#36: Bloodsport 7/22/2014
Frank Dux attempts to honor his sensei by fighting in a brutal underground competition, against the wishes of the army & its authorities.
This movie is so bad, it’s wonderful. There’s hardly a plot, the acting is atrocious & the fight scenes are oftentimes laughable but all of this sucks you in somehow, mesmerizing you with its B Movie magic. The flashbacks of young Jean Claude Van Damme contain some of the worst acting I’ve ever seen (that is saying a lot considering my love of bad movies), the training montage where he is tied to 2 trees spread eagle nearly made me choke on my water & the ‘I love you bro’ scene at the end between him & his hulking but charming pal made me so happy I literally had to exclaim my joy (alone, in my basement… Don’t judge). Other bonus perks to this film: 1) Forest Whitaker playing a bumbling cop trying unsuccessfully to keep
Jean Claude from the competition 2) the sweet song ‘Fight to Survive’ that plays throughout most of the
movie (perfect for pacing my bike riding & fun to sing along with as they chant ‘kumatie’- the name of the competition). I’ll stop gushing & say finally that this movie is worth watching at least as many times as Jean Claude does the splits during it.
12/22/21
Here’s one of my fave movies from zine Issue #2!