Bloodsport (1988)

Directed by Newt Arnold. Starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Donald Gibb, Leah Ayres, Bolo Yeung, Forest Whitaker, Norman Burton, Roy Chiao, Ken Siu, Philip Chan. [R]

Van Damme, in his breakthrough role, plays Army Captain Frank Dux (a real person, believe it or not), who goes AWOL in order to participate in a “secret” full-contact martial arts tournament—quotation marks applied because it seems that anyone, be it a bland reporter (Ayres) or witless military investigators (Burton, Whitaker), can score good seats. Slim and silly showcase for the athletic star is far funnier than it is exciting; writing and acting are both pure amateur hour, and even the fights aren’t especially well-staged or executed (relying too much on slow-motion and hard cuts that interrupt any balletic grace on display). Gibb, of Revenge of the Nerds fame, seems out-of-place as a competitor, but if Enter the Dragon could sell us on John Saxon, well… Has gained a considerable cult following over the years, and in defense of the picture’s fans, it really is the best way to see Van Damme drop into a split to deliver an uppercut to an opponent’s nether regions. Followed by several sequels, none of them featuring the Muscles from Brussels.

28/100