to film there, including Roger Corman. Since he was able to stretch his dollar further, this final entry in the "Bloodfist" series looks a little better than the previous few entries. The movie has some atmosphere, looking dark and moody, and the movie looks somewhat more expensive, with the climax of the movie taking place out in the ocean on a boat, which probably would have been too expensive for Corman if he made the movie stateside. Unfortunately, that's about all that's positive to say about the movie. The first part of the movie (set in the U.S.) tries to disguise the Ireland shooting locations, and it's pretty laughable. The movie is shot with the camera jammed up right at the actors most of the time, which makes it hard to see the surroundings. The action is pretty disappointing, with dull shootouts and unspectacular martial arts sequences (this entry in the series may have the least number of martial arts sequences than any other entry.) Mercifully, the series came to an end at this point.
Worst Fighter on the planet!
shroomhq21 April 2021
Don Wilson.cannot be the greatest kick-boxing champion of the world because in EVERY movie he plays in, he has no idea how to fight. People go to hit him & his hands are down all the time which is unheard of in any type of fighting.
No one only hits someone a few times after they just tried to kill you, you kill them immediately & don't give them a chance to come after you a second time.
Any actor that allows a director/producer of a movie to allow non instant kills each time is a idiot actor & needs to be banned from making any movies until they smarten up & only take roles that portray real life scenarios.
No one is going to sit there & lie to me or anyone else & state that after someone just tried to kill you or your family, you are going to walk away & let the killer walk away alive.
Don't waste your time on ANY of the bloodfist series of movies because every one of them has garbage fight scenes that make no sense. Watching paint dry is far more exciting & enjoyable :o)
No one only hits someone a few times after they just tried to kill you, you kill them immediately & don't give them a chance to come after you a second time.
Any actor that allows a director/producer of a movie to allow non instant kills each time is a idiot actor & needs to be banned from making any movies until they smarten up & only take roles that portray real life scenarios.
No one is going to sit there & lie to me or anyone else & state that after someone just tried to kill you or your family, you are going to walk away & let the killer walk away alive.
Don't waste your time on ANY of the bloodfist series of movies because every one of them has garbage fight scenes that make no sense. Watching paint dry is far more exciting & enjoyable :o)
Don't touch the boombox!
tarbosh2200012 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Mild-mannered high school math teacher Rick Cowan (The Dragon) goes through his days teaching his pupils algebra and trying to relate to his 15 year old son, Chris, who is a student in the school where Rick teaches.
After some Italian baddies gun down a guy in a convenience store and attack Rick at his home, the truth comes out that Rick is actually George MacCready, who worked in the CIA doing covert ops. Now that a hit team is out to kill him and his son, they first go to a safe house which isn't so safe. They then fly to Ireland to get more answers.
Rick has to battle through the cops, the gangsters, find out who is double-crossing him, and save his son who has been kidnapped. Can he succeed? The Dragon is actually believable as a high school teacher. You gotta love his wooden, but fun delivery of his lines ("The socialists are tracking me down!"). He should have done more martial arts and less gun shooting. We want to see his rockin' moves on the bad guys, not just shoot guns. He does most of his fighting in a winter coat leading to the new term "coat-fighting".
John Patrick White portrays the sassy white kid, Chris. He may ask a lot of questions, but he is pretty handy making an electrified boombox. A movie highlight is when the school bully touches Chris's radio and gets the shock of his life, as shown by the highly realistic blue lightning over his body.
As this is a Roger Corman production and he likes to pinch pennies, he probably connected the shooting of this movie and his other Ireland production My Brother's War (1997). He wouldn't waste a trip to Ireland. Would he? Character names are movie references themselves. There's Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, Gianini (the main baddie who was "born in Corleone"),and even Michaelangelo. Film fans will notice these references.
This is an enjoyable Dragon entry. The locations are different from the usual fare, the action sequences are lively, and The Dragon rarely fails to deliver what you want.
Just remember, "I will always be employable, and you'll always be dead!" -McGrath (Evil Baddie from movie) For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com
After some Italian baddies gun down a guy in a convenience store and attack Rick at his home, the truth comes out that Rick is actually George MacCready, who worked in the CIA doing covert ops. Now that a hit team is out to kill him and his son, they first go to a safe house which isn't so safe. They then fly to Ireland to get more answers.
Rick has to battle through the cops, the gangsters, find out who is double-crossing him, and save his son who has been kidnapped. Can he succeed? The Dragon is actually believable as a high school teacher. You gotta love his wooden, but fun delivery of his lines ("The socialists are tracking me down!"). He should have done more martial arts and less gun shooting. We want to see his rockin' moves on the bad guys, not just shoot guns. He does most of his fighting in a winter coat leading to the new term "coat-fighting".
John Patrick White portrays the sassy white kid, Chris. He may ask a lot of questions, but he is pretty handy making an electrified boombox. A movie highlight is when the school bully touches Chris's radio and gets the shock of his life, as shown by the highly realistic blue lightning over his body.
As this is a Roger Corman production and he likes to pinch pennies, he probably connected the shooting of this movie and his other Ireland production My Brother's War (1997). He wouldn't waste a trip to Ireland. Would he? Character names are movie references themselves. There's Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, Gianini (the main baddie who was "born in Corleone"),and even Michaelangelo. Film fans will notice these references.
This is an enjoyable Dragon entry. The locations are different from the usual fare, the action sequences are lively, and The Dragon rarely fails to deliver what you want.
Just remember, "I will always be employable, and you'll always be dead!" -McGrath (Evil Baddie from movie) For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com
Easily the best of Don "the Dragon's" films.
Alwood19 November 1998
This is a solid martial arts/action thriller that has Don "the Dragon" Wilson as an ex-CIA assassin teaming with his teenage son to track down the men trying to kill them. Easily the best of Wilson's numerous martial arts movies, this one effectively combines good writing, stunt work, action scenes, and editing to create an entertaining film that can be appreciated by action fans.
This movie ends the "Bloodfist" series with a BANG!
GOWBTW28 September 2020
Don "The Dragon" Wilson has done the series of "Bloodfist" justice. Ended it with a Bang. In the first two, he played the same character, 3 through 8, he played different characters. In the 8th installment of the movie, he's a former agent whose teenage son gets to know who his father really is. His son is good at making explosives. Since he lost his mother in a car bombing, he would act out for attention. When his father's past comes out of hiding, he would know what he really did in the past. Fortunately, he can hold on his own, when he gets kidnapped in Ireland by his father's former boss. The fight scenes are top notch. Nothing was lost in this film.
To me, part 4 didn't sell me. I enjoyed the series. Only a non fan can say that. What a way to go, Don!
5 Stars!
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
