Bloodsport III

Fans of martial art flicks will find pieces to like in 'Bloodsport 3', but the formula is starting to wear thin. The fights are alright, but saving grace is it's cast (many returning faces). By now you know the drill - training montages, revenge, spirituality - and while this entry doesn't have a satisfying finale, it's still got a level of b-movie charm. Once again the tale is told in flashback.

Alex Cardo (Daniel Bernhardt) won the Kumite in Bangkok and then retired from fighting to be a successful gambler in India. After beating off some ninjas at the local casino and retrieving a stolen package for the owners, he meets mob boss Duvalier (John Rhy-Davies) who's gonna host a Kumite and wants him involved. When Alex declines, he lashes out at people close to him, tries to have him killed or at the very least denied entrance to the tournament. He's put all his money on his fighter 'The Beast' and doesn't want him to upset his plans to win.

James Hong returns in a minor way as Sun again. Ditto Pat Morita as Leung and even Judge Macado (Hee-il Cho). They're not specific about how much time has passed, but Cardo has a young son (no word on the mother) now which he tells the tale. Honestly the story is piecemeal at best and illogical at worst. Obviously low budget and very simple. Few scraps along the way to the finale and there's hints of romance, but nothing ever comes of two ladies.

'Bloodsport 3' stands on it's own in the sense that you don't have to see the flicks that came before it, but being familiar with '2' adds heart. Bernhardt is still up to task, returning cameos help and while Davies doesn't get the opportunity to chew the scenery like the way he did in 'Cyborg Cop' just having him was nice. I can't discount though that I became bored and the Kumite, end villain was rather underwhelming.

Swiss martial arts dude Daniel Bernhardt stands in again for Van Damme in this second sequel to "Bloodsport". Alex Cardo has retired from martial arts after winning the Kumite in the last flick, but rich heavy Jonathan Rhys-Davies wants him to compete in a new Kumite he's putting on. When our hero refuses, Davies kills his former teacher James Hong (who wisely appears to have agreed to be in this movie for less than 5 minutes). Cardo seeks out Pat Morita (also in this flick for mere minutes), who hooks Cardo up with his brother, who trains him, even though it is repeatedly stated that Cardo is the best martial artist in the world. He returns to take revenge on Davies by entering the Kumite ... which is actually what Davies wanted him to do in the first place. I confess to being confused at this point. Cardo "gets revenge" by winning the competition, which is what Davies wanted ... but now he doesn't???

I knew that this 1996 movie existed, though I never got around to watching it before now in 2023. I can't claim that I was overly interested in "Bloodsport" without Jean-Claude Van Damme. But having just sat through the "Bloodsport 2" movie prior to watching part three, of course I opted to continue on watching the movies.

The storyline in "Bloodsport III", as written by James Williams, was a pretty straightforward and generic one. This time, Alex Cardo (played by Daniel Bernhardt) is out camping with his son Jason (played by David Schatz), when he tells his son the tale of how he won his second Kumite. Yeah, that was about the essence of this movie. Pretty weak storyline actually, but of course writer James Williams was boiling soup on a broth that was already watered down.

Initially I was thrilled to see John Rhys-Davies on the cast list, however his talent was not utilized at all throughout the course of the 91 minutes that the movie ran for. Instead, we get to watch Daniel Bernhardt take on a heap of fighters once again and emerging victorious, all the while doing his best to look like Van Damme in the original 1988 "Bloodsport" movie. Actors James Hong and Pat Morita show up for short appearances in the movie, which was a nice touch. A shame that they didn't opt to give actress Uni Park a bigger part to play.

The fighting in "Bloodsport III" is definitely what keep the movie afloat and keeps it semi-watchable. But of course you know the outcome of the entire ordeal prior to sitting down to watch the movie, so there are no surprises along the way from director Alan Mehrez.

The "Bloodsport III" movie is an archetypical example of a franchise that should have stopped when the going was good.

My rating of "Bloodsport III" lands on a bland five out of ten stars.

I saw Bloodsport, sadly one of Van Damme's best films, and could say it wasn't all that stupid. Number 2 was far more entertaining, mostly because they cast Daniel Bernhardt as the lead, (a basically taller, better acting, better looking and better fighting version of JCVD). Now comes lucky number 3. For the love of your sanity, don't see this movie! Don't touch this piece of maggot-infested crap! I lost an hour of my life that i'll never get back (thats how much of it I stomached before I tossed it out the window). If you feel the need to see a film that so bad that it actually entertains you, go see "Cool As Ice". Bloodsport 3, however, is not one of those films.

No pun intended - and I completely forgot to mention this when I reviewed the very first Bloodsport. Supposedly there is this secret tournament ... but also everyone seems to know about it. And it seems super easy to get to it ... to say the least. The reporter woman was a good example on that.

But back to this - a movie that sheds the last remaining part that connected the second movie with the first one! So no more Mr. Jackson for you (and for me ... and for all the viewers). But this does take Bernhardts character and tries to elevate him to a new level. We even have flashbacks to the second Bloodsport. Is that enough for you? Or the fact that the fight scenes are not entirely bad to be honest ... still there is something missing .. shame for the good lead ...