Jake Raye (Wilson) is an L.A. area kickboxing instructor. A lot of his time is spent regaling elementary school kids with tales of his missing kidney, which he generously gave to his beloved brother, who is also a fighter. When it is discovered that Jake's brother has been killed because of shady dealings involving not taking a dive in underground punchfighting deathmatches, Jake goes to Manila to investigate.

Now a man lost in a strange land, he meets up with Kwong (Avellana),a wise old trainer. Kwong informs him of The Red Fist, a secret fighting society that holds the said deathmatches, called Ta Chang. They hold yearly tournaments, that, according to Kwong, have "no rounds, no rules, no referees and no points". Despite his kidney ailments, Jake must enter the tournament in order to get answers about his brother's killer. So Kwong trains him, and Baby (Shaner),the "wacky" fighter, helps him out as well. There's also the love interest, Baby's sister Nancy (Bowman),and the token "mini-boss" fighter Black Rose (Blanks). Will Jake Raye kick and punch his way to the truth?

Hey, everyone has their own methods of getting answers. Columbo has questions, and Jake Raye has roundhouse kicks. Produced by Roger Corman, there, inexplicably, are nine Bloodfist movies. Only the first two have any connection to each other as The Dragon returns in the sequel as Jake Raye. But apparently this series has legs, whether the supposed sequels were in-name only or not. Looking through our local video store, we always noticed Bloodfist, mainly because of the title. We thought it was kind of silly, as if action movie makers have a list of prescribed words they must use to make a title. The list may go as follows:

Blood Kick Punch Cage Fist Fight/Fighter Death Rage Terminal Extreme Force Impact Maximum Best Match Sport

We are announcing two new action movies to go into production: "Bloodpunch" and "KickPuncher". If you have any more words to add to this tentative list, please write in and leave a comment today.

Back to the Bloodfist, The Dragon is always watchable, and you like him as Jake, the good-natured fighter. Vic Diaz, who has been in every Filipino movie ever made, plays the policeman who hands Jake his brother's ashes in a vase. I guess they cremate first and ask questions later. Joe Mari Avellana, a familiar face around these parts, is perfect as the wise elder who puts Jake through his rigorous training. A movie like this wouldn't be complete without training sequences. Lastly there's Billy Blanks in an early role just bein' Billy. (Just Bein' Billy should the name for an upcoming sitcom featuring Blanks).

The big selling point of Bloodfist is its use of actual fighters, and their official titles and/or ranks appear on screen along with their names in the credits. This was just as important as who they are. While harsher reviewers might call this nothing more than a Corman knockoff of Kickboxer (1989) or Bloodsport (1988),cooler heads should prevail and realize most DTV punchfighting product is all cut from pretty much the same cloth. Some are better than others. Bloodfist might not be the absolute best of the bunch, but it's nowhere near the worst. It's a fairly early entry into the punchfighting sweepstakes, and some sort of attempt was made to make it entertaining, what with the actual plot developments/twists, etc.

For its classic (or near-classic) status alone, Bloodfist is worth seeking out.

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Produced by Roger Corman and shot in the Philippines, BLOODFIST screams 'cheap' from the outset. It's an obvious rip-off of KICKBOXER and BLOODSPORT, detailing the story of a young man forced to take part in a violent martial arts tournament while seeking his brother's murderer. There the similarities end. Although this film is notable for launching the screen career of fight champion Don 'The Dragon' Wilson, it's a complete mess, and frequently unwatchable.

The lack of budget and talent is obvious in the poor, uninteresting settings and inadequate lighting. The script feels like it was written on the back of a beer mat and the characterisation is cardboard-thin. The worst aspect, for me, is the choreography, which is so poor that you barely see a blow hitting, only people punching the air and their opponents pretending to fall backwards. This makes the many fight sequences laughable, and wastes the genuine talents of the little-seen Billy Blanks and other martial arts competitors.

Wilson himself is a bore, never showing the charisma or skill that made Van Damme a star, and he's hardly a hero to root for. The supporting cast is limited to a Pat Morita-style teacher who shows Wilson how to kick glass bottles off a bench (sad to say that this scene is a 'highlight'). There's also a buxom blonde in a parade of tight-fitting leotards and t-shirts, but she doesn't do a lot to raise the interest of even the dedicated male viewer of this nonsense. Things culminate in a boring showdown where our hero tears his enemy's earring off in fury – yes, that really is the height of the drama here. BLOODFIST is definitely one of the worst movies Roger Corman has ever been involved with. Incredibly, this spawned many sequels, so I guess somebody somewhere liked it!

Okay, let's say it up front, Bloodfist is on the cheesy side, mostly a product of its budget. But that being said, it generates a whole lot of horsepower for the four cylinders it's running on.

I found it in a re-release bin a few weeks ago and had a blast watching it with my karate-taking kid. It boasts volcanoes, a spectacular bay, a cock fighting arena as martial arts arena.

But the fights themselves are terrific (nothwithstanding the occasional whiff) -- the camera is constantly on the move, the editing is sharp and drives the action, the music expands what's on the screen.

The acting is passable -- these are fighters, including the great Billy Blanks. Don "the Dragon" Wilson is green, but so is the character he's playing.

What struck me the most is how the movie presages the MMA era we're now enjoying. Bloodfist helped bring back the martial arts movie, and sprang loose the early fittings for the relentless stuff in Strikeforce and others.