Don “The Dragon” Wilson stars in the first of nine Bloodfist movies. Most of the sequels were unrelated, retitled Wilson actioners that were just trading in on the Bloodfist name. At least the first two films have some semblance of continuity. (Wilson didn’t appear in the final entry, Bloodfist 2050.) Then again, who needs continuity when you have Don “The Dragon” Wilson kicking people in the face for eighty-six minutes?
Bloodfist is also important as I believe it’s the first movie that lists the actors’ kickboxing credentials alongside their name in the credits. Some people see this as the film trying to excuse the bad acting because they are really kickboxers and not actors by trade. I, on the other hand, feel they’ve earned that title and have every right to display it wherever they go. I mean, doctors have Ph.D. at the end of their name. Lawyers have Esq. If I was Don, I would go around correcting everybody; telling them: “That’s Don Wilson, World Kickboxing Association Light Heavyweight World Champion to you, buddy. I didn’t spend eight years kicking people in the face to be called MISTER Don Wilson!”
Don stars as a martial artist who receives word his brother has been killed in Manila. He flies out there and begins his own investigation after the police close the case. He eventually uncovers an underground kickboxing circuit and enters himself into the competition in hopes of finding his brother’s murderer.
Since this is an ‘80s kickboxing movie that was shot in the Philippines, you know it’s only a matter of time before the legendary Vic Diaz shows up. He doesn’t disappoint either, playing yet another variation on the archetypal Yelling Captain character who warns Wilson not to poke his nose where it doesn’t belong. Sadly, he doesn’t show up again. Future Tae Bo magnate Billy Blanks is in it slightly longer as one of the competitors in the fighting tournament, although he’s mostly wasted.
Directed by Terence H. (The Nest) Winkless, Bloodfist has a rock-solid premise and occasional flashes of fun. The big problem is that while the framework around the fight sequences is sturdy enough, the fights themselves leave something to be desired. There are plenty of them though; it’s just nothing that will get your (blood)fist pumping.
Don also gets saddled with an annoying sidekick, an aptly named, aggressively annoying man-child called “Baby” (Michael Shaner). Baby’s sister (Riley Bowman) is the obligatory stripper/love interest. Her character at least has some quirky moments (like when she teaches Don to incorporate ballet into his workout regimen). It’s just that the rest of the movie is overstuffed with supporting characters. It’s kind of hard to keep the momentum going when the hero has to deal with an idiot sidekick, a stripper girlfriend, AND an old, wise karate teacher on top of the revenge plot. (Not to mention the gratuitous plot twist at the end that tacks another unnecessary ten minutes onto the running time.) I can’t help but wonder how much smoother it would’ve all played out if they had ditched the Baby character entirely.
Like all fighting movies, you’ve got to have a training montage in there, and Bloodfist has a pretty good one. Remember when Rocky ran up that mountain in Rocky IV? Well, Don runs up an active volcano in this one. Not bad for this sort of thing.
That kind of sums up the movie. It’s a bit weirder than many of Wilson’s forgettable actioners, which is appreciated. However, the action itself is lackluster, and the Baby character is annoying, which kind of knocks it down a few notches, putting it somewhere in the middle rungs of his filmography.
AKA: Bloodfist Fighter.
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