We're off to a good start, as this was another Canon joint! A vehicle for Van Damme as a leading man, with music by Stan Bush, here to capitalise and knock off "The Karate Kid" of all things, let's go!
(Thank you, Amazon)
Concept: Eric "The Eliminator" Sloane (Dennis Alexio) is a world champion boxer, seeking the latest challenge alongside his corner man, hype man, and brother Kurt Sloane (our boy Van Damme), the pair pictured here in the last image before they died in a tragic celluloid grain accident:
But when Eric is crippled in the ring by vicious Thai boxer Tong Po (Michel Qissi), a vengeful Kurt turns to an old Muay Thai master in the jungles, to better learn how to best this incredible foe...
It's every martial arts movie, and you knwo what? That simplicity works for Van Damme. If you're making a vehicle for a guy who kicks stuff: having it be a movie about a guy learning to kick stuff on a quest for vengeance is not a bad start, even if it is just "Bloodsport"... Concept: 4.
Execution!
Aha, but the devil is in the details!
These are the details:
It's a grainy, altogether rather duller affair, unfortunately. If you've seen a parody of a training montage for a sports movie, then you've seen this movie condensed. It's rather jarring getting Van Damme torture followed by an upbeat Stan Bush song.
CINEMATOGRAPHY!
I'll get to the largest tonal whiplash later on in another section.
Execution: 2
VILLAIN!
Here's the fun shit!
Michel Qissi plays Tong Po, the boxer whose job is to snarl, scream, kick stuff and cripple men with moustaches in the ring. As in, he cripples men who have moustaches, not with a moustache. That's the job of Julius Fuchs.
Tong Po does an excellent job in the martial arts and an admirable one in the feral ferocity of the part, the animalisticfury and crude brutality it requires. Unfortunately the makers decided that more than being an arrogant, brother crippling madman that in order for us to know that he was a villain, it was also required that he rape the token woman (and love interest of Van Damme, because of course she is) as well. No I am not going to show stills relating to it.
It's an otherwise really unpleasantly sour taste for what they're trying to go with for the villain, who is otherwise good. This may be controversial for such an iconic part in the Van Damme canon, but:
Villain: 2.
Sorry dude.
Charm!
Okay there is some otherwise goofy stuff we can enjoy, like that patented, non-trademarked Van Damme grin:
And then there is the best-known gif/moment of dancing and mayhem from the movie:
Hell yeah, that's the good shit.
Stan Bush also has a fun soundtrack, not on par with "Transformers" but still cheese-filled good times.
Charm: 3.
Score tally: 11 of 20
Bonus points:
1 for Grin.
1 for Michel Qissi, 1 for David Worth (co-director and cinematographer of "Bloodsport"), 1 for brotherhood (it's the plot) and then 1 for splits.
Final Score: 15.
A poor showing, unfortunately, despite its legendary status and cult following/credentials.
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