Bloodfist

source: Bloodfist

Two brothers are kickboxers. Don "The Dragon" Wilson plays one of these brothers Jake, but has retired due to giving up one of his kidneys to his brother. But, that very brother has been killed and Don is looking for vengeance. So, Don flies off to Manila (seems the #1 pass time is robbing) to look for his killer. To sum this film up in one word it would be bad. The acting is bad, the direction seems to be lifeless and what's the worst is the fighting appears so utterly bad. Which is crazy because there are four kickboxing and karate champions from all over the world in this film including Billy Blanks who I don't think has any lines in this film. Must say though that the setting of Manila does add some interest to the film. Hard for me to believe this steaming pile was able to generate eight (I think) sequels. The good news is all the ones I have seen so far are better than this one.

I had actually never heard about this 1989 martial arts action movie titled "Bloodfist" before here in the beginning of 2023, as I had the opportunity to sit down and watch it. And with it being a movie that I hadn't already seen, and seeing that Don "The Dragon" Wilson was on the cast list, of course I opted to watch it. Writer Robert King apparently must have had been watching the 1988 movie "Bloodsport" prior to writing the script for the 1989 movie "Bloodfist", because there were some massive similarities between the two movies. Of course "Bloodsport" is a far better movie than what "Bloodfist" turned out to be. And with that being said, don't get me wrong, because "Bloodfist" is not a bad movie, not at all. It just was a somewhat watered down version of "Bloodsport" with some tweaks to the storyline. The acting performances in the movie were okay. I mean, you know you're not in for an evening of Shakespearian performances, of course. But for a martial arts movie, then the acting performances were fair enough, and as to be expected. The martial arts sequences were, for the majority, good enough to watch and came off as being watchable. There were some scenes that were sluggish and amateurish, and not all the fighters were really convincing in their styles and fighting, especially Michael Shaner (playing Baby Davies). I actually found "Bloodfist" to be an enjoyable movie and entertaining movie, despite of the similarities to "Bloodsport". If you enjoy the martial arts movies of the late 1980s and early 1990s, then you will definitely also find enjoyment in director Terence H. Winkless's "Bloodfist" movie. My rating of "Bloodfist" lands on a five out of ten stars.

After his brother, Mike, is murdered in Manila, Jake (Don Wilson) travels down there to claim the body and must use his kick-boxing expertise to deal with the local highly-trained hooligans that had to do with his brother's untimely demise. He meets and stays with Baby and his sister Nancy (Riley Bowman) If there's one fatal flaw with the film, I mean aside from the mediocre fight scenes, is the character of Baby, he's awful and brings the otherwise enjoyable , if not particularly good in the conventional sense of the word, don whenever he's on-screen. The writer of this is currently having fairly good fortune with hit TV show "The Good Wife", so the dues he paid were worth it, I kind of doubt he keeps this one on his resume though. Furthermore, 'The Dragon' would thankfully grow as an actor later in his career. I still hold a (unexplainable) soft spot for this film though. Eye Candy: Riley Bowman and an extra get topless

I have no idea why these people went through with making this piece of crap movie, but it was sickening in its pathetic-ness. There was not one thing good about this whole thing. For starters, the plot. The plot is basically a crappy combination of Bloodsport and Kickboxer. The hero, Jake, goes to the Far East to track down the one who killed his brother. In order to do so, he gets entered into the same underground fighting competition that his brother had been in when he got killed. In the process, he falls for a white woman who is an exotic dancer at a club in the city there. Cliché-ridden and a knockoff of two good movies. Second, the cast. I really can't call any of these people actors. Don Wilson, while he may be the greatest kickboxer of the century, is one of the worst actors to ever be put on camera. The rest of the cast whose names I don't know were about as pathetic as Wilson. Then there's the fighting. Dear Lord in Heaven, I have never seen such sorry, atrocious fighting in my entire life! These supposed-to-be expert fighters and martial artist--with the exception of Don Wilson and Billy Blanks, none of these people should be mentioned in the same conversation with the martial arts! I don't know where these knuckleheads came from, but their "martial arts" was almost nauseating to watch--especially Wilson's friend that he trained with: how those were supposed to be kicks, I couldn't fathom if I were on PCP! This truly is one of, if not the, worst films I have ever seen in my life, and I have seen some pretty crappy stuff! For the sake of your brain cells, especially to your sense of the martial arts if you have any, DO NOT WATCH THIS FILM!!!!!

OK, so "B"-movie Kickboxing sensation Don "The Dragon" Wilson is no great actor, that's a given. That he even starred in the Roger Corman-backed "Bloodfist" (1989) and its eight sequels is proof that perhaps Wilson may have something to offer (which I'm sure he can; even I can find the smallest bit of talent in a "B"-movie martial arts star), but the man just hasn't gotten a whole lot of really fair play, not even in the "B"-movies, and "Bloodfist" and "Bloodfist II" (1991) are really all that he has to show for it? In the first "Bloodfist," Wilson is Jake Raye, an American Kickboxing champion who travels to Manila, The Phillippines, to retrieve his brother's ashes after learning he had been murdered. A little deeper into his brother's actions in Manila lead Jake to an illegal underground Kickboxing tournament, and learns that his brother had been favored to win in the high-stakes combat. In order to find his brother's killer, he enlists the aid of a Kickboxing master named Kwong (Joe Mari Avellana), who takes him under his wing and prepares him to enter the ring against some of the best fighters in the world, a la plot devices found in "Enter the Dragon" (1973), "Bloodsport" (1988), and any other martial arts tournament movie that you can think of. Director Terence H. Winkless is behind the camera of this low-budget, "B"-grade martial arts vehicle that's a perfect showcase for Wilson's Kickboxing skills, if nothing else. We've seen a plot like this many times before in the martial arts movies, so not much of what you see here is original. As you could expect from a film by Corman, its production values are indeed low, the script is even lower, and the acting is submerged in a Manila river full of garbage. The only real pleasure here is the fighting, which features Wilson's skills and a few familiar Kickboxing faces (including Billy Blanks as one of Raye's toughest opponents). It would seem that Don "The Dragon" Wilson would only gain a little more respectability with the not-much-better mixed martial arts romp "Bloodfist II" a year later. 3/10

Don Wilson (I refuse to write "The Dragon" after Don) stars as Jake Raye a boxing champion who trains in kickboxing to get revenge on the man who killed his brother. Seems Raye's brother was a crooked fighter who refused to take a dive and so he died for this deed, suffice to say there is a tournament and the leading competitor maybe the killer. Bloodfist was recommended to me by the video store clerk, after he noticed how much I liked Bloodsport and Kickboxer. "You might like this one Frankie!" Suffice to say it was the last time I ever listened to a video store clerk. Bloodfist was terrible. The fight sequences (Which are the only things that matter in a film like this) are shot with such poor technique that I could often times see the kicks miss by miles and the punches barely graze the body. How is it possible that a movie this bad could produce sequels? Who knows, although this remains the only one i've seen and will ever see (That was until I had a Bloodfist binge). As for Don Wilson's talent in acting, well if you can't say something nice... * out of 4-(Bad)

Produced by Roger Corman and shot in the Philippines, BLOODFIST screams 'cheap' from the outset. It's an obvious rip-off of KICKBOXER and BLOODSPORT, detailing the story of a young man forced to take part in a violent martial arts tournament while seeking his brother's murderer. There the similarities end. Although this film is notable for launching the screen career of fight champion Don 'The Dragon' Wilson, it's a complete mess, and frequently unwatchable. The lack of budget and talent is obvious in the poor, uninteresting settings and inadequate lighting. The script feels like it was written on the back of a beer mat and the characterisation is cardboard-thin. The worst aspect, for me, is the choreography, which is so poor that you barely see a blow hitting, only people punching the air and their opponents pretending to fall backwards. This makes the many fight sequences laughable, and wastes the genuine talents of the little-seen Billy Blanks and other martial arts competitors. Wilson himself is a bore, never showing the charisma or skill that made Van Damme a star, and he's hardly a hero to root for. The supporting cast is limited to a Pat Morita-style teacher who shows Wilson how to kick glass bottles off a bench (sad to say that this scene is a 'highlight'). There's also a buxom blonde in a parade of tight-fitting leotards and t-shirts, but she doesn't do a lot to raise the interest of even the dedicated male viewer of this nonsense. Things culminate in a boring showdown where our hero tears his enemy's earring off in fury – yes, that really is the height of the drama here. BLOODFIST is definitely one of the worst movies Roger Corman has ever been involved with. Incredibly, this spawned many sequels, so I guess somebody somewhere liked it!

Don "The Dragon" Wilson stars as Jake Raye a kickboxer who trains for a revenge match, after the murder of his brother. Bloodfist would be a half way decent movie if it contained crisp actionscenes, however most of these fightscenes are not done well, even the Don "The Dragon" Wilson VS Billy Blanks fight isn't exciting. Bloodfist is a total no brainer without any redeeming value.

First starring role for Light Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion Don "The Dragon" Wilson, 'Bloodfist' is worth every penny of the $4.95 I spent on the bargain DVD. Forget the critics. This is one of Roger Corman's earliest ventures into the martial arts genre, and, like much of the Corman library, there's lots of respectable bang for the few bucks spent on the production. First, let's get past the name thing. Wilson has taken some smirks in the media for adding "The Dragon" to his name. But the man was just being pragmatic. I mean, do you remember the other Don Wilson? The paunchy, bulldog-jowled, middle-aged announcer on the old Jack Benny Show? Prior to 'Bloodfist', he was the only Don Wilson anyone had ever heard of in showbiz. Would you have lined up at the box office for a martial arts movie starring that guy? The Set-up: Wilson's half-brother is a prizefighter in a shady Manila fight club who ends up dead after winning a fixed fight. Cut to Wilson back in sunny Southern Cal, who promptly explains to a bunch of grade school field trippers that he runs a gym, but does not box professionally because HE ONLY HAS ONE KIDNEY. He donated the other to his (late) half-brother. This begs the question: Why was the brother fighting? One assumes that he also had one kidney (the donated one), unless Wilson generously gave one of his away because he felt his brother should have two ...? As in the best Corman films, the action takes over fast, and the field trip isn't even out of the building before Don gets the call that his brother's dead. The Dragon hops the next thing smokin' to the Philippines, officially to claim the body, but I can't help thinking that in the back of his mind, Don didn't wonder just a little about getting that kidney back. Imagine his disappointment when the Manila officials open a green file cabinet and hand him an urn. Full of his brother's ashes. Including at least one powdered kidney. Nothing left but revenge, since we're already here. Wilson promptly picks up a painter-slash-kickboxing trainer, a party animal-slash-kickboxer roommate, and a translator-slash-exotic dancer love interest. Which brings us to actress Riley Bowman, who plays the love interest. Where did this woman go? 'Bloodfist' was not only her first, but also her last movie. And Riley exhibited ... ample ... uh ... skills. Exactly the type of open-minded, halfway-talented actress that Corman employed again and again and again in his New Horizon and Concorde flicks. What a loss. Oh, well. Back to the action. You get a great selection of tournament adversaries for Wilson, who also double as suspects in his brother's murder. There's a little twist to the ending, tantamount to Burgess Meredith whupping the daylights out of Rocky Balboa. Better than 'Swamp Women'. Close to the pleasures of 'Attack of the Giant Leeches' or the first remake of 'Not of This Earth' (the Traci Lords one). No self-respecting Corman fanatic should be without a copy of this. 'Bloodfist' is worth a B-movie 5 out of 10.