Shootfighter - Scontro mortale

Two young karate heads (Michael Bernardo and THE KARATE KID villain William Zabka) travel to Mexico and become seduced by the world of shootfighting, a deadly bloodsport type tournament. Hoping for a quick profit, our dudes stay to duke it out with a bunch of other fighters. Profit, however, is the least of the tournament organizer Mr. Lee's (Martin Kove) motives. Seems the boy's sensei Shingo (Bolo Yeung, in a rare good guy role) disgraced Lee in the past, leaving him with an arm forever in a brace. Seeing as how these are the prize pupils, Lee hopes to get the sensei to come to Mexico, setting the stage for and unscheduled rematch.

This was riding that post-BLOODSPORT wave (hell, they got Bolo) but perks it up a bit with some graphic violence (throat slashings, brain bashing, and even a heart ripped out). It was one of the few direct-to- video action titles back in the day to come out in R-rated and unrated offerings. The fight scenes are nothing new and the two leads (Bernardo looking like a muscle-bound Mickey Dolenz) are annoying. But you have to respect a film that casts Bolo as a docile sensei. There is even a bit where he shoots basketball with a young kid. You can't beat that type of anti-typecasting. Maryam d'Abo is the love interest and Eddie Albert also appears as a manager/gambler type (which he also did in FIST FIGHTER). The two karate kids and the sensei returned a few years later in SHOOTFIGHTER 2 (1996).