My review was written in February 1991 after watching the film on MGM/UA video cassette.
Second of three Don Wislon martial arts vehicles made for Roger Corman, this perfunctory exercise did not perform as well as the original at the box office. "Bloodfist II" is an MGM/UA video release.
Known as the Dragon, Wilson is a diminutive high-kicker who has the titles and expertise to whip any action movie superstar from Schwarzenegger to Van Damme in a fair fight. However, his acting is stilted and screen presence nil, making his films strictly for the purists.
In fact, both films have opening credits listing only the male cast members with the unusual designation of all their kickboxing and karate titles on screen. That's about as interesting as these features get.
This time, Wilson is called out of bed (with a pretty, nude woman beside him) to fly to the Philippines and search for a missing buddy. There he's befriended by another beauty (Rina Reyes) who gets him shanghaied to participate in a gladiatorial contest run by evil Joe mari Avellana.
The fight footage, some of it staged in a steel cage, looks about as real as wrestling and the cast is woefully short on character actors. Wilson's next film co-stars Richard Roundtree, so some attention has been paid to this failing.
Cornball script has Reyes switching sides and helping Wilson out by the later reels, while he has to fight the big match to the death against the friend he's been seeking. Climax is diluted by Wilson taking time out during the match to give an antidrug lecture.
Tech credits are meager, including phony sounding crowd murmuring dubbed in during the fight sequences.
