Bloodfist VIII: Hard Way Out (1996) New Horizons/Action RT: 84 minutes Rated R (violence) Director: Rick Jacobson Screenplay: Alex Simon Music: John Faulkner Cinematography: John B. Aronson Release date: October 29, 1996 (US) Cast: Don “The Dragon” Wilson, John Patrick White, Jillian McWhirter, Warren Burton, Donnie Hair, Richard Farrell, John McHugh, Conor Nolan, Brendan Murray, Mike O’Mahoney, Liam Silke, Margaret Mangan, Bebhinn Kelly, Shawn Brewster, Carl Milinac. Box Office: N/A
Rating: ***
And we have finally reached the end. Bloodfist VIII: Hard Way Out, also known as Trained to Kill, is the final installment of the series in which kickboxing champ Don “The Dragon” Wilson plays different incarnations of the same basic character. More accurately, it’s the final official installment of the series. There is another, a post-apocalyptic piece called Bloodfist 2050, but it doesn’t count in my book because Wilson isn’t in it. I have no plans to watch it.
This time out, Wilson plays Rick Cowan, a high school math teacher with a past. Right now, the biggest challenge in his life is trying to mend his relationship with his son Chris (White, Teaching Mrs. Tingle), a rebellious teen angry over his dad being largely absent from his life until now. He’s all the teen has left after the death of his mother. Father and son frequently clash over the usual things like the boy’s attitude and disregard for house rules (e.g. curfew). The latest thing is Chris’ handling of the bully (Brewster, Criminal Affairs) making his life miserable at school. Possibly taking a cue from Bad Boys (the 1983 one with Sean Penn), Chris rigs his boom box to electrocute the bully when he forces Chris to hand it over. It’s painful but not fatal.
ANYWAY, Rick is about to have bigger problems than a son with sociopathic tendencies. Mid-argument, men with guns show up intent on killing Rick and his son. Rick takes out most of them, but now he’s forced to come clean with Chris about his past. His real name is George MacReady and he used to work for the CIA. He was one of their top operatives until a mission in Italy went horribly wrong. It resulted in the death of a JFK-like politician. Now somebody wants him dead.
Rick/George (oh, let’s just call him Mac from here on in) goes to see his old boss Powell (Burton, Poison Ivy) at CIA HQ. He expresses concern and promises to get to the bottom of it. He sets Mac and son up at a safe house with his former colleague Danielle (McWhirter, Bloodfist VII) in charge of security. Somebody must have slipped up (?) because it takes only minutes for more armed men to appear and make another attempt on Mac’s life. Again, he escapes with nary a scratch while several baddies lose their lives.
It’s decided the best course of action is to go to Ireland and visit a former spy known as “The Major” (Farrell, Spacejacked). It anybody can figure out what the hell’s going on, it’s The Major. Naturally, the killers have followed them to Ireland. They waste no time trying to waste Mac again. The third time is NOT a charm in this case, but Mac does end up (briefly) in police custody. It gives the villains enough time to abduct Chris in order to lure Mac to his death on a boat. Do they really think it’ll be that easy to kill Mac? HA!
Bloodfist VIII: Hard Way Out is the only Bloodfist movie NOT to include Wilson’s kickboxing title under his name in the opening credits. By now, viewers know he is. It’s interesting to see how far he’s come as an actor. That is to say, he now looks comfortable in front of the camera. He’s still fairly wooden though which isn’t necessarily a slight against him. He’s isn’t any better or worse than Chuck Norris, Charles Bronson, Dolph Lundgren or JCVD. He might be a tad better than Howie Long, but even a wooden Indian is capable of outacting the former defensive end for the Raiders. Here, Wilson tries to deliver an actual performance as a dad struggling to reconnect with his estranged son amidst double-crosses and attempts on his life. It’s a valiant effort, but he’s still a better fighter than an actor.
Acting has NEVER been a strong suit in the Bloodfist films and number eight is no different. It’s all varying degrees of bad meaning some of it is less bad. The worst performance comes from White as a 15YO boy who looks more like a 25YO man making it all the more cringeworthy watching him pretend to be a teenager, a whiny bitch of one at that. I have to hand it to him in one area though. I love that he’s like a junior MacGyver with how he can make an explosive device out of common household items. He does this near the end when he’s being held hostage by the bad guys.
McWhirter was likely hired for two reasons: (1) her looks and (2) she works for scale. She certainly wasn’t hired for her acting ability which is roughly nil. She’s like a department store mannequin brought to half-life. Also, her character’s true nature is never in doubt. She looks like a sneaky bitch. To be fair, the entirety of Bloodfist VIII: Hard Way Out is predictable. There are literally no surprises. It’s crystal clear who’s really behind the attacks on Mac and son. There has to be somebody in power pulling the strings and it could only be this one character.
In its defense, Bloodfist VIII: Hard Way Out has some decent action scenes. There isn’t a lot in the way of martial arts which is disappointing because that’s what Wilson does. It does have some good chases and shoot-outs, especially the ones in the streets of the Irish town where Mac goes looking for answers only to be intercepted by the Italian hit squad. The climax on the boat is cool too.
In the end, Bloodfist VIII: Hard Way Out is a decent DTV action movie. It’s pretty typical of Roger Corman. It looks like it was made on the cheap-and-quick. Personally, I’m good with that. To me, some of these cheapies are much more entertaining than Hollywood movies bearing $100M+ price tags. It’s the purity in form that I admire. All in all, I’d say it’s a nice way to wrap up the series. And yes, I’m calling it a wrap despite the other Bloodfist title I mentioned earlier. I just don’t see the need to include it or even watch it.
