Dragon

 

 (blackbeltmag.com)

BLOODFIST-1989-After his brother is killed in Manila, Jake Raye (Don “The Dragon” Wilson), an American martial arts instructor goes there and gets involved in a fighting tournament trying to find his brother's killer. A local named Kwong (Joe Mari Avellana) helps him train. Jake eventually has to face his brother’s killer, Chin Woo (Chris Agular). But things aren't exactly as Jake sees them. One of the fighters is played Billy Blanks (the creator of “Tae-Bo” in his 4th movie). It also features Vic Diaz as a cop. 

This martial arts film was directed by Terence H. Winkless (THE NEST (1987)) and features some good fights but not as flashy as some “aficionados” might like. It was professional kickboxer Don Wilson's first big role and put him on the map, spawning 6 sequels.

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Dead On Release

D.O.A.: DEAD OR ALIVE-2006-This martial arts fantasy comedy drama is based on a popular video game. It's about a bunch of dorks who are invited to a martial arts tournament (D.O.A.). The three main characters are female: a pro-wrestler (Jamie Pressly), an assassin (Holly Valance) and a princess (Devon Aoki) who's looking for her brother (Collin Chou), said to have been killed in the last D.O.A. The guy who runs the thing is played by Eric Roberts. There's a lot of swordplay and fights using CGI and “Jet Li wires”. (The director Corey Yuen made several movies with Li) Kane Kosugi plays a friend of the princess and pro-wrestler Kevin Nash is in it. There's a lot of smart ass jokes and dialogue and most of the men getting beat up by the women. Robin Shou from the MORTAL KOMBAT movies appears briefly as a pirate. 

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