Looks like we'll be seeing a remake of a classic martial arts film... kinda.
According to a report from Screen Dailythat was also posterd over at Slash Film, Philip Noyce of Salt fame is planning to remake the tournament fighter movie Bloodsport, which starred a then up and coming Jean-Claude Van Damme. However, instead of making it a direct remake, the plan is to have the movie follow the plot of "an American who goes to Brazil to recover from his experiences in Afghanistan, only to find himself competing in a martial arts tournament instead".
Bloodsport 1988 Trailer
This practically follows the same basic premise of "one man vs many fighters in a tournament" as the original Blooodsport, but it's drastically different in terms of plot. The original 1988 movie had Van Damme play true life American martial artist Frank W. Dux, who goes AWOL from the army to fight in an illegal underground tournament known as the "Kumite" in order to honor his Japanese master. It might be too early to tell, but I'm not feeling enthusiastic about the remake news at all. Heck, it has no star attached to it yet, and who can match the caliber of fighting/ presentation that JCVD and Bolo Yeung presented in the original? For more on the story, visit the source posts at Screen Daily and Slash Film.
Forget everything you've heard or seen about Super Street Fighter IV. THIS is where SUPER IS AT!XD If Capcom releases this beast, it will be awesome. Now... who wants to go home... and WHO WANTS TO GO WITH THIS?!XD
Ah yes... it's the 90's and JCVD all over again. Ah satire, can't get enough of it.XD
Everyone remembers Jean Claude Van Damme and Street Fighter, and some would probably want to forget about how one of the most popular video game franchises of all time ended up getting a comical film adaptation such as this. How Capcom sanctioned this movie is beyond me until now, but it wasn't until The Legend Of Chun-Li came out last year that I found renewed interest and appreciation for this flick. Compared to the latter film, this still remains a cult classic for its goofiness and martial arts mayhem, and it also happens to be the last film of the late great Raul Julia, who did well playing the megalomaniac villain, General M.Bison.
Now, those who wished for a JCVD film with a "Street Fighter kick" to it will probably get the next best thing here in this spoof I found in You Tube. Using scenes and clips from another Van Damme classic, "Lionheart", "TheVanDammeCreator2009" presents this awesome video that splices this particular movie with SF sound effects and lifebars. Now you can finally see the SF movie you've always wanted to see - VAN DAMME KICKING ASS AND TAKING NAMES!!!
This is awesome and epic in many levels... YOU WIN!!!
Nostalgia's rearing its ugly (or pretty) head on me once again. I decided to see a classic martial arts movie just for the heck of it, and I ended up with this:
Movie: Bloodsport Starring: Jean Claude Van Damme, Bolo Yeung Directed By: Newt Arnold
Yeah, depending on your views, the definition of "classic" varies with Bloodsport. For one, this was the movie that defined Jean Claude Van Damme for the martial arts generation of the 80's, and it was kick ass too. Before his string of hits (and misses) with Kickboxer, Universal Soldier, and *ahem* The Street Fighter movie, this is the flick that put Jean Claude on the map to hollywood action movie stardom.
However action packed it was, Bloodsport was also wrought with campy humorous moments and cheezy fight scenes and slow-motion effects. Compared to today's action movies, that would look totally fake... but Van Damme's moves were the real deal here. He could split like crazy and hit opponents with a nutcracker that would leave them crying until tomorrow, which inspired the guys behind the Mortal Kombat game to create the infamous fighter known as Johnny Cage.
The primary antagonist of this flick is none other than Bolo Yeung, a well known martial arts film actor who was best known for his appearance in Enter The Dragon; serving as the villainous opponent of the legendary Bruce Lee. In Bloodsport, Bolo plays Chong Li (NOT related to Chun-Li), a ruthless and cunning martial artist who fights for pleasure and kills for entertainment. His massive built and intimidating appearance could scare the beejezus out of anyone going up against him, and it worked well to serve him up against Van Damme, who plays real life martial artist Frank W. Dux.
Bloodsport Intro: Preparation For The Kumite
Bloodsport is based on the supposed real-life story of Dux, a martial artist from America who competes in the Kumite - a shadowy and controversial tournament held in Hong Kong every five years. As a boy, he learned the ways of Ninjutsu from a Japanese teacher, Senzo Tanaka, who wanted nothing more than to make him a training dummy for his son, Shingo. Eventually earning the family's respect and friendship, Dux grows to become a competent disciple, until tragedy strikes the Tanaka family and Shingo dies while competing in the Kumite. Wanting to honor his mentor and the memory of his deceased son, Dux asks Senzo to teach him everything he knows, becoming a skilled martial artist with five years of training in preparation for the next tournament.
Dux, now an officer for the Army, goes AWOL and competes in the Kumite despite being prohibited by his superiors. Managing to outwit and make it to HK, he befriends a fellow American martial artist named Randy Jackson and becomes involved with a female reporter named Janice Kent. Everything goes well and he competes in the tournament; until things get serious and Randy is badly injured by the massive and arrogant fighter known only as Chong Li. Trying to keep himself focused on the tournament and honoring his friends, Frank presses on, determined to win this Bloodsport with everything he knows.
I'm sure many of you have seen this film as kids back in the day. We'd root for the good guy to win against the mean looking bad guys, and Bloodsport is a clear example of how B-movie goodness went back in the 80's. It was a no brainer flick that required less attention on the dialogue and more focus on the action. Van Damme was excellent with his fighting scenes, and to this day it amazes me he could pull off such feats with minimal effort involved. Heck, the actors chosen for this film were decent enough for their roles, and one of the guys chosen happens to be a young and then unknown Forest Whitaker, who played a sidekick cop chasing down Van Damme throughout the entire movie.
One of the things I couldn't believe about this movie was the soundtrack. Sure, it sounds cheesy when compared to today's musical standards, but back then, it was kick ass inspirational action movie music anyone could listen to. In fact, I was surprised to find out that Stan Bush (yes, THE Stan Bush) of Transformers: The Movie fame had covered two songs for the film that never made it to the official OST (i.e the songs made, someone else sang it). Again, they were some of the most inspirational pieces of B-movie music befitting for this kind of movie. Go check 'em out below with some you tube links:
On My Own-Alone by Stan Bush
This is the scene where Frank, still confused and distracted over recent events, tries to get away from it all to clear his head and meditate. It's a cool musical piece by Stan, and reminiscent of songs sung by Peter Cetera of Chicago and Karate Kid music fame.
Fight To Survive by Stan Bush
The movie's theme song by Stan Bush. Nuff Said.
In the end, Bloodsport is a true 80's martial arts movie classic. It's not the most spectacular movie out there when compared to the likes of Enter The Dragon or Ong Bak, but it holds on it's own as a movie that can stand the test of time, probably for its vintage looks and heroic feats of kick ass moments. It's also a good Van Damme film if you're a fan of the guy, so go look it up if you're in the need for some "old school" action.
