Bloodsport

1988

1h 32m

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

2.1K

YOUR RATING

Rate

POPULARITY

Play trailer

5 Videos

99+ Images

Action

Thriller

Drama

An American Army Major goes AWOL to Hong Kong for an outlawed martial arts contest called the Kumite.

Directors

Newt Arnold

Writers

Sheldon Lettich(screenplay by)

Mel Friedman(screenplay by)

Christopher Cosby(screenplay by)

Stars

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Bolo Yeung Sze

Donald Gibb

See production, box office & company info

Top cast

Jean-Claude Van Damme

Frank Dux

Chong Li

Ray Jackson

Janice Kent

Helmer

Rawlins

Senzo Tanaka

Captain Chen

Kenneth Siao Wai-Keung

Victor Lin

Paco

Young Frank

Hiro

Oshima

Mrs. Tanaka

Chuck …

Toon

Gustafson

Toon

Directors

Newt Arnold

Writers

Sheldon Lettich(screenplay by)

Mel Friedman(screenplay by)

Christopher Cosby(screenplay by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

You told me to use any tactic that works, never to commit yourself to one style, to keep an open mind! Bloodsport is directed by Newt Arnold and written by Christopher Cosby, Mel Friedman and Sheldon Lettich. It stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb, Leah Ayres, Norman Burton, Forest Whitaker and Bolo Yeung. Music is by Paul Hertzog and cinematography by David Worth. One of the earlier films that made Van Damme into a star, Bloodsport finds Van Damme as real life martial artist Frank Dux. Dux enters into the famed Kumite, a no nonsense tournament in Hong Kong and must overcome various hurdles to hopefully achieve his goals. As is the norm for a Van Damme action movie, particularly where his late 80s and early 90s output is concerned, one has to be prepared for some at best average acting and a flimsy plot. Plot follows a familiar Van Damme trajectory, his character will yearn to overcome adversity, go through a strenuous training programme, meet and make friends and enemies, produce some outstanding martial artistry, and end up in a winner takes all fight for justice, revenge, honour... Away from the seriously great fighting skills showcased by Van Damme and the other martial artists he comes up against, there's not a lot of artistic film making craft on show. But as fans of this sort of stuff will tell you, and I'm one of that number, it matters not, for they deliver exactly what we expect. Great fight choreography, a super Kumite montage, a vile villain who needs his ass kicked, and of course lots of Van Damage as we hurtle towards what we hope will be a triumphant finale. Hooray! Though supposedly based on facts in Frank Dux's life, this has been called into question over the years, so best to just observe it as an energised martial arts film rather than a part biography piece. 7/10

John Chard20 Jul, 2019