Product: Bloodsport [VHS] (1988)
Rating: 1.0
Weak and disappointing
I have quite a few van Damme films and this is by far the worst. Even though the story is based on real-life, it is predictable right from the start. There is nothing new in the action which comprises most of the film and some of the sequences have been badly shot - e.g. one backwards roundhouse kick clearly misses by a good inch, the victim's reaction is clearly delayed by a fraction of a second and, despite the obvious miss, the blood still flows. The Federal agents on van Damme's trail are pathetic and the female reporter, who looks as out of place as a bucket of manure at a wedding, is not believable and the FBI/press part of the story is boring in the extreme. I have seen van Damme confront his final opponent in 'Double Impact' (also played in Hong Kong!) and that was a much, much better example of the skills involved and there was at least some credibility in the story. I admit that van Damme's physical prowess is hard to follow, but he should not have downgraded himself by performing in this film.