SmugKitZine Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Giallo Fanatic Bad acting? Check. Generic plot? Check. "Based on a true story"? Check. Poor character development? Check. Poorly choreographed fight scenes? Check. One dimensional characters? Check. Exaggerated violence that borders on the comical? Check. Good guy always wins and gets the hot chick? Check. The movie takes itself seriously? Check. Disgustingly racial stereotypes? Check. Seriously, does this movie have any redeemable qualities? Okay, it was a box-office hit and Jean-Claude Van Damme made a name for himself with this movie. Anything else? Oh, the involuntary hilarity of the movie because it takes itself seriously and don't have the slightest sense of irony. Okay the movie has some charm I'll give it that; but its "brilliance" is mostly by chance and not because of great directing by Newt Arnold or great acting by Van Damme. I think it has to do with Frank Dux's fantastically, fraudulent fantasy biopic/script. Most people love the story of the underdog who kicks everyone's ass, defies all the odds and gets the hot chick. It also came in in the 80's where Ninjas were the fad and martial arts movies were gaining popularity in the US. Plus Van Damme and Bolo Yeung had big muscles which was also the thing in the 80's.Yes, the movie came in the right time: the 80's. The time of excessive violence, excessive stories and escapist plots where anyone who works hard enough will get all the reward and no silver medal or bronze medal for the rest of the losers. It's the kind of fad where bad actors like Steven Seagal, Chuck Norris, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Steve Austin, John Cena and Jesse Ventura thrive. In this kind of movie the spectacle and not the story, drives the plot forward. But at least Van Damme had skills when it came to pretty kicks and his good looks probably helped a lot getting the ladies to like him. But that's all superficial and superficial in a bad way because of the reasons already mentioned in the first lines of this review. Chinese/Hong Kong action movies from that period are much better for example. Pick any Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung or Yuen Biao movie and you'll get better acting, better choreographed fights, better directing but varying plots and stories. At least with Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung they knew they were just making movies and mixed in humor with gritty stunts and fight scenes. So yes, Bloodsport falls short in comparison to other action/martial arts movies in its time. Only, Bloodsport gained a cult following.3/10

rohanm546 I saw this movie first in 2001 December. On HBO, During those days this movie was HBO's Favorite movie. This movies offers u lots of good things like student teacher relationship, Friendship, Love, dedication to achieve goal and lots of other good things. And bonus point its star cast was also perfect fit. Every star did a good job. If u want a 80's action flick for a Sunday evening movie this one would b a great choice. The fighters shown in the movie also did a great job. And its antagonist is also a tough to defeat for our hero to achieve his goal. I guarantee u will not lose u r 1hr 30min behind this movie. It is a worth watching movie.

The Grand Master Many audiences either like Jean-Claude Van Damme or they dislike him. Either way, in the late 1980's and throughout the 1990's there was no bigger star than Jean-Claude Van Damme. Van Damme had appeared in a few small movies but in 1988 Bloodsport launched his career into super stardom by showcasing his spectacular martial arts abilities and athletic prowess. Although Bloodsport was not a critical success and it certainly did not set the world on fire with its acting, it has developed a reputation as a cult classic and also attracted a legion of loyal Van Damme fans.Jean-Claude Van Damme plays Frank Dux, a US Army Captain who has gone AWOL to participate in an illegal martial arts tournament named the Kumite which is well known to be secretive yet brutal. Frank Dux participates to honour his master Senzo Tanaka (Roy Chiao) who took Frank under his wing as a child and taught him the ways of martial arts. Upon Frank's arrival in Hong Kong, he befriends fellow American competitor Ray Jackson (Donald Gibb) and liaison/manager Victor Lin (Kenneth Siu). Frank also finds himself heading towards a collision course with the defending champion Chong Li (Bolo Yeung), who is a vicious and remorseless fighter who has killed participants in past tournaments. At the same time, Frank finds himself romantically involved with US journalist Janice Kent (Leah Ayres) who has been assigned to investigate the Kumite, and Frank must also avoid being arrested by two Military Police CID officers Helmer (Norman Burton) and Rawlins (Forest Whitaker in an early role).Van Damme had a likable presence throughout his halcyon days and nowadays his star isn't as bright as it used to be as his career is stuck in the doldrums of endless forgettable direct-to-video movies. Here in Bloodsport, Jean-Claude Van Damme has a certain charisma about him along with his athletic prowess and that's what attracted many audiences to see Van Damme's movies.Don't listen to the nay sayers and forget the hokey acting, Bloodsport is still an enjoyable and entertaining martial arts movie years later. Bloodsport is definitely one of Jean-Claude Van Damme's most memorable movies in his starring debut and certainly one to remember as the movie that launched his career.Highly recommended for all Van Damme fans as well as fans of martial arts movies.7/10.

barreljumpersblog Recently I revisited Bloodsport for the first time since my initial viewing at the theater in 1988. Surprisingly, the movie holds up well...far better than I was expecting...and probably better than the dubious history of real-life fighter(?) Fred Dux.Upon my initial viewing one of my problems with Bloodsport was the lack of flashy fighting sequences. But, in today's MMA world the fights look pretty darn good and with the exception of the bouncy-guy and the finale with the over-the-top acting, the rest of the fighting rings surprisingly realistic.Bloodsport was VanDamme's first movie and it still holds up as one of his best. I have a soft-spot in my heart for Timecop as well. If you're in the mood for a simple bubblegum movie on a Friday night, then this is a great flashback to the hey-day of 1980s action movies. The pod-cast Don and his Amazing Friend recently did an episode reviewing the movie which is worth listening to (www.donandhisamazingfriend.com).