FIRST TIME WATCHING: Bloodsport (1988) REACTION (Movie Commentary)

[@SarkkiKarkki]

I don't think most people properly appreciate how hugely influential martial arts movie this is.

[@trayscrapin6773]

Agreed...

[@Braz666]

People born in the 80's do

[@Spongemonkey26]

I feel like Street Fighter 2 was largely inspired by this movie.

[@Jaybeast5x]

Johnny cage is also

[@Canceriansoul]

@@Jaybeast5x The split low blow attack

[@fampoo8293]

Mixed reviews be damned! Was born in '83, these movies will always have a home on my tv screen

[@robertwrase6026]

This and kickboxer, bro. Van Dam was another childhood hero of mine right behind Arnold. My uncle always tried to get my brother and I into Seagal. Ugh that guy was just so boring.

[@jesseswarbrick7895]

@@robertwrase6026 late 80s and early 90s Segal I enjoyed....anything after that I didn't care for lol

[@stoneyp3748]

Same

[@robertwrase6026]

@@jesseswarbrick7895 I always liked Hard to kill, out for Justice, and of course, Under Siege.

[@jesseswarbrick7895]

@@robertwrase6026 same here, I liked those ones and I also liked Above The Law(1988) and Marked For Death(1990) ....Didnt mind Under Siege 2(1995) and The Glimmer Man(1996) ....Anything else I didn't care for, especially from the 2000s on with all his straight to video crap lol

[@adamromero]

Finally someone reacts to a Van Damme movie!

[@amariebloom]

Right! We need more! Give me all of the classics

[@johnward4312]

Cyborg! Cyborg! Cyborg!

[@davespringer777]

This movie changed my life. I was a fat, clumsy little kid. I always loved martial arts and ninja movies, but nobody's kicks looked as beautiful as van Damme. I was jumping and kicking all over the house. My parents ended up enrolling me in classes at the ymca. I made friends, lost weight, and my confidence level increased. I'm 100% sure my teen years especially benefit from training.

[@foca2002]

So what you are saying is: It´s fun to stay at YMCA?

[@markm4033]

The splits to the groin was no doubt the inspiration for Johnny Cages move

[@namelessjedi2242]

The entire character is inspired by Van Damme.

[@tntkff9901]

He was originally supposed to play Johnny Cage, but turned it down

[@Joker_JAK]

The entire videogame was inspired by JCVD. It was meant to be a game based on him. However, when he backed out of the deal, they made it what it is, but still based Johnny Cage (same initials) on Jean Claude.

@@Joker_JAK just the character since the whole video game was piggybacking from the fighting games' craze led by _Street Fighter_ . Almost all MK characters are direct rip-offs since the first game, such as Michael Dudikoff's American Ninja (Scorpion/SubZero) and Big Trouble In Little China (Raiden) among others.

[@Joker_JAK]

@ Definitely not just the character. The whole game.

[@brandonfenton2448]

80's baby here and can confirm this was watched at least once a week as a kid and will always be a fav!

[@spddracer]

I can remember renting it when they still had little numbered tags below the VHS box. damn, i'm old :D

[@suzycloud]

haha so true! My brothers would always put it on so I just stuck around and watched!

[@elskeletor3566]

The Big guy who's Jean Claude's friend and fellow fighter is Ogre from Revenge Of The Nerds.

[@MrGHansen77]

NERDS, LOL. Loved those movies too

[@DavidlLewJones]

This motion picture is based upon true events in the mind of Frank Dux 😂

[@frankrodriguez2999]

🤣🤣🤣

[@regaubade8329]

lol I've been a huge Van Damme fan since I was a kid in the late 80s and it's all fake. Frank Dux is a joke, he invented his story, everyone knows, it's been thoroughly exposed for at least 25 years. Love the movie though.

[@tacobellalugosi2527]

right . fake dux is a true american hero .

[@TankObadiahTV]

💯 Now THAT'S Based on a TRUE Story 😆🤣😂

[@YourMothersMan]

He definitely invented a hell of a story tho lmao.. That guy was making up all kinds of crazy shit that never happened

[@papa_xan]

This will always be one of my favorite 80's fight movies. Yeah, it's cheesy, but who cares, it's fun to watch.

[@DaemonKeido]

And without this movie, Mortal Kombat likely wouldn't exist.

[@CapedInformer]

Sometimes cheesy can work lol

[@wantutosigh1117]

This movie is partly an inspiration for the UFC.

[@shawnsmith2610]

@@CapedInformer Part 3 is better part 2 is way better.

[@shawnsmith2610]

@@CapedInformer The Quest with Van Damn is better also.

[@ll7868]

Bolo Yeung's "Bricks don't hit back" was homage to Bruce Lee's "Boards don't hit back" in Enter The Dragon when he fought O'Hara (who kinda looks like Donald Gibb). "Bolo" was the next line spoken and the scene cuts to Bolo Yeung looking badass before the fight starts. Link to the fight in Enter The Dragon; kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4mphaihp8aEqtE

[@JnEricsonx]

Hell, the man changed his name TO Bolo after he did ETD.

[@hemmojito]

To this day I'm shitting my pants seeing Chong Lee. This man has such an evil aura. How can you ooze so much brutality but actually be in full control of it? Nosiree I'm outa there as soon as I see this chunk of pure evil is competing.

[@GlennEuloth]

I came here to say that after watching the Enter the Dragon reaction.

[@soranraina4391]

Bolo paying homage to his best friend Bruce Lee

[@joshr8666]

Thanks, I never knew that

[@diondts]

This and "The Last Dragon" were my favorite movies growing up. I cant tell you how many times I watched them. Never gets old to me.

[@insaneconqueror5421]

Yoooo me too. My parents finally signed me up for taekwondo/judo because I kept hitting my brother like van damme hit bolo.

[@obdiane]

The LAst Dragon!! SHO NUFF is a great film!! Love Tamkia

[@diondts]

@@obdiane LOL!!! Ok. I see what you did there. "Who am I??? I. Cant. Hear. You.....

No Retreat No Surrender.

[@robertnguyen9493]

Bruce LeRoy is the master

[@aaroncruse7094]

I love that everyone one of those fighters were legit, no stuntmen.

[@ninjavigilante5311]

Lol John chung was 1 of the Chinese guys fighting, he was Jackie Chan's stuntman and a action actor in hong kong so I don't know what your talking about.

[@Joker_JAK]

@@ninjavigilante5311 He means that they were all trained fighters (who may have been or become stuntmen), not stuntmen who just learned some moves for the movie.

[@houseofaction]

the grandpa from the 3 ninja's movies was one of the fighters also

[@Luke-kg7vu]

@@houseofactionwhere?

[@blopblop7311]

I did watch this and Kickboxer a million times when I was younger. Still great. Please for more Van Damme do “Kickboxer”, “Lionheart”, “Double Impact”, “Universal Soldier”. All bad ass

[@DougWilliams06]

+1 for Kickboxer

[@Romelo1988]

+100 Lionheart

[@robertlayne1815]

Lionheart is a MUST!!

[@marceezy6983]

Hard Target movie bad ass shooter movie

[@steelmill7016]

Bloodsport, Kickboxer & Lionheart are my faves from Van Damme as well.

[@Joker_JAK]

They used real fighters instead of stuntmen for the fights. That's why the fights look so good. I honestly don't care if the real Frank Dux was lying about these events. This is an awesome movie and I love it. Also, the original cut of the final fight wasn't very good. JCVD re-edited it himself to make it better. His edit is what's in the film.

[@geraldn51]

Where?!!

[@fredmedrano6584]

What's the coconut guy style supposed to be?

[@TheShockninja]

@Fred Medrano it is a style of Kung Fu called the Monkey

[@Flip4910]

I can honestly say I've seen this movie over 200 times easily

[@Flip4910]

If you add up all the times I caught it on tv beginning, middle, or end it's probably even way more then 200

[@joshr8666]

Dang.. that's crazy

[@wantutosigh1117]

So happy someone reacted to this film. By the way, this movie does go down as one of the greatest martial arts films of all time.

[@CapedInformer]

I can see why

[@reactions5783]

'Guile' from Streetfighter 2 and also 'Johnny Cage' from Mortal Kombat were both based on Van Damme's portrayal of Frank Dux in this movie Bloodsport. With the entire game Mortal Kombat itself taking a lot of influence also from this movie and many others like Bruce Lee's 'Enter the Dragon', with the addition of more supernatural elements from other Hong Kong martial arts movies.

[@zarkruzam3090]

Funny thing, the real Frank Dux turned out to be a total fraud. Still my fav Van Damme film though, "LIONHEART" is worth watching too

[@csmith3788]

Lionheart is the best Van Damme film and I will die on this hill. 🤙

[@zarkruzam3090]

@@csmith3788 I saw it 3 times when it was released in the theater (yes, I am that damn old)!!! Love that one.

[@csmith3788]

@@zarkruzam3090 Hell yeah man. I adore Van Damme. Did a podcast about him for a number of years. Lionheart is my fave, but I love following his crazy career and his later re-evaluation.

[@JnEricsonx]

@@csmith3788 I dunno, 3 way tie for me between TimeCop, Hard Target, and this.

[@stanmann356]

Agreed. Lionheart and Bloodsport are tied at #1 for me as far as JCVD movies go

[@GreenBeanGreenBean]

Cyborg is highly highly underrated as a JCVD film!!! Death Warrant too haha.........Sandman woooooooooooo!

[@wantutosigh1117]

Cyborg is one of my favorite films of all time. Though it may require a specific taste.

[@chiefsteps-in-poo8447]

Also Universal Solider.

[@TheChiefpokishi]

I love Cyborg but truth be told, it almost comes off as an unintentional comedy to me. The action is pretty good, not great and I do enjoy it's look. The screaming, grunting and stupid facial expressions just crack me up. And then there's the guy who plays Fender, lol.

[@wantutosigh1117]

@@TheChiefpokishi I'm gonna have to disagree here. The atmosphere of this film is amazing to me.

[@williamswiniuch7527]

Fun fact Method Man samples that movie in a song

[@LJMiho]

The soundtrack to this movie is pure 80's bliss! Love it!

[@johnpittsii7524]

One of my favorite JCVD movies alongside kickboker and timecop. Much ❤ as always 😊

[@WNN_PaddyPower]

Defo think you would really like kickboxer... similar story but more extreme. Universal Soldier is worth the watch to see him act against Dolph Lundgren. If you liked Rocky 4 you should watch Universal Soldier.

[@johnpittsii7524]

@@WNN_PaddyPower Already have. Thanks

[@WNN_PaddyPower]

@@johnpittsii7524I actually meant that comment to the OP. Sorry for confusion.

[@ninjavigilante5311]

Lol timecop was terrible.

[@justpeachy3434]

I know this movie word for word, and scene for scene all because this was my son's favorite movie when he was young. Along with "The Last Dragon" it basically played non stop in.my house. I love the Soundtrack.

[@Romelo1988]

80's martial movie classic. I would suggest Perfect Weapon next. Much overlooked, but classic American outsider troupe as well.

Perfect Weapon. China O'Brien.

Perfect Weapon is a sample of Ed Parker's American Kenpo adapted to film.

[@punkem733]

When dude said good, but brick don't hit back, it's almost the same line in enter the dragon, when bruce lee says to a guy who broke a wooden plank, boards don't hit back. Also the actor was also in that bruce lee movie, he was a good friend of his.

[@worthalook4870]

Have you seen Kickboxer yet? If not that’s another classic with Van Damme made around this time. Other great ones include Universal Soldier, hard target, cyborg, Timecop, awol, death warrant and many more

[@k.delpino1124]

That multi-picture deal he had with Universal Pictures was a good look. More hits than misses.

[@123123roo]

JCVD was the Goat for me I was born in 1989 an watched all his movies, Double Impact and Double Team along with the others you named

[@worthalook4870]

@@123123roo yeah remember watching my first van Damme flick in the early 90’s around ten years old then. Been a fan ever since. Legend

[@barrycohen311]

"So bad, it's good." A true classic....

[@aguycalledkwest]

I love this movie… now you’re ready to watch “The Quest” … very similar like “Bloodsport”

[@ninjavigilante5311]

The quest was even more cheesy lol.. van damme only directed movie.

[@gozucritic4546]

No matter if the movie is based on true events or if it was fake,the concept behind it & the lessons in it are so memorable.

[@superbooster2636]

17:40 The most unrealistic part of the movie is him sleeping with her and giving her his valuable life force during this important tourney he's spent his entire life training for.

[@dr.burtgummerfan439]

No way he'd sap his precious bodily fluids.

[@wantutosigh1117]

😅

[@whooligan7159]

The one guy, in reality that would win this, was Paco, the Muay Thai fighter. He was played by Paulo Tocha, a real legit Muay Thai champion and trainer.

[@adgato75]

I wish he had gotten either more screen time , or a bit of character development.

[@k.delpino1124]

@@adgato75 he was in Death Warrant. Didn't do Muay Thai. But was a good baddie.

[@paulpolpiboon9535]

In reality? Paco is up there yes, but BOLO would annilate everyone. Even against jcvd. Anyway those 3 would be the last men standing in reality

[@thaistomp]

@@paulpolpiboon9535 Jackson would be up there too. Dude was a monster.

[@Zileiram1234]

Universal soldier is one of his best imo

[@adamromero]

and Hard Target

[@chaospoet]

"This is one of those movies I'd have watched every day as a kid." Born in 81 I WAS that kid. This movie, Conan The Barbarian/Destroyer, The Last Dragon I watched every single time they played on TV.

[@YODAJJ]

Crazy when you know that this movie inspired the creation of the UFC

[@ninjavigilante5311]

Actually this and Chuck Norris movie the octagon.

Lol, hell no. Vale Tudo competition is from the 80's Brazil, the Gracie's family just exported it to the USA. And in any case Bloodsport is a rip-off from the previous year Capcom's Street Fighter arcade game.

[@patrickbateman7369]

I can't find a single thing where the Gracie's said that Bloodsport inspired the creation of the UFC

[@herrzimm]

They turned their backs because it was viewed as a "dishonorable" way to deal with an already defeated opponent. It wasn't that he was "killed in combat" which is apparently acceptable. It was that he was "defenseless" when he was killed. As such, the victory still counted but the people overseeing the event completely disapproved of such behavior, so they turned their backs on him. Basically they were signalling that if any OTHER opponent could kill Chung Li that they would view it as a "proper way" to win.

[@timwaggoner3051]

I think you’re the only person on KZbin to react to this. Good reaction. It’s definitely one of the better martial arts movies made. That and I can’t really see anyone besides Jean Claude playing the lead role

[@Joker_JAK]

Plenty of youtubers have reacted to it. I've seen several.

[@garytyme9384]

You do know Jean Claude Van Damme was a ballet dancer, that's why he could do the splits. He got his first break in the movie whilst working as a waiter. The producer of the bloodsport was in the restaurant and he performed the splits between two tables and got hired for the film.

[@USMCMachine]

Please never stop doing these. Your great at it. Love the reactions.

[@CapedInformer]

I appreciate it man

[@teresaluz975]

I was born in 83 and this movie was one of my dad's favorite. I saw it when I was a kid, I loved it then, still love it now.

[@B355Y]

Loved this movie as a kid. I could even do the splits between the chairs. Theres noway I'd even attempt it today 😆 if ya wanna watch some more JCVD I suggest kick boxer, universal soldier or hard target

[@larrywoods8805]

I did the same shit front ward 2

[@MigPlz91LivestreamOnly]

Bolo Yueng (Chong Li) paid homage to his best friend Bruce Lee by quoting the phrase "But Brick not hit back" while Bruce Lee originally in his final film says "Boards don't hit back". a true friend till the end.

[@jeffkubik5452]

Other Jean-Claude Van Damme movies that you might like are: "double impact", "sudden impact", "hard Target", "Lionheart", "replicant", "legionnaire", "the quest", and "kickboxer".

[@alucard624]

You're thinking of Sudden Death ie Die Hard in a hockey arena, not Sudden Impact. That was the fourth Dirty Harry flick. Both are good movies though.

[@vinsanity40k]

what about "no retreat, no surrender". when jcvd actually played a bad guy martial artist. 😄

[@brucechmiel7964]

I don't see TimeCop on that list. I think we might have a problem.

[@valentine_puppy]

When Van Dam Knocked out the guy with the elbow. Van Dam actually Knocked him out on set and they kept that in film. So, that scene is 100% legit.

[@jonathancunningham8739]

You should check out Time Cop it also has John as the lead actor and only the first one is good if you have not already seen it.

[@brogoram]

that music when he calmed down and close his eyes in the end fight still give me goosebump

[@megatoke]

another classic martial arts 80s movie American Ninja starting Michael Dudicoff.

[@fredhugard7444]

Yeah react to that one. You'll enjoy the soundtrack to that one too.

Mortal Kombat took Scorpion/SubZero from this franchise. 😂

[@mjlives5428]

lol@ "You'll never be a Tanaka now with that sloppiness".Due your the kinda guy guys wanna chill with and have as a friend I gotta say...Just a chill fun vibe with a good heart!

[@jdaman78]

The bad guy, bolo yeung, real humble guy in real life, goes back to Bruce Lee as far as action, should try some old school Cynthia rothrock, don the dragon Wilson movies if you can find them

[@paulsmith9192]

@jda man I've seen them all.Loren avedon,billy blanks,sho kosugi I grew up with these movies

[@spongeblawb8022]

The last fight is epic, and the way he goes back to his training to fight blind gave me chills. It actually made sense how it unfolded however unrealistic it is.

[@dotaplayer6768]

fun fact-frank dux made it all up, he bought his trophy in some suvenier shop.btw they said at the end, he knocked out 56 guys in 1 tournament-if there were 50 rounds in 1 tournament,there would have to be over 1 000 000 000 000 000 fighters in that tournament

[@omegapsi847]

I always liked the Martial Arts movie "No Retreat, No Surrender" where a young teenager, who is a big fan of Bruce Lee, trying to learn his way of life, gets into trouble after moving into a new place. It is btw also with Jean Claude Van Damme. As you said, this movie also didnt go down as one of the most brilliant plot stories of all time, but it is simple, it has good music and it belongs to those movies, that I could watch literally every day as a kid. Actually I did... :)

[@HumbleHurricane]

Oh damn You're just now seeing Bloodsport too?!?!??!?! As someone who lived and breathed Van Damme and has long since become a martial artist, teacher and fight choreographer due to him in large part, let's fucking go!!🔥🔥🔥

[@KBH27]

Double Impact is cool too. The guy who played Chong Li , Bolo Yeung is in it too. Bolo Yeung was also in Enter the Dragon with John Saxon & Bruce Lee.

[@irishbears2103]

The big Asian guy is Bolo Yeung, who was a close friends with Bruce Lee, and starred with him in the movie Enter The Dragon. In the scene where Dux breaks the brick, when he says "Brick not hit back," he's sort of paying a small tribute to Bruce Lee because Lee had a similar line in Enter The Dragon.

[@theradgegadgie6352]

Geezer, I will never get tired of watching of your reactions. Your excitement is so genuine and unrestrained in all the right places.

[@rsuriyop]

Man I miss this movie! :( Bloodsport was one of my favorites growing up as a kid. They just don't make movies like this anymore. From the cheesy quotes (i.e. "He's the American fool who makes tricks with bricks!"), the lighthearted stereotypes we could all laugh at, to the cool original 80s soundtrack, etc... Nothing really lags in this movie; it keeps you glued throughout. Matter of fact, I might as well go see if could finally pick up the DVD. Anyways, if you enjoyed Bloodsport then I would fully recommend you taking the time to watch Kickboxer which came right ater this. Pretty much the same thing including the same main actor but set in Thailand. Both this and Bloodsport together pretty much made Van Damme what he is.

[@raifthemad]

It's the nature of hollywoods target audience. Back then majority of their income came from americans watching their movies. These days, they're the minority of the audience. Hence why all the movies are so bland, people everywhere in the world have to be able to relate to them. And nothing that could even smell like it insults china in any way, they're one of the biggest if not the biggest market.

[@MelaniePoparad]

I love this movie. My older brother is 6 years older than I am... so I saw this movie on repeat at an age that was too young for this movie. I have about 4 places where I don’t watch. Such a great movie. Jean Claude is a god among us mere mortals.

[@SDesWriter]

The main villain is Bolo Yeung, who has been a staple in Hong Kong martial arts movies since he was a teenager. He was in a couple of Bruce Lee's biggest movies as well. Van Damme said that he worked really hard to be offered the role because he was starving at the time and then they turned around and edited the fight scenes so when he did amazing kicks at the end of the fight they cut them into two or three sections each which made it look like they were faked. He's still pissed about it to this day.

[@krystalcanfield3553]

One of my favorite movies of the late 80's. Jean Claude Van Dam rocks.

[@AdamGoldswain]

My favs are Universal Soldier and Double Team. Double Impact and Hard Target are awesome too. Have you watched Red Scorpion with Dolph Lundgren?

[@WNN_PaddyPower]

We used to have an arcade in the 80’s and that game was cool .... two joystick control worked really well.

_Karate Champ_ was everywhere back then. 😂

[@TheErsu]

The song Fight to Survive is sung by Stan Bush who also sang The Touch from the 1986 Transformers movie.

[@iguanaman08]

I watched this on VHS rental around 89/90. Absolutely loved it back then and still enjoy it now at 47.

[@mattdrago4660]

This and Predator were played on repeat in my place as a kid and I always enjoy it, no matter how many times I’ve seen it. Was lucky enough to say this to Van Damme in person when I met him back in 2016. Such a great guy and one of the greatest fighters on screen ever.

[@k.delpino1124]

What's crazy, Van Damme was originally casted as Predator. Could've been his best villain role.

[@mattdrago4660]

@@k.delpino1124 his best villain role is in Expendables 2 without a doubt. In Predator he was wasted. Would’ve been a smarter move for him to be one of Dutch’s team. That experience was a nightmare for JCVD. Thank God for Stan Winston and Kevin Peter Hall. The perfect combo of talent.

[@cesarc.4230]

I don't know if anyone mentioned it, but the video game they are playing it called "Karate champ". Also the black actor's name is Forrest Whitaker.

[@kaizen5023]

Amazing casting with Bolo Leung as Chong Li, one of the biggest villains from my childhood movie memories. I had to fight back to stand up to bullies at school so I had my own real villains I was dealing with at the time. While cheesy in many ways and based on the b.s. stories of the "hero in his own mind" Frank Dux, Bloodsport is such a compelling story and shows respect for the spirit of martial arts, fighting with honor, bushido/chivalry.

[@OriginalVenomZA]

Dude, you know what impressed me back in the 80's, you could literally slow the video down, to see Dux's hand in a couple of frames as he grabs the coin around about 10:50 ish.

[@donniebrasco1364]

I hate reading the comments section by nerds. This movie was a legendary classic. Period. Haters can bounce off.

[@Luke-kg7vu]

Yea people are never satisfied and have to critique everything lol

[@grizzlor5340]

In case you didn't know, the fighter who had his leg snapped by Chong Li was the actor who played Tong Po in Kickboxer.

[@soramirez5473]

mixed reviews can go to hell, this on my list of all time favorite movies.. I watched countless van dam movies after this...

[@thebonuslvl7181]

i literally watched this everyday on vhs back then when back from school holidays with my friends, as part of our daily rotation of things to do including sports..

[@tonyyul703]

Okay the opponents Chong Li defeated a year before that Ray references is Chingo the guy's son, he broke his neck by kicking them in the throat.

[@abas43091]

I’m pretty sure every other Sunday on TBS in the late 90s you’d get a back to back of this and Kickboxer. And I’d watch every single time. Classic flick

[@UrbanOutlawsSk8Co]

All the fighters in this movie were actual fighters. That's why the choreography looks so good

[@rodrigomontano4406]

This was my favourite movie growing up. Lost count of how many times I watched this.

[@suzycloud]

I guess I'm just like you, because I watched this movie over and over again as a kid. I have a soft spot for all those points, and the fighting! I love seeing all the styles.

[@mikaneonbowiegirl]

Oh I love every “old school” movie with Jean! Fav iconic actor💪🏻⚡️

[@gozucritic4546]

When they turned their backs on Chong Li,they payed respects to the guy that died but also showed disdain for Chong Li for killing the guy.

[@Grnademaster]

Haha. "OKAY USA!" 👍 Best quote of the movie. We still use that today.

[@krono5el]

Kickboxer and this were on constant repeat when i was a tiny lad, still love em the same too its insane with fire soundtracks "you are not tanaka!" : D

[@ashscott6068]

They had that Karate game in a pool hall where I used to live. It's actually got the most intuitive control method I've ever seen in a fighting game. The moves were labelled on the cabinet, but you didn't really have to look at it. Then the place burned down and got rebuilt as a nightclub :(

[@excaliber8713]

What was the name of it ?

[@subacetylene]

This movie was one of the most influential movies of all time... It changed video games forever. In the 90s many developers made games based on this because of their love for this movie... A lot of fighting games were created including Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, King of Fighters, Killer Instinct, etc. To this day many people participate in their own video game kumites which are now called EVO, Nor Cal Regionals, Apex, Capcom Cup, Final Round, SNK world championship, socal regionals, vs fighting, ultimate fighting arena, tekken world tour, and many many more.

[@DanOMega215]

Love tournament movies like this cause you see so many different styles of Martial Arts from all over the world.

[@geneeverett7855]

Man this was the first R movie I saw in theaters! My pops took me as a lil kid. Cheers brother 🍻

[@nikkfrostt]

This is essentially the concept for Street Fighter and MMA in movie form. Fighters from all around the world in a tournament trying to see whose fighting style/mastery is the best. Not a perfect movie but definitely one of the best martial movies out there.

[@maxducoudray]

I really enjoy Van Damme’s cheesy action movies. Like Schwarzenegger and Jackie Chan, they weren’t afraid to make fun of themselves for our entertainment. American action stars of the 80s-90s took themselves more seriously, as if the movies prove they are cool in real life. Stallone, Steven Seagal and Chuck Norris were never about fun in their movies, so I rarely enjoyed them as much. My votes for other most enjoyable Van Damme movies are Double Impact, Universal Soldier and Double Team (with Dennis Rodman!!). And his 6-episode Amazon show from a couple years ago is actually amazing.

[@komix1873]

Im Born in 83 and back when i was a Child my dad let me watch all the 80s movies .bloodsport was a great martial arts movie but what really hits me in this Film was the Soundtrack...absolutly mystical great movie era....wish there were more Films like this nowadays

[@GodlessScummer]

11:10 "Why is it that no one will talk about the Kumite?" Because the first rule of fight club is that we don't talk about fight club.

[@arthurdavis5876]

remember when this was on the cable box back in the day on HBO it's been a classic in martial arts cinema since .😎🩸🎞🎥🎬

[@Craudio171]

This movie together with Big Trouble in Little China, Predator, Terminator among others inspired Mortal Kombat.

[@neilsun2521]

I've still got my ole VHS of this at my parents' house somewhere. Agree it's an enjoyable film, and I like the minimal plot and focus on the martial arts. Very well produced for its time with all the slow-mo fight scenes. That scene with Bolo's 'shin snap' always shocked me the most.

[@ReymundoCortez]

Oh and the big American thats Ogre all us old timers now him from Revenge of the Nerds, when this came out he was actually the most known and recognizable actor in the movie.

[@okcharles2774]

the broken leg fighter is Michel Qissi, he also played Tong Po in kickboxer

[@kuunami]

I my opinion this movie has the best training montage in cinematic history. By the end of it you truly believe that he is and should be a beast. No Mary Sue dynamic.

[@elsacristina9]

Bolo Yeung, the guy who plays Chong Li, he was good friends with Bruce Lee and he was in his funeral. Fun Fact: He did a cameo in an Hong Kong movie from 1986, that is dub in English, called Legacy of rage, where he has a small fight with Brandon Lee, who is the protagonist of that movie. Everyone says he is the nicest guy you can ever meet. And BIG FACT on this movie: later we find out that everything that happened in this movie was A LIE. THE GUY MADE ALL UP. NONE OF THIS HAPPENED

[@MGower4465]

Chong Li didn't get a charge from killing, he got a charge from the crowd cheering him. And they didn't turn their backs, they turned toward a shrine to pray for the fighter Chong Li killed.

[@uwerieger9793]

"Kickboxer" & "Leon" completes the 3 best movies with Van Damme :)

[@NoamTube]

"How come you coach him and not me?" "Because you are not a Tonaka!"

[@michelangelotroccoli7748]

Bloodsport, kickboxer, lionheart, double impact, universal soldier....are all great bad 80s/90s movies lol

[@quintavale2441]

Great movie. Fun Fact: Michel Qissi ( the man with the leg injury ) was Van Dammes best friend in Belgium. Together they had a dream to make it in the states. Michel did a great performance as Tong Po in Kickboxer. When Van Damme was making his movies in Asia he befriended Bolo Yeung. His best movies were made in Asia. Kickboxer, Double impact and Bloodsport. I recommend you to watch Kickboxer, it is more brutal and real, one of my favourites. Love your reactions by the way.

[@CapedInformer]

Thanks!

[@Joker_JAK]

His brother (Abdel Qissi) was Attila in Lionheart. Which Michel also appeared in.

[@RictorIAG]

Also, the game was called "Karate Champ" and it was on the NES.

[@Timo8.2.]

Best of the best is “good” movie. Probably because I loved that movie as a kid but it’s actually a good movie and it got Dart Vader’s voice James Earl Jones in it