Bloodsport

One of the most famous arena brawlers of the 1980 that got a whole generation of teenagers going to the gym and training martial arts. Blood Sport is the first independent low-budget film Jean-Claude Van Damme made with production company Cannon Films, and it marks the first time the famed Brussels leg-breaker showcases his signature means of expression: exaggerated movement routines with constant clenched muscles and insane facial expressions accompanied by indescribable roars as he punches in slow motion. In addition to his signature mid-air strut and splits during meditations, here he also uses for the first time his trademark 360-degree spinning kick. It reportedly landed him the lead role in this film after he performed it inches in front of producer Menahem Golan's head when he happened to meet him in a restaurant. Golan, however, did not like the resulting film and refused to release it for distribution. After significant editing, he was finally persuaded to let the film go through, and Blood Sport did make it to cinema screens two years after it was made, where it was a huge success and influenced many other films and video games. Van Damme portrayed the real-life ninjutsu master Frank Dux, who rose to fame thanks to his incredible stories (I recommend watching the documentary about him), especially by winning an illegal Kumite tournament. However, after the film premiered, it was revealed that Dux had made the whole thing up and bought the winning trophy from a sports medal shop. There are a lot of crazy behind-the-scenes stories circulating around Blood Sport, the veracity of which is quite questionable, as its main names (Van Damme, Dux and screenwriter Lettich) accuse each other of making things up. Dux's main cinematic antagonist, Chong Li, is probably the best role of Hong Kong muscle-man Bolo Yeung, who has etched himself into audiences' consciousness thanks to his big pectoral muscles, which he can move with bravado. Yeung is often shot from extreme angles to make him look like Godzilla compared to the others. He doesn't speak at all, but he relishes his non-verbal acting all the more, which is full of memorable threatening gestures, maniacal grins, or pokes at cheering spectators whom he tries to dazzle by finishing off his immobilized opponents. If Van Damme was the inspiration for the Johnny Cage character in the popular Mortal Kombat video game series, then Chong Li's finishing moves may well have been the inspiration for one of the main elements of those video games – the final finish of defeated opponents called fatalities. Overall, the film gives the impression of an animated streetfighter video game. It's basically one fight after another, with roughly sketched characters with different fighting styles beating each other up just for the sake of beating each other up. Their only motivation is to kick as much ass as possible and be the best. In the process, the cinematography and sounds revel in what hard punches do to the human body. Real fighters were cast instead of actors, so none of them needed stunt doubles. Most of the tournament scenes are done in long wordless montages, so that almost none of them have to speak, let alone act (except Van Damme, who is visibly unsure in dialogue but at home in the ring). The only real actor among the wrestlers was Donald Gibb as Jackson (who looks a bit like director Peter Jackson's tougher brother). He was also the only one of the actors who had no martial arts skills, and so his fighting style consists only of walking up to his opponent and punching him. Blood Sport is predictable from start to finish and only lives up to your expectations. But it is made with such sincerity, energy and boyish zeal that its target audience will find it hard to resist. Despite how naive, stupid and artless it is. (08/15/2016) (less) (more)