Bloodsport 2 (1996)

 

Bloodsport 2 (1996)- * * *

Directed by: Alan Mehrez

Starring: Daniel Bernhardt, Pat Morita, James Hong, Nicolas Hill, Ron Hall, Ong Soo Han, Chad Stahelski, and Donald Gibb

Alex Cardo (Bernhardt) is what Michael Jackson might have called a "smooth criminal". He's suave with the ladies, but he travels to Thailand so he can steal an ancient and valuable sword. He gets caught and thrown in the pokey, where he makes a lot of enemies, including Demon (Ong), but he makes at least one friend: Master Sun (Hong).


Sun tells Cardo about The Kumite, and trains him mercilessly so he can enter into it. This includes teaching him The Iron Hand, a secret Martial Arts technique that is quite powerful. After all this sword business is behind him, having dealt with antiquities enthusiast David Leung (Morita), Cardo concentrates fully on The Kumite. Thanks to the charismatic Tiny (Gibb), Cardo gets in.


While there, he meets other competitors such as Sergio (Hill) and Cliff (Hall), but the toughest contender is, darn the luck, Demon. That's right, his old nemesis from Thai prison. The stage is set for the ultimate battle. Well, maybe not the ultimate battle, because both Bloodsport movies and Punchfighters continue until the present day, but you know what we mean. Who will be victorious in this, THE NEXT KUMITE?


Here we have the first appearance out of two for the Alex Cardo character in the Bloodsport series. Daniel Bernhardt was the natural choice to replace Van Damme if the series was going to continue without JCVD. They share an uncanny physical similarity and European background. Bernhardt seems very much up for the challenge as he trains his heart out and gets involved in near-constant Martial Arts fights.


Thankfully, Donald Gibb is back as Tiny from the first film, and he always adds a lot. Gibb has "It" - a magnetic screen presence that makes him watchable. This is also one of the best roles we've seen to date for James Hong. Out of his massive filmography, which is 439 credits and counting, he usually doesn't get a role this meaty, where he starts the film by narrating the tale of Alex Cardo to a Karate school filled with tots, and appearing throughout as Cardo's trusty trainer. It's a better showcase for his talents than his usual bit roles, so that was nice to see.


Sun and Cardo - and everyone else in the Thai prison - must wear pink outfits because that's the jailhouse garb. Is it possible that former Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio watched Bloodsport 2? Because that's what he made is inmates wear, much to the chagrin of rapper and sometime action star DMX.


Luckily for us, Bloodsport 2 delivers all the Bloodsport 2iness that we could possibly want. While it came out in 1996, it feels more like 1990. Director Mehrez shot this entry in the series and Bloodsport III both in '96. Still, it was a cable and video store staple and easily accessible to anyone who wanted to see it.


It's well-shot and you can always see what's going on. This separates it from many Punchfighters of today, which skimp on the lighting and you can't discern who is who. Back in the 90's, not only was everything much clearer visually, but the fighters had well-defined personalities. We always use the example of the Shootfighter films, but it's equally true here. We as the audience definitely know who is going up against who in The Kumite. Of course, that's a good thing.


Unfortunately, an almost-insurmountable obstacle for any tournament fighting movie is that, at the very least, the final third of the film becomes quite repetitive. You have to show many shirtless men punching and kicking each other - over and over - so, that's what you do. But, to be fair, not all the men are shirtless. Some are in wrestling singlets.


But, presumably the reason why you sought out Bloodsport 2 is for the punching and kicking, and that's certainly what you get. Adding to the win column, there are several non-tournament action scenes that also really liven things up. So, because it's well-lit, well-shot, and features a strong cast of many favorite faces (and clocks in at a reasonable 86 minutes), Bloodsport 2 is a more than worthy follow-up to the classic original.


Released in America on VHS on the CFP video label, Bloodsport 2 is a video store classic and would make a good addition to any 90's action or Punchfighting collection.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, DTVC!

G2: Mortal Conquest (1999)

 

G2: Mortal Conquest (1999)- * *

Directed by: Nick Rotundo 

Starring: Daniel Bernhardt and James Hong

The battle for Alexander the Great's sword is on...again! That's right, as if Gladiator Cop: The Swordsman II (1995) wasn't enough for you, never mind The Swordsman (1995), here we get the third and final (?) installment of the supremely silly series. As you'll no doubt remember, in Gladiator Cop: The Swordsman II, James Hong as Parmenion and Lorenzo Lamas as Andrew Garrett were reincarnated figures who had recollections of their past from hundreds of years ago as they tried to get the sword. Meanwhile there were Punchfighting matches in parking lots.


This time around, in G2, James Hong as Parmenion and Daniel Bernhardt as a man named Steven Conlin are reincarnated figures who have recollections of their past from hundreds of years ago as they try to get the sword. Meanwhile there are Punchfighting matches in warehouses. This may seem a little familiar. You'd think after three movies, coherence would somehow emerge. It doesn't, but James Hong has a variety of stylish hats. Will the MORTAL CONQUEST finally reach its end?

Writer/director Nick Rotundo seemingly has a burning desire. A desire to tell the tale - repeatedly over the course of years - of the sword of Alexander the Great, Parmenion, and someone trying to get the sword. Rotundo's quest is almost as long and labyrinthine as the saga of the sword itself. 

Just why he thinks this story is so interesting, and why he's willing to more or less make three movies about it, at the cost of whether any of them make sense or not, has yet to be explained. But he sure has a lot of what you might call 'stick-to-itiveness'. Even the name "G2" seems to indicate that this is the true sequel to Gladiator Cop. Maybe he doesn't like Gladiator Cop: The Swordsman II, which is a shame, because that was the moment when nonsensicality became real entertainment.

Starting with a John-Woo-on-a-budget intro, we then soon realize we're in Adrian Paul-era Highlander territory. Like all good stories about reincarnation, there are repeated Punchfighting matches. Just what meatheads pounding on each other has to do with Alexander the Great only our most venerated historians can tell us. Some of the guys seem like they would be at home as contestants on The Running Man, including one who has some sort of breastplate that shoots fire out of the sides. Jesse Ventura should have been involved.

Rather than explain any of the above with dialogue, the men in the movie make a panoply of silly sounds. These sounds include, but are not limited to, yelling, screaming, shouting, grunting, yelping, hollering, bawling, howling, yowling, screeching, and ululating. Someone in a warehouse hits a gong, and off they go. Do not make a drinking game out of any time someone says, and I quote, "BwwoaaoooaaaahhhhhhAAAAAA!!!!!

Some of Parmenion's goons have a pretty novel method of deflecting bullets. Actress Meeka Schiro was in the Zagarino outing The Protector (1998) the previous year. Other real people from the cast include men with the names John Bonk and Chris Chinchilla. It's not that bad. It's just disjointed and jumbled, in classic Rotundo style.


G2 (AKA Mortal Conquest) won't make much sense to anyone, regardless of whether they've seen the other "G" movies or not. As a cross between Highlander, The Running Man, Excalibur, and a Shirley MacLaine autobiography shot on a low budget in Canada, it works about as well as you might expect.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, DTVC!

True Vegeance (1997)

True Vegeance (1997)- * * *

Directed by: David Worth

Starring: Daniel Bernhardt, Miles O'Keefe, Jonathan Lutz, and Beverly Johnson


 “The Griffin you knew is dead.” - Griffin




All Allen Griffin (Bernhardt) wants to do is play Mouse Trap with his Asian daughter on her birthday. Unfortunately, the Yakuza ruins his plans and kidnaps her. So Griffin dons his revenge togs and goes on a no-holds-barred mission to save his beloved daughter before it’s too late. Complicating his quest is the presence of a man known only as The Specialist (O’Keeffe), a mercenary of some sort and a shadowy figure from Griffin’s past. 

Also a detective, Emory (Lutz) has teamed up with some sort of Naval intelligence officer, Wilson (Johnson), and they are hot on Griffin’s trail and they may curtail his mission before he gets a chance to complete it. Of course, Griffin is an ex-Navy SEAL and knows how to handle himself in a combat situation - but will he make it out alive?

It may start off like The Specialist (1994) (even O’Keeffe’s character is named ‘The Specialist’), and carry on like a cross between Commando (1985) and Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991), but believe you-me, this movie is 100% Bernhardt. 

It truly is his best work - Bernhardt at his best, as you’ve always wanted to see him. Dressed in a SWAT-style flak vest with a black duster coat, Griffin is almost Punisher-like as he blows away the baddies with no mercy. Sure, many characters over the years open their hidden gun stash and put on their black revenge outfit towards the end of the movie, but Griffin does it in the first third, and keeps it on. Plus, he keeps his cache of weaponry at work, not at home. We see - in great detail - how much he loves his guns. Plus he can knock down an iron gate with a dirtbike.

Sure, his resemblance to Van Damme is uncanny, hence why we call him “Van Daniel”. But he really comes into his own here. Plus, he’s not alone in the lookalike department. Johnson resembles Pam Grier, Lutz resembles Fred Dryer, and some other guy resembles Lou Diamond Phillips. Too bad they all couldn’t be together, but this is a close-enough approximation of what would have happened. Even the production company, FM, is remarkably close to action stalwarts PM. But, honestly, except for O’Keeffe and Bernhardt, the cast isn’t what matters. It’s the action, and they don’t skimp on that.

Many cliches we know and love are here - yelling while shooting a machine gun, the baddie says “no more mistakes” to his goons, and the phrase “we’ve got company!” is also uttered. 

The shootout in the strip club is probably the centerpiece of the film, and the “Direct to Video John Woo on a budget” vibe indeed wins over the audience. However, at times, the whole outing, underscored by this scene, feels like a parody of action films. It probably isn’t - at least we HOPE it isn’t - but it was the late 90’s, after all (even though visually it looks like it was the early 90’s), and irony was starting to creep in and ruin things. It is unlikely that director Worth would do this, as he’s known for being the director of Kickboxer (1989) - and, at least on our site, known for Lady Dragon (1992) and Lady Dragon 2 (1993), along with Soldier’s Revenge (1986) and Chain of Command (1994). But he does allow some wacky things to go on in the cinematography department, notably some crazy, headache-inducing swirling camerawork that seems pretty unnecessary.

True Vengeance does indeed deliver the action goods in true DTV 90’s style. We may have a few minor quibbles with it, but nothing is perfect. It’s nothing a few wacky screams from Daniel Bernhardt and a copious amount of gun-shooting can’t solve. If you can find it, go back to the glory days - you’ll TRUE-ly enjoy the experience.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, The Action Elite! 

Special Forces (2000)

Special Forces (2000)-* * *

AKA: Black Sea Raid

Directed by: Jeno Hodi

Starring: Daniel Bernhardt










Rick Halsey (Bernhardt) is a CIA agent tasked with going to Russia, saving a scientist, stopping arms deals, preventing nukes from being put in the wrong hands, and stopping Chechnyan rebels. It seems like a lot for one man, even if you are Rick Halsey, so he assembles a team in classic team-assembling fashion. He draws from his retired Special Forces buddies, and the team of dudes bein’ dudes use their combined machoness in an attempt to save the day. But can they do it?

Jeno Hodi, you magnificent bastard. You’ve done it again. As the director - nay - cinematic mastermind behind the classic American Kickboxer 2 (1993), or AmKick2 as nobody calls it, he will always have a special place in our hearts. His off-kilter directorial style has, in the past, warranted entertainment and/or laughs, if nothing else. And while you might think Special Forces (or Black Sea Raid, its other title, not to be confused with the Isaac Florentine Special Forces (2003) which came out only a short three years after Hodi’s movie) might be a standard Nu-Image-style military slog, think again. While elements of said sloggery are indeed here in strands, the overall takeaway from this movie is that it is an absurd good time, and its supposed weaknesses are actually strengths.

Here’s what we mean by that: while, amazingly, this movie came out in 2000, it looks like it was shot in 1991, if not earlier. Even the sound SOUNDS old, with dialogue that sounds like it was recorded on scratchy old Edison cylinders. When Hodi and his team went to the former Soviet Union to shoot the movie, he was probably using the best and most up-to-date equipment they had. 

If Special Forces was supposed to be a period piece from years before, it would have succeeded brilliantly. So yes, it does have a “junky” look and sound, but we would argue that, in this case at least, it all adds to the fun. You don’t rent/buy this movie looking for the works of Ingmar Bergman. We’re looking for Daniel Bernhardt to shoot, kick and blow up people amongst a panoply of strange edits. Let’s not kid ourselves here. And that is exactly what’s delivered to our VCRs. So Special Forces is not a failure, it’s an entertaining success against all odds. So take that, haters.

And what’s not to love about Bernhardt’s funny yellings, a handful of surprise Punchfighting scenes, exploding helicopters, some hilariously half-hearted sideways guard tower falls, and the amazingly cliched one-liners from his team, not the least of which is Comeuppance personal favorite “we got company!”. So don’t be afraid of Special Forces. Just go with its flow, and you’ll surely find it enjoyable.

Comeuppance Review by: Ty and Brett 

Also check out a write-up from our buddy, The Video Vacuum!

Bloodsport III (1996)

Bloodsport III (1996)- * *1\2

Directed by: Alan Mehrez

Starring: Daniel Bernhardt, Pat Morita, James Hong, David Schatz, Nicolas Oleson, Scott McElroy, and John Rhys-Davies













Alex Cardo (Bernhardt) is a Punchfighter, but he’d rather be having tender heart-to-heart talks with his classically 90’s son Jason (David Schatz). While he trains his tot in the ways of Martial Arts, he regales him with stories of the time he won the Kumite (thus eliminating any sense of suspense or drama and telegraphing a spoiler alert from the get-go). Alex recounts the tale of his time in “the Far East” when he used to frequent casinos while dressed in a white tuxedo. Jason, clearly riveted, continues to listen. Alex tells of the evil fight promoter Duvalier (Rhys-Davies), and how he murdered his mentor Master Sun (Hong). He neglects to mention why Pat Morita is only seen for about 30 seconds and for no apparent reason. 

To win the tournament, Alex goes to the countryside and begins training extensively, which is a prerequisite if you want to win. Alex soon dons his singlet and enters the ring, and proceeds to work his way through a bunch of fighters with no character development beyond their names, such as Bruce Burly (McElroy) (though why J. J. Perry had to play a guy named J. J. Tucker remains unexplained). Finally he faces off against The Beast (Oleson), an almost comically oversized meathead of the highest order. Will Alex live to tell the tale to his son? Well, yeah, of course he will.

Grown men punching and kicking each other. It can take on many wondrous and colorful forms. Apparently there’s no real limit on how many of these types of movies can be made. The original Bloodsport and Kickboxer films truly opened the floodgates during the video store era for Punchfighters for decades to come, even up to the present day. But the problem with movies like this is, during the last half-hour at least, it gets very boring and repetitive. But you have to show the Kumite, right? So on and on it goes.

Before the internet and even Pay-Per-View, renting movies like this was one of the only ways to see fighting of this kind on film. It’s easy to forget that in this day and age. So the movie gets somewhat of a pass, but it really should have bothered to do a bit more character development and maybe concentrated a little less on extended Kumite footage. 

We realize we’re talking about Bloodsport III here, but still, we think that’s a fair criticism. The first half of Bloodsport III is actually a lot of fun. It has that silly, funny, absurd vibe we love so dearly. But then it slows down and becomes more standard, unfortunately enough.

Daniel Bernhardt must have been an obvious choice to fill the shoes of Van Damme, because, let’s face it, he’s basically the same person. We’ve never seen them in the same place at the same time, have we? It must have been tough living in the shadow of JCVD. But somewhere in between Van Damme and Olivier Gruner, the Bernhardt dwells. 

At many points throughout the film, you could swear that it IS Van Damme. But Bernhardt puts forth his best “suave eyebrow” to woo the ladies, and why wouldn’t he go after Crystal Duvalier (Van Lent), with a singing voice like that? In the “white tuxedo” scene, he truly is Daniel BernBond. But the man has his own personal problems and demons as well, as he has nightmares of recycled footage that he has to contend with.

Perhaps, in the end, Bloodsport III raises more questions than it answers (what exactly is the timeline of all these Kumite matches as they relate to parts II and III? Why do deathfights to the death have a ref? And so many others...). 

But it does have a noteworthy end-credits song, “Rhythm of the Kumite” - a techno tune where you think at any moment someone will yell “Mortal Kombat!!!!!” - but they do indeed yell “Bloodsport!!!!!”, so, no harm no foul. So basically the first half is entertaining but it devolves into a slog. So watch it on YouTube and save the money on your credit Cardo.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Also check out write-ups by our buddies, DTVC and The Action Elite!

Perfect Target (1997)

Perfect Target (1997)-* *1\2

Directed by: Sheldon Lettich

Starring: Daniel Bernhardt, Robert Englund, Jim Pirri, Dara Tomanovich, Julieta Rosen, and Brian Thompson













David Benson (Bernhardt) is a former CIA official who is down in the small, sleepy South American town of Santa Brava. All he wants to do is sit and drink his beer and enjoy a good cockfight, but oh no. He is recruited by Maj. Oxnard (Thompson) and Col. Shakwell (Englund) as part of a ragtag team of mercenaries to help protect an idealistic politician, President Casillas (Martinez) from potential assassins as he gives an address in the town square. Naturally, Casillas is shot - and Benson and his associate Ramirez (Pirri) are blamed. Now on the run, they end up in the jungle. They end up training a team of rebels to help overthrow the corrupt government, led by Casillas’ wife, Isabella (Rosen). Will Benson get out of this mess alive?

What’s so funny about this movie is how much Bernhardt resembles and sounds like Van Damme. Perfect Target was directed by Sheldon Lettich, the director of Lionheart (1990) and Double Impact (1991). Supposedly Bernhardt was discovered by the same guy that discovered Van Damme, and Bernhardt appeared in some of the Bloodsport sequels. For all intents and purposes, he IS Van Damme...yet he’s not. Every few minutes while watching this movie, you have to ask yourself, “is that Van Damme?” But, even though some wags might say Bernhardt is a low-rent JCVD, Perfect Target is actually a better movie than some Van Damme vehicles.

Bernhardt, from such movies as The Cutter (2005) and Strike Force (2003) (and even the Mystery Science Theater 3000-mocked Future War), appears more like JCVD here than ever before. Everything from his hair to his voice will remind you of the man. The role of David Benson also could have gone to Mark Dacascos or Olivier Gruner.

Interestingly, David Benson  smokes and drinks. This would never happen today. It’s pretty surprising this movie came out in 1997, it seems like it could have come out in ‘88 or earlier. It has that kind of feel. Brian Thompson, last seen as the baddie from Cobra (1986), enhances that fact. He is solid as the baddie here, as is Robert Englund, who gets to sneer away to his hearts’ content. He was probably relieved to not be doing a pigeonholed horror role. Plus, since their names are the mildly silly Oxnard and Shakwell, you can say, “Oh no! Oxnard and Shakwell are coming after you!”  The only one missing from the potential trifecta is Patrick Kilpatrick.

 

There’s plenty of shooting and hand-to-hand combat, and even one fight that recalls Operation Warzone (1988) of all things. The classic barfight is also here, and Benson is, of course, “the best” at what he does. But it seems an attempt was made to put in some decent dialogue and put in some plot twists. But it just may be too little too late.

This is the type of movie you feel you’ve seen before even if you haven’t. The whole “South American-corrupt government-rebels” formula has been seen in everything from Cocaine Wars (1985) to One Man Out (1989) to The Expendables (2010). The movie, shot in various parts of Mexico, has an appropriately hot and sweaty atmosphere, which is conveyed well.

Perfect Target, while sporting a nice, professional look and feel, is, sadly, standard fare and underwhelming.

Comeuppance Review by: Brett and Ty

Strike Force (2003)

Strike Force (2003)-* * *

AKA: The Librarians

Directed by: Mike Kirton

Starring: William Forsythe, Burt Reynolds, Erika Eleniak, Christopher Atkins, Ed Lauter, Andrew Divoff, Daniel Bernhardt, Mark Foley, and Matthias Hues









Strike Force or "The Librarians" is a stupid, fun action movie that doesn't take itself too seriously.

William Forsythe stars as Simon, who is looking for a missing daughter of a wealthy client. He meets up with Sandi (Eleniak) who is also looking for someone-her sister. But there are evil bad guys afoot. The most evil of them all is Marcos Canarious (Divoff). Marcos likes to kill people.



So now, Simon and Sandi have to team up to bring down the villains. The whole cast is great, with Divoff stealing the movie. There are also cameos by Ed Lauter, Burt Reynolds, and esteemed star of stage and screen, Mark Foley (actually disgraced politician Mark Foley in the greatest cameo since Gloria Allred lit up the screen in On The Edge).  If you are looking for a silly action film, watch this and have a good time.




Comeuppance Review by: Ty

The Cutter (2005)

The Cutter (2005) -* *

Directed By: William Tannen

Starring: Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, Bernie Kopell, Tracy Scoggins, Daniel Bernhardt








This isn't a movie about depressed teenage girls, in fact, The Cutter is an action movie starring everybody's favorite American Chuck Norris. The movie should be a no-strings-attached action flick and because it doesn't succeed at that, I can't help but be let down by it.

The plot: An old diamond cutter named Isaac (Kopell) gets kidnapped by Dirk  (Bernhardt) and he is put in a cell to cut a centuries-old diamond. John Shepard (Norris) is the detective who has to save him. The problem with the movie is that it tries too hard. There's some dialogue and situations involving the holocaust that hurt the flow of the movie. It's distracting. The movie's heart is the right place though.




Chuck Norris does a decent job with the material he's given, but basically he's coasting. What Norris does excel at is his martial arts. We all know Chuck's pretty silly, but when you see him fight, it's still kind of exciting. There are two good fights in the film: The one on the bus and the end fight. The only problem is that the action is cut too fast to see, but you can make out Norris and not a stunt double (most of the time).

The movie in a nutshell is a 90 minute "Walker, Texas Ranger" episode but with more explosions.





Comeuppance Review by: Ty