Gonna be cool, once more around...
Added 11/23/2009
Released eight years after the original film, the follow-up to the undisputed king of all karate B-movies saw Swiss-born martial artist Daniel Bernhardt being given the unenvied task of trying to live up to Jean-Claude Van Damme's career-launching performance in the original Bloodsport. Does he succeed? - the answer depends on how big of a fan you are of Van Damme and his initial karate masterpiece, but I think it's fair to say that Bernhardt ought to have gotten a better shake as a knock-`em -sock-`em action hero. The movie itself certainly has its faults (and sadly, these don't include the gloriously cheesy over-the-top-ness of the predecessor), but as far as being a low-budget, tournament-based fighting movie, this one has all the credentials to be an unrecognized gem.
The story: told in flashback by wizened karate teacher Sun (James Hong Missing in Action), the tale follows fighter/thief Alex Cardo (Bernhardt, Matrix Reloaded) as he is sent to a Thai prison for stealing the prize of the fabled underground tournament, the Kumite. Trained to harness his internal power by the likewise-detained Sun, he leaves jail determined to enter the tournament, prove his honor, and use the prize to buy his teacher's freedom.
The cast is pretty neat: in addition to Bernhardt and Hong, there's Pat Morita (The Karate Kid) as the tournament beneficiary, Ong Soo Han (Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story) as the villainous fan favorite, and Nicholas Hill (Death Match [VHS]) and Ron Hall (Triple Impact [VHS]) as Alex's tournament buddies/opponents. Donald "Tiny" Gibb returns in his role from the first film, but he's apparently a quasi-official of the tournament nowadays and makes no reference to the previous outing or Frank Dux. He's not quite as funny as he was the first time around and doesn't really get to fight, and while certainly tough and evil, Ong Soo "Demon" Han can't really live up to Bolo Yeung's presence in the original film, so perhaps the movie is best not considered an actual sequel. It works better on its own, anyway: as Daniel Bernhardt's maiden voyage in film, he gives a great physical effort and makes every fight of his count as though his future in show business were resting on this film.
Then again, we also have Philip Tan as fight choreographer to thank for this. Rest assured, there is a whole lot of fighting to be found here - maybe even more than in the first film - and while not all of it is great, a lot of it is beyond average. The tournament encounters take a while to get good, and are every once in a while punctuated by nonsensical pose-striking and other immature little add-ons (e.g. a monkey fighter who performs to soundbites of an actual monkey shrieking), but by and large, the fighting lives up to the predecessing matches and then some. Fans of "Bloodsport" who can't help but compare the two films will note that's there's a decisive decrease in the emotional content of the fisticuffs, and no cool song plays along to the visceral montages; this leaves the film a bit plainer than is healthy for a low-budget flick like this, but it fails to drag the fights down. While it doesn't hinder the action, the choreography could've been a touch more innovatice.
Nevertheless, it's the standout kicks, flips, and punches of Bernhardt, Han, Hill, and Hall that make this one worth watching, as well as James Hong's trademarked "wise old Asian" routine that's second only to the late Mako's. Fans of these kinds of movies ought not be without it, for "Bloodsport 2" has it where it counts and ought to be in the video collection of anybody who values talent and athleticism over spectacle.
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best fight scenes ever
Added 8/23/2006
The first Bloodsport will always be the best of the series, and probably remains as one of the best martial art movies of all time. Bloodsport 2 does not have the classic feel that Bloodsport has, nor does Daniel Bernhardt fill Van Damme's shoes, and the villain Demon (played by Ong Soon Han) does not come close to the on-screen presence of Bolo Yeung. What Bloodsport 2 does have over the original is the best tournament you will ever see in a movie. For a good 30 minutes throughout the film, you get some of the best choreography ever done, well editing and camera angles, and long fights that are just enjoyable to watch and appreciate. The story to Bloodsport 2 is nothing to write home about, but as far as fights, the beginning to the end of his film has nothing but continuous fights (both in and out of the tournament). The final fight between Alex (Bernhardt) and Ong Soon Han is actually pretty good, maybe better than Van Damme and Chong Li in the first Bloodsport.
If you are looking for a good all around movie in the Bloodsport series, look towards the first Bloodsport. If you don't care about story and famous actors and just want really good fights, Bloodsport 2 is the best in the series. Check out Bloodsport 3 too - its pretty lame throughout but the tournament is pretty dang good too. As for Bloodsport 4, ouch.
4 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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Blood Sport Rules!!!!!
Added 3/13/2006
Let's face it, TBS won't even show this. We've all seen Blood Sport 30 times on TBS, and it's good. Now, I've never seen this movie, but looking at the cover, it sucks. There's no action on the cover. Van Damme made one good movie, and blood sport was it. Now Daniel Bernhardt tries to jump on and ruins everything. It's like watching The Karate Kid III, after Ralphie grew up. Don't read the reviews for this. Look at the cover and hit yourself. Continue hitting yourself until you realize you were about to make a horrible mistake. You'd be better spending your money on Howard the Duck.
1 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Daniel Bernhardt must be the cutest karate kid of all!!!!
Added 12/13/2004
Who cares about this guy's upper thighs and all that, Daniel Bernhardt has got ot be the cutest karate kid in the world.You go Danny boy!!!!!!!!!! Buy this movie is what I say.And for that guy who talked about the thigh,The world needs to see yours!
2 out of 6 people found this helpful.
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Daniel Bernhardt needs to work on his upper thighs
Added 9/27/2002
I'm not gay but Yeah, the plot was okay. However, Daniel Bernhardt was far too lanky and his upper thighs were very weak especially for his long legs. He can't keep his legs up in the air very long.FURTHER, his chest muscles hardly rippled. They were big chest muscles, but he never flexed them (if he could).
0 out of 8 people found this helpful.
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