Fainaru faito - Saigo no ichigeki (1989) User Reviews

Better Than I Expected.

[Space_Mafune · 5/10 · 2 March 2006]

A Martial Arts fighter named Masahiro Kai (Yasuaki Kurata), retired for years from the free fighting form, wants someone else to carry on his legacy so he seeks a student he can train. His first choice, a young punk, turns out to be too filled with anger and violence to ever amount to anything. He has better luck with young Ryu Tenmei (Simon Yam) who starts out seeking revenge against a group of punks who attacked him and his girlfriend, including Kai's former student, but soon comes to put his hatred aside and replace it with an appreciation and understanding of the true benefits of adopting the martial arts philosophy and lifestyle. Soon Ryu is good enough to fight in the deadly World Championship free-fighting tournament and the result proves shocking and unexpected, a result that may force Kai out of retirement and back into the fighting field seeking retribution for his fallen student. But can Kai possibly succeed against the powerful, devilish Chong Lee (Bolo Yeung)?

Honestly I like BLOODFIGHT far more than BLOODPSORT even though it has largely the same plot. There's a more believable edge to BLOODFIGHT I feel and it's helped by the fact it's an actual Hong Kong based film presentation. The fighting is quite good but even better is the emotional range the performers show managing to overcome language barriers with strong use of body language and the extra time and attention given to building up characters, something decidedly lacking in BLOODSPORT. Still there are problems. I believe they made a mistake filming this in English because most of the performers simply had not mastered the language even though it was an interesting exercise to watch them attempt it and a nice try on the part of those behind the film to presumably reach a larger audience and perhaps tap into some of the financial success BLOODSPORT enjoyed. Finally the resolution isn't fully satisfying as the punishment doesn't quite seem to match the crime that was perpetrated. That said, I ended up liking this far more than I expected I would.

Bloodfight

[Scarecrow-88 · 6/10 · 2 November 2009]

At the heels of Bloodsport, director Shuji Goto snagged the formidable Bolo Yeung, attempting to capitalize on that film's success for his similarly titled, Bloodfight. The plot echoes Rocky IV as retired world champion martial artist, Masahiro Kai(Yasuaki Kurata), now the trainer of a fledgling gym, prepares for his main event fight against Chang Lee(Bolo Yeung), the one responsible for the murder of a former pupil, Ryu Tenmei(..a really young Simon Yam). Kai watched as Ryu battled against a group of bullying punks, led by Stuart Smith, seeing a possible champion-in-the-making, hoping to take him under his wing. At first Ryu resists, instead concerned with a career in basketball..that is until he has another altercation with the punks, left battered and bruised. To the dismay of girlfriend Milly, Ryu will abandon his potential basketball career, working hard with new trainer Kai, preparing for a tournament, in the hopes of becoming world champion. Ryu does indeed work his way through opponents, squaring off with Lee, but it doesn't fair well, and one snapped neck leads Kai into a drunken state, agonizing over the loss of his student, who was in over his head. In a publicity event, Kai agrees to enter the world championship tournament, setting up the main event between himself and Chang Lee.

Undermined perhaps by the middle portion which gets bogged down in unraveling why Kai is awaiting his battle with Lee, Bloodfight, come hell or high water, is gonna place special emphasis on the characters and their story. It opens as if it might be a pure fight film, sacrificing story for bloody violence, but once the flashback story begins, the film at times grinds at a slow pace, with an exciting action sequence popping up here and there. The film follows the same "training regimen" scene from Rocky IV, as Kai prepares in the most difficult conditions / ways while Chang Lee works out in the comforts of a gym, with the finest equipment. While I personally wanted more of Yeung destroying opposition, Bloodfight is more concerned with the dynamic of trainer and student, how this relationship dictates the emotional level of the finale. The film establishes the main aggressors as the gang of cruel interlopers who attack innocent people and street vendors in the city just for kicks, with others having to put them in their place from time to time(..like a young woman defending her mother and sister, Ryu protecting his girlfriend, or Kai, wallowing in misery, who annihilates them even though he's drunk out of his gourd).

The fight scenes are quite entertaining with the fighters flying through the air(..these moments are obviously choreographed fantasy, but enjoyable just the same, even if they are fictional acts of agility), swapping blows, with the usual assortment of odd-looking contestants and interesting finishes. The film allows Yeung, who is quite a physical specimen, to look really good, his fight against Yam incredibly hard to watch as his Chung Lee just obliterates the kid, showing no mercy, actually boozed up before the fight even begins. His closing fight with Kurata is worth the wait, and, again, Yeung, for a good while, just bashes and pummels his opponent. The problem is getting to these scenes, the dearth of story taking precedence over the fights. The film was shot in English, before the tolerance of subtitles, hoping to gain interest from Western audiences, I suppose. The Hong Kong locations are always a plus and I think Kurata does fine in the lead. Yeung is certainly menacing enough, even though his role doesn't differ much from others we are accustomed to.

Not that bad.

[elvylanda · 6/10 · 5 September 2019]

I saw this movie in my local Book Off store here in NYC. It had Bolo Yeung on the cover of the DVD and being a huge fan of Bolo, I was immediately intrigued and I purchased it.

Overall, it's rough with the language because it's in Asian so I had to watch it on English subtitles. Starts off a little slow but if you hang in there, you'll get rewarded with a great fight scene between the main hero of the film and the main villain which is Bolo. Not a bad action film.

Fantastic!!!!

[AlbertV79 · 20 October 1999]

I got to see Bloodfight and I have to say it is one of the best tournament-revenge films I have seen. The one that shocked me was that this film was shot in English. Yasuaki "Shoji" Kurata, Simon Yam Tat-wah and most of the stars, who are from Hong Kong, spoke English. Not dubbed, which was quite a surprise. The fight scenes were great as well. I recommend this to any martial arts film fan!!!!

Periodically hilarious "Bloodsport" clone

[Flak_Magnet · 4/10 · 10 September 2009]

As a kid, we considered this movie as one of the funniest things ever, and it was a neighborhood sensation for about half a Summer. Essentially a direct (and abysmal) clone of "Bloodsport," "Bloodfight" was made the same year, and features the same bad guy: Bolo Yeung. (Who, strangely enough, plays the same CHARACTER as he did in "Bloodsport"). I hadn't seen this movie in 15-years and was pleased to discover that it remains as cheesetastic as my memories....Anyway, the movie is dreadful, almost continuously incoherent rubbish, but has its moments as an unintentional comedy. The acting is TERRIBLE, and some of the film's more dramatic sequences are laugh out loud funny. (Some segments had me questioning whether the lameness was intentional, but I don't think it is). There are some definite pacing problems, and the editing is so bad that the story is essentially broken and unnavigable, but there are a few pretty classic parts. If you appreciate the sublime comfort of late-vintage, bottom-of-the-barrel Hong Kong actioners, and need an easy one to laugh at, this one's OK. You'll have to fast-forward through some parts, but just know there is funny in here, friends. LONG LIVE THE KUMATE! ---|--- Reviews by Flak Magnet

Stylish 80's revenge movie

[Falconeer · 5/10 · 1 May 2011]

"Blood Fight" is an unexpectedly serious action flick that has some good, at times artistic camera work. Unlike most Chinese martial arts films, this one does not have the awful English overdubs that make these films so bad. The Chinese actors are actually speaking English, albeit with heavy accents, and it lends an extra level of quality to the production. The story is good, if not very original. A martial arts master becomes emotionally destroyed when his young protégé loses his life to a brutal opponent in the ring. Kung Fu cult icon, Bolo Yeung is his usual demonic self as the fighter who takes the kid's life. Basically a revenge flick, but with some decent character development and higher production values. Featuring some great shots of Hong Kong, both in daylight, and the neon-saturated nights. The fight technique is mainly kick-boxing, and at times things get quite bloody. Worth a look, especially for fans of Yeung Bolo.

Absolute Garbage

[plantostickthat · 1/10 · 3 January 2001]

When i first saw this, i thought 'I will never see anything as terrible as this in my life'. I was wrong, though, because i saw Joel Reed's 'Bloodsucking Freaks'. This would have to come in a close second as the worst movie ever though.

People hire martial arts movies for one reason : Action. Me and 4 friends borrowed this while we were in a great mood, and turned it on hoping for some great fighting and possibly a feasible storyline. The first 5 minutes in the tournament were just what we wanted, and we were looking forward to more. 2 minutes later everybody but me had left. The movie starts off well, but simply degenerated into one of the most boring pieces of %#$^ ever. After the initial action, it is just people wandering around the streets talking to each other for over an hour. Would this satisfy a martial arts fan? That question doesn't need to be answered...

There is no reason at all to watch this movie. The acting is shoddy, the storyline in non-existent, and there is NO ACTION. I am disappointed in myself for sitting through this when everybody else got the fun of playing pool. This movie is so boring that I would rather spend 2 hours cleaning public toilets than watch it. The lowest mark should be lowered to a 0 for this movie. 1 is too high.

Unwatchable between the fight scenes; not much better during them

[gridoon · 2/10 · 11 May 2005]

The only possible source of entertainment in a movie like "Bloodfight" is the fighting, but even that is spoiled here by terrible direction, bad camera angles and sloppy editing. The plot rambles on for about an hour, then turns into a tenth-rate "Rocky". The Oriental actors, burdened with someone's idiotic decision that they should all speak exclusively in English (in a misconceived attempt to help the film break more easily into the American market, perhaps?), recite their lines robotically, without any feeling. On the other hand, the white actors, who can speak English more fluently, can't act (only Cristina Lawson comes close to doing both of those things simultaneously). "Bloodfight" is only for those who'll watch Bolo Yeung in any film, no matter how atrocious it may be. (*)

Very poor Bloodsport knock-off

[Leofwine_draca · 2/10 · 5 December 2015]

Here's a cheap Japanese knock-off of the Van Damme "classic" BLOODSPORT, except made with only a fraction of the budget and skill. This boring, muddled film actually only contains about fifteen minutes of footage in the ring, as it were. The rest is taken up with a modern, realist drama charting the life and times of tough fight promoter Yasuaki Kurate as Kai, a middled-aged Japanese karate warrior who enjoys training new warriors to fight against the champ of the ring, Chang Lee.

We get to watch Kai train, fight with his wife and lose her, become a hopeless drunk, and then finally enter the ring himself to take on Chang Lee. It's not as interesting as it sounds, and contains hardly any action – certainly not enough for a film with the promising title BLOODFIGHT. The on-the-street camera approach quickly becomes tiring, especially as there are no sympathetic actors to engage with along the way. Kurate does seem to be a halfway decent performer but his sullen, monosyllabic lead doesn't give him much opportunity to shine.

The first half of the film is a pointless time-wasting exercise dealing with a moronic gang of street thugs, led by the insolent Stuart Smith (hilariously misspelt as Stuart Smita in the credits). You may remember Smith from the likes of NINJA HUNT and other ultra-cheap cut-and-paste ninja epics of the '80s; BLOODFIGHT appears to be his genre swansong but the film isn't any better than his earlier work. A young Simon Lam, possibly the most famous of the cast, doesn't fare any better with his heavy emoting. Lam later made a name for himself with gangster films and the heroic bloodshed genre but he's as bad here as the rest. Bolo Yeung is the only one to come out of it with some dignity, although he's just as much laughable here as he is scary.

The film is poorly made throughout, shot in English (and in Hong Kong) with a script that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The fight sequences are typically poorly shot, aside from a few choice battles in the last half hour of the film. The only good thing in the whole movie is the last match between Kurate and Yeung, an impossibly long slug-fest to the death, which is, as the title suggests, pretty bloody. It's just a shame that the rest of the movie doesn't carry on in the same mould, instead alternating between mindless bizarre moments and stultifying boredom. Give this one a miss and check out the Van Damme film instead.

Rip off!

[mm-39 · 6/10 · 9 March 2011]

A rip off of Blood Sport and Rocky 4! The makers of Final Fight know this, and I am okay with it to. Part of the movie is Blood Sport with an all out martial arts contest, with the same bad guy (Bolo). The other part of the story is similar to Rocky four which has a trainer's revenge of the death of his student from and in ring incident. The training part of the film is right out of the Rocky movies. The protagonist trains old while the bad guy trains new. The movie has some filler martial arts Hong Kong (Mr B Lee) style in the middle too stretch out the story. Is the movie entertaining yes. Is it a great movie no! The ending has the protagonist walking away dressed and walking similar to Sly's characters. I give Final Fight 6 out of 10.

The Red Headed Stepchild Of Bloodsport

[DavyDissonance · 3/10 · 29 August 2020]

Some old guys kung fu pupil gets killed in the ring so he seeks to f··· some s··· up. Blood Fight is a horrible movie. What ruins what could of been a less s···ty movie is its horrid melodrama and slow ass pacing. It does have some hilariously cringy moments like the happy music, terrible fight choreography, bad acting, some of the most crappiest editing I've ever seen but it's not enough to help with the entertainment value. I like Bolo and Kurata but man did they screw the pooch with this one. Yipe yipe yipe!

Interesting for its ambience

[Jim T. · 10/10 · 11 February 1999]

For some strange reason, I like this movie. I's partly a spoof of _Bloodsport_ and partly your typical Hong Kong movie. The martial arts tournament is named the "Free Fighting Tournament," and Bolo Yeung plays basically the same character that he did in _Bloodsport_ (the name is spelled Chang Lee here). The fights are downright weird: a sumo wrestler smothers his opponent by squatting on his face; an Indian fighter who must be seven feet tall and who wears high-top sneakers accidentally breaks a floodlight with a high kick and tells the stage people, "Up, up, up"; a monkey-style kung fu fighter rolls around on the mat without making much attempt at fighting, then rips a tuft of hair off the Indian fighter's chest (as Bruce Lee did to Chuck Norris in _Return of the Dragon_). As if that wasn't bizarre enough, the master wanders around Hong Kong, tangling with some American punks (who have a very familiar obscene phrase spray-painted on their jeep). Even though _Bloodfight_ is really just your typical Hong Kong chopsocky flick, I am fascinated by it, maybe because I have an interest in anything Asian. Fans of Jackie Chan should give it a shot, as well as anyone who likes Simon Yam (who has worked with John Woo and Chow Yun-Fat in other films).

Surprisingly good for such a derivative story

[lemon_magic · 6/10 · 25 May 2011]

While this movie is obviously an attempt to cash in on "Blood Sport" (and shamelessly borrows the Stallone vs Lundgren training montage from "Rocky IV"), it still manages to have some charm on its own merits.

I think what I really like about it is that the limited budget and unknowns in the cast keep the levels of bombast down to a minimum, and the director and actors keep sneaking in small touches and quiet moments that actually inject some human emotion into what could be nothing but another empty spectacle. Also, having the actors talk in their heavily accented English dialects (instead of HK style overdubbing) adds a nice flavor to the movie. They have to work so hard at expressing themselves in their second language that somehow a lot of the artifice and "attitude" that clots the typical Golan-Globus sausage factory gets left out, and the movie is better for it. I would actually prefer to watch a movie like this to most of the early Canon film/Golan Globus Chuck Norris stuff. Although FF can't hold a candle to "Code Of Silence".

It's also sort of funny where it means to be (not "haw haw" funny, but mildly humorous), and some of the actual fights and most of training sequences have an authentic flavor; I practiced those footwork patterns and katas and candle exercises in my early martial arts days, and it was nice to see them done right. And of course, Bolo Yeung is always fun to watch - he always plays the same kind of character, but it's a role he was born to play.

An obscure gem of sorts, worth taking the time to watch if you happen to come across it in a collection (like I did).

Smack yourself in the head!

[donbendell · 5/10 · 25 January 2007]

To say that this movie is a bit of a rip off of Bloodsport is an understatement -- Bolo Yeung's character even has the same name. The story has down-and-out fighter Kurata Yasuaki training Simon Yam for a "world martial arts tournament" (which of course takes place in some dingy basement), where he is beaten to a pulp by Bolo (who sports the worst-looking fake tattoos ever). Kurata starts boozing it up for a while, but then sees the light and begins training for the next tournament.

If you can't guess how this movie ends, then please promptly smack yourself in the head. Really, the only reason to even consider watching this dreck is to see how Simon Yam fares with acting in English and doing kung fu. Sadly, as good of an actor as Simon is, his work here makes some of Steven Segal's look Shakespearenan by comparison. The final fight between Kurata and Bolo is admittedly pretty decent, but it's too little, too late. Don't waste your time with this stinker.

nice circus music

[rottingcarrot · 6 January 2006]

Bloodfight It's basically a shameless rip off of bloodsport but with some extras.....Circus music. That's right completely inappropriate circus music is played for long segments of this movie. Why? I would really like to know but it did have me chuckling. terrible acting no doubt in part by the fact that all the actors speak their lines in English when they no doubt couldn't speak a word of English without intensive coaching.

It wasn't looking good until Stuart Steen AKA Stuart Smith enters, playing the part of the cocky street gang leader. You think billy bob thornton gives spellbinding performances? LOL. Think again! Stuart Smith is our new god. Who cares who J Low is dating? I want to know what country Stuart Smith is the president of!!! He is an unstoppable actor who will give his all NO MATER WHAT! Long live Stuart Steen!!! AkA stuart Smith AKA a bunch of other names! He is the man! Anyway I have watched this movie more than once. It definitely has its slow parts but if you like crap you'll like this!

unbelieveable cheap trash copy of Bloodsport

[heretic369 · 2/10 · 20 February 2021]

Why in the seven hells Bolo Yeung did this trash no one except him will know. Bad presentation, bad "story" (told in a gigantic flashback in the middle of the movie) and terrible fight scenes.

Hilariously bad and only watchable becuse of Bolo Yeung

[a_chinn · 2/10 · 21 December 2023]

Super surprised that Simon Yam (FULL CONTACT, NAKED KILLER) and Bolo Yeung (BLOODSPORT, ENTER THE DRAGON) would be in such a badly made movie. Hong Kong made plenty of cheaply made low-budget action flicks, but this one is just incompetent. The story is basically a rip-off of BLOODSPORT and even casts Bolo as the villain again, this time playing Chang Lee, the Vietnamese Snake. The film gets one star because Bolo is still pretty awesome in the few scenes he had in the flick. It's also a film that can certainly be enjoyed on a so-bad-it's-good level (some of the training sequences are laugh-out-loud bad), which may earn it up to two stars of inadvertent entertainment.

crudfight

[talllwoood13 · 1/10 · 13 December 2023]

This was such a boring movie. The students actor was so forgetful. It was like someone watched Blood Sport, got a bunch of their friends and tried their best to rip this off as much as they could get away with, without getting sued The fact this is even shot in Hong Kong.

The dialogue needed serious work. I can understand if the actor(s) never spoke a word of English. I'd give them a pass but the martial arts was just lazy and poorly choreographed. The fact Bolo Yeung signed up to be in this movie honestly shocks me as the opening credits rolled. Did he need the money that bad? At most the potential student has talent, the teacher wants to train him. He doesn't want to. Then the student finally wants to train and the teacher doesn't want to train him. The guys gym is struggling to make money and he comes out of retirement. Whoop dee doo.

There is so little fighting in this once that opening scene is over with all the stereotypes. I mean fighters are out of the way. Maybe a street fight or two but either way. This movie was a joke. Why the heck is there 4 sequels to this? This is hands down one of the worst martial arts movies I've seen in months, if not years! The only thing original they did was kill off the student and the teacher became a drunk for about 15-20 minutes.

I am saying positive things I gave it 1 star cause I was confused

[jessegehrig · 1/10 · 27 October 2023]

I recently saw the movie Blood Fight and it was amazing! But I don't think it was supposed to be amazing in the kind of way I was amazed. Blood Fight is amazing like the band Styx or amazing like a bald guy with a ponytail. And if I was a record producer way back in the day and I had a chance to sign the band Styx to a recording contract, I would pass on them. And then later, after Styx had made it big and like we run into each other at some Hollywood party and they would be all like, " look at us we made it big and you had your chance to sign us and you passed on us!" I would be okay with that.

So, for the whackadoo first half alone, Bloodfight is worth seeing.

[tarbosh22000 · 6/10 · 6 April 2023]

Kai Masahiro (Kurata) is a champion in the art of 'Free Fighting', which, as the name implies, is a fighting tournament where all styles may compete against each other. It could be Sumo versus Judo or Karate, or whatever. The top of the Free Fighting heap is an evil baddie named Chang Lee (Bolo). He has a snake tattooed on his face, so he's nicknamed "The Vietnamese Snake". Because it's getting later on in his life and fighting career, Kai decides to retire.

But he also starts training young Ryu Tenmei (Yam) in his off hours. Ryu, his girlfriend, and the local population are constantly being menaced by the local punks, so that's why Ryu decides to learn from the best. After he enters the Free Fighting championship and tragedy strikes, Kai must come out of retirement to face the ultimate enemy - Chang Lee. Who will reign victorious in the ultimate BLOODFIGHT?

The first half of Bloodfight is a lot of upbeat, wacky fun. The characters in the Free Fighting world are a lot like E. Honda or Dhalsim, there are punks with great outfits and hair that are roaming the neighborhood stealing fruit, and the whole outing is a non-stop welter of thickly-accented broken English. (Thankfully, the MVD DVDs and Blu-rays have subtitles, which you will definitely need). One of the characters has quite the pair of jeans. The ending is a punch-and-kick fest that will definitely satisfy fans of Punchfighting. In between all that are some oddly dramatic moments. It's all a pleasant and entertaining mishmash that's easy to like.

Of course, even the font on the cover of the box for Bloodfight will remind you of Bloodsport (1988). It came out the previous year and has, let's just say, some similarities with Bloodfight. In Bloodsport, Bolo Yeung plays Chong Li. In Bloodfight he plays Chang Lee. Is there a difference? We may never know. Subtlety and nuance are clearly what Bloodfight is all about.

When you're not enjoying the lovably unintelligible dialogue, the score by Micky Oguchi will pick you up. Of course, the music is utilized during the many training sequences that happen before the final fight (incidentally, Final Fight is one of the film's alternate titles). One of the trainers/friends looks like an Asian James Lipton. You think at any moment he will pick up a blue index card and ask him about the art and craft of acting. The bulk of the acting in Bloodfight is pretty tremendous, so one day maybe we will know the secret behind it all.

Surely, in the golden year of 1989, people in video stores across the world rented Bloodfight because they mistakenly thought it was Bloodsport. That's where a lot of the joy comes in. Also, it should be noted that Lady Bloodfight (2016) is not a long-delayed sequel.

So, for the whackadoo first half alone, Bloodfight is worth seeing. Now that it's readily available on disc with Ironheart (1992) on a double feature DVD or Blu-ray, more people should get to see the un-repeatable vintage charm of Bloodfight.

Not that bad, if you're in the mood...

[jaredyoung · 9/10 · 17 April 2003]

As far as low-budget, poorly made martial arts movies go, this one isn't bad...it has every element of the classical martial arts movie: an underground tournament, an aging sensei, an eager young student, an evil villain who kills said student so that the sensei has to overcome his alcoholism and seek revenge...

If you like acting, this isn't the movie for you. If you like cheesy fights and training montages, check it out.

Pretty standard fare, with a few bright spots in it.

[aggie80 · 31 March 2004]

Nothing particularly notable about this one. Plot is almost identical to VanDamme's Bloodsport which came out a year earlier, even down to Bolo Yueng as the bad guy and the retrieval of a belt/headband. I see the cityscape training runs as very reminiscent of "Rocky." Actually, the acting was probably better than most of the genre and there are some great thugs being beat up on about three occassions. I would have liked it better if they had resolved that issue before the end of the movie.

The one thing I did find interesting was the complete Naihanchi Shodan Kata (Japanese version is Tekki Shodan) done by the main character on the top of a hillside looking out over the city. And the contrast between the bad guy's wonderful training facilities and the good guy's traditional tools is a good message, showing how hard work overcomes good facilities.

My biggest gripe is the amount of devastation absorbed by the characters in the final fight without dying!

This 'Bloodfight' is certainly NOT for the faint of fist!

[Weirdling_Wolf · 8/10 · 21 February 2022]

Director Shuji Goto's blissfully brutal, bloody-knuckled fight-flick 'Bloodfight' (1989) is a fearsomely fleet-footed, free-fighting, sweat-soaked, cranium-cracking martial arts classic! This genuinely exciting, bruisingly bellicose body-blasting extravaganza has harvested a truly golden cast, headed by the heroically hypertrophic, marvellously menacing, majestically mulleted, tibia-trashing titan Bolo Yeung, the handsome, super-charismatic Simon Yam, and that most serene skull-smasher, the high-kicking Kung Fu legend, sensei Yasuaki Kurata!

When these steel-thewed, mongoose mean martial artists bravely step into this deadly storied arena it's not sport, but a gruesome blood-fight for survival!!!! So if you need an intense infusion of adrenalized, ribcage-rupturing action Goto's 'Bloodfight' deliriously delivers a knockout blow to second-rate Kung Fu pretenders, as in the bloody but unbowed DTV martial arts arena very few celluloid contenders have got the warrior heart to finish a...'Bloodfight' B-Movie behemoth Bolo Yeung is on especially nihilistic neck-breaking form as murderously uncaged Bloodfighter Chang, and his scintillatingly savage showdown with sleekly sinister, flint-eyed fist-fighter Masahiro Kai (Yasuaki Kurata)is a barnstormingly bloodthirsty bout of balletic brutality, animalistic intensity, carnal viscerality, and sublime slo-mo majesty!!!! This 'Bloodfight' is certainly NOT for the faint of fist! In 'Bloodsport JCVD broke all the rules, in 'Bloodfight' they go for broke, and break all the heads instead!' - Are YOU up for the challenge?

Something intriguing about it...

[groovycow · 10 September 2003]

*POSSIBLE SPOILERS*

At first, BLOODFIGHT seems like your typical tournament kung-fu film. There are interestingly strange fights at the beginning, and two competitors stand out as the best. Soon, however, the movie turns into a prolonged flashback with several fresh additions to the genre.

After winning the World Fighting Championship, Masahiro Kai has retired from the deadly sport to maintain his gym. Seeking a new protege, he finds an a**hole of a white guy, who is always seen with his Japanese posse in a "F*** YOU" Jeep. Kai wants to focus the punk's energy into fighting spirit, but all the punk wants to do is beat the crap out of people. Soon, Kai takes on a different student (one who is at odds with the group of punks), Ryu Tenmei. Torn between his dedication to the martial arts and his feelings for his girlfriend, Ryu finally makes it to the World Championship about halfway through the movie.

"But what's this?" you ask. "The movie can't be over yet!" That's when things take a turn for the grisly...the villain of the tournament, played intimidatingly as always by Bolo Yeung, kills Ryu. Yes, that's right, I didn't see it coming either. From this point on, the movie turns into a vengeance tale, with Kai seeking to retrain himself and enter into the tournament to make peace with Ryu and himself.

Several elements make this movie a good one. First, the unique plot and characters make it a memorable '80s movie. The movie is shot entirely in English, so the white-guy punk has a decidedly bitchy edge to him that instantly makes the viewer hate him. Also, Bolo Yeung's character doesn't appear on screen much, thus making him less the villain and more the supreme obstacle for Ryu and Kai to overcome. As noted before, the movie is shot in English (no dubbing or anything), which can cause some confusion with the female actors (Kai's wife, Ryu's girlfriend) due to their THICK accents. This is easily overcome by the emotion and depth in Ryu and Kai's characters, and how they play off each other quite ingeniously.

Overall, BLOODFIGHT may seem to be a vehicle for Bolo Yeung, having just finished the similar BLOODSPORT. In my opinion, however, BLOODFIGHT stands on its own as an interesting '80s martial arts movie. My rating: 7.5/10