{"id":11296,"date":"2025-03-05T23:30:55","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T04:30:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=11296"},"modified":"2025-03-05T23:30:55","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T04:30:55","slug":"bloodfist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2025\/03\/05\/bloodfist\/","title":{"rendered":"Bloodfist"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Bloodfist<\/strong> (1989)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Concorde\/Action\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 86 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (strong martial arts violence, nudity, some sexual content, language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Terence H. Winkless\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Robert King\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Sasha Matson\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Ricardo Jacques Gale\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: September 22, 1989 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Don \u201cThe Dragon\u201d Wilson, Rob Kaman, Billy Blanks, Chris Aguilar, Joe Mari Avellana, Michael Shaner, Riley Bowman, Marilyn Bautista, Kenneth Peerless, Vic Diaz, Ned Hourani, Felix Pascual, Edgardo Castaneda, Archie Ramos, Ronald Asinas.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $1.7M (US)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ***<\/p>\n

\u00a0It was great to be a martial artist in the late 80s\/early 90s. Thanks to instant success stories like Steven Seagal (Above the Law) and Jean-Claude Van Damme, any martial artist could be a lead actor too. Look at Jeff Speakman (The Perfect Weapon). Okay, maybe don\u2019t look at Jeff, but you get my meaning. It comes as no surprise that schlockmeister Roger Corman jumped on this bandwagon and found a guy of his own, kickboxing champ Don \u201cThe Dragon\u201d Wilson. He teamed up with producer Christopher R. Santiago (son of his Filipino counterpart Cirio H.) and gave the world Bloodfist<\/strong>, a low-budget martial arts actioner starring Wilson in his first lead role.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Released by Concorde Pictures, Bloodfist <\/strong>was supposed to hit cinemas in June 1989, but the studio ran into problems booking theaters. They were all tied up with big blockbuster movies like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Ghostbusters II and Batman. It was delayed until September when it opened on a non-record breaking 77 screens, none of them in Philadelphia. I didn\u2019t see Bloodfist<\/strong> until it came out on video the following year. It was a massive hit that ultimately spawned seven sequels, none of which I\u2019ve seen. The first movie didn\u2019t impress me enough to make me want to watch the others.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The truth is I forgot everything about Bloodfist<\/strong>. I didn\u2019t remember a single thing about it when I decided to give it a rewatch this past Oscar Sunday. Why did I opt to watch a crappy B-movie in lieu of any of the nominees I still haven\u2019t seen? I like balance in my life. An afternoon of silly exploitation movies is a nice way to counter a night honoring the finest cinema had to offer in 2024. If I sound insane to you, it\u2019s only because I am. But you know this!<\/p>\n

\u00a0Wilson is definitely the star of Bloodfist<\/strong>, but he shares top billing with fellow martial artists Rob Kamen (Legionnaire), Billy Blanks (The Last Boy Scout) and Chris Aguilar (McBain). However, he\u2019s the only one that gets to speak. The other three have no dialogue at all. Their roles are limited to showing off their skills in an underground martial arts tournament. This is such a Corman thing, luring audiences in with the promise of four martial arts champs banding together to fight villainy in some form. He even lists their honors under their names in the opening credits. You gotta love this guy!<\/p>\n

\u00a0Wilson plays Jake Raye, a retired kickboxer who now runs a gym for bullied kids in L.A. with his partner Hal (Peerless, Desert Warrior). He gets a call from the Manila police to come collect his brother\u2019s body. He was murdered after defeating his opponent in a rigged match. He wasn\u2019t supposed to win, but his pride got the better of him. It cost him his life. Upon realizing the local police aren\u2019t going to be any help, Jake decides to take matters into his own hands and find his brother\u2019s killer himself.<\/p>\n

\u00a0In his travels through the streets and alleys of Manila, Jake encounters a guy named Kwon (Avellana, TNT Jackson) who points him towards an underground tournament known as the Ta-Chang <\/em>(Red Fist) as the most likely place to find the guilty party. He even offers to train him for the deadly competition. And why not, he previously trained Jake\u2019s late brother. This, of course, leads up to that most awesome of 80s movie clich\u00e9s, the training montage. In Bloodfist<\/strong>, it partly involves Jake running to the top of a volcano before the sun reaches its apex. His reward for a successful run, a mango. It also involves a lot of strenuous exercise and working out, the latter of which involves punching and kicking a heavy bag full of goat s***.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Jake finds a friend in Baby (Shaner, the suicidal jumper from Lethal Weapon), a gambler and fellow martial artist who gives him a place to stay after he helps him out of a jam in a bar. His sister and roommate Nancy (Bowman, Stolen Kisses), a former interpreter turned dancer at a sleazy strip club, initially isn\u2019t happy about this new arrangement. Predictably, her feelings on the matter change when she starts falling for Jake within hours of meeting him. Baby finds love too in the form of Angela (Bautista, The Big Boss), a waitress at the aforementioned bar who starts following him around like a puppy. She too has no dialogue. She just plays the part of jealous sort-of girlfriend.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Then we get to the Red Fist. It works like this. There are no rules, referees or points. This ain\u2019t The Karate Kid. Two opponents are selected at random to face off against each other. The winner of the fight advances to the next round. The loser typically ends up seriously injured. No surprise here, one of the finalists is Jake. The other is a hulking psycho named Chin Woo (Aguilar). Also no surprise, he might be the guy who murdered Jake\u2019s brother. I say \u201cmight\u201d because Jake is never able to confirm it. The sole witness to the killing is murdered before he can tell Jake who he saw that night in the alley. Worse, the police arrest Jake for it on the night before the big final fight against Chin Woo.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Bloodfist<\/strong> came out around the same time as the JCVD vehicle Kickboxer, another martial arts actioner about a fellow entering the kickboxing underworld to avenge his brother. The two films are remarkably similar. I was also reminded of Bloodsport in which JCVD participates in an underground martial arts tournament (i.e. the Kumite). It shouldn\u2019t come as any surprise that Bloodfist<\/strong> is so derivative. That\u2019s what Corman did. He made low-rent versions of popular movies. He made them quickly and cheaply thus increasing their chances of turning a small profit. Roger was both an artist and shrewd businessman. There will never be anyone else like him.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Wilson, the winner of 11 world titles, is as much an actor as Seagal and JCVD (and Speakman too). He\u2019s not Olivier or Brando. He makes Chuck Norris look like a master thespian. With his stone-faced portrayal of the hero, he never fully conveys what\u2019s at stake if he goes through with avenging his brother. He\u2019s retired for a reason. After donating a kidney to his brother (whose name is Mike, btw), going back in the ring could potentially kill him. His own life is on the line yet he remains eerily calm about the whole thing. Sure, it could be argued that he\u2019s just being Zen, but the subject of Buddhism never once comes up. I just think it\u2019s lack of acting ability combined with a half-assed screenplay that appears to forget about Jake\u2019s handicap. None of this matters in the slightest. Wilson has serious fighting skills. An action star in the 80s seldom needed more than that.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Although they\u2019re not as significant as the poster would lead you to believe, let\u2019s talk briefly about the other kickboxing champs that fill out the cast of Bloodfist<\/strong>. The late Kaman is the K-Mart version of Dolph Lundgren with his muscular physical frame. Blanks, also the inventor of Tae Bo, camps it up as a fighter named Black Rose. Aguilar is this movie\u2019s answer to any bad guy played by Bolo Yeung (Enter the Dragon, Bloodsport). BTW, the cast also includes Filipino exploitation VIP Vic Diaz (Raw Force). That\u2019s about all there is to say on this subject.<\/p>\n

\u00a0None of the acting in Bloodfist<\/strong> is what you\u2019d call any good. However, it\u2019s exactly the level of acting you\u2019d expect from a Concorde cheapie. The same can be said of the movie\u2019s production values. Made on a budget of around $300K, it lacks the polish and shine of a major studio film. GOOD! It\u2019s in these low-budget exploitation movies that the magic really happens. Directed by Terence H. Winkless (The Nest), Bloodfist <\/strong>may be shoddy and unoriginal not to mention completely predictable right down to Jake\u2019s new bestie fighting for his life in a hospital (with a tearful Angela by his bedside) after losing a match. You\u2019ll probably also see the final big plot twist coming from a mile away. I know I did. None of it matters. There\u2019s a great deal of fun to be had from Bloodfist<\/strong>, especially if you like cheap action movies and knock-offs from the 80s. It\u2019s not high art, but it more or less succeeds in what it sets out to do.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bloodfist (1989)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Concorde\/Action\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 86 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (strong martial arts violence, nudity, some sexual content, language)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Terence H. Winkless\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Robert King\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Sasha Matson\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Ricardo Jacques Gale\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: September 22, 1989 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Don \u201cThe Dragon\u201d Wilson, Rob Kaman, Billy Blanks, Chris Aguilar, Joe Mari Avellana, Michael Shaner, Riley Bowman, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11322,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-b-movies","category-kick-ass-actioners"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Bloodfist-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11296","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11296"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11296\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11324,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11296\/revisions\/11324"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11296"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11296"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11296"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}