Straight-to-video hero Don "The Dragon" Wilson was never going to be one of the big time martial arts stars, but he does well enough with BLACKBELT, a film which may be the best of his career. BLACKBELT is a non-stop assault on the senses of extreme violence, bone-breaking brutality and bloodshed, with a wafer-thin plot that doesn't get in the way of a fight scene every five minutes or so. This is definitely one of the most violent fight flicks I've seen in a long time, and despite heavy cutting on release (both in the UK and the US) it still remains a gruesome exercise in stage blood and bone-breaking sound effects.
The plot is nothing special: imagine a hard-assed version of THE BODYGUARD with Wilson replacing Costner and you'll be halfway there. The female leads are non-actresses but attractive enough in their roles, and although Wilson is typically wooden as the hero he packs a wallop in the fight scenes and kicks ass more times than I can count. Matthias Hues (DARK ANGEL) is surprisingly good as the psychopathic killer and I love the flashback scenes which explain his mental disorder. It's a shame the shaggy-haired hardman hasn't appeared in more flicks and has been typecast as the villain; I for one would like to watch him as the hero for a change.
BLACKBELT offers one adrenaline-charged fight scene after another during its running time, all battles excellently choreographed by Wilson himself. The budget is low and executive producer Roger Cormaan seems to have played a part in assembling an American-looking Filipino cast to fill out the smaller roles, up to his old tricks again by the look of it. The wealth of action that BLACKBELT offers is impossible to dismiss and this film hits the mark where many others fail. The finale is a class act and his final one-on-one unmissable entertainment.
