Máximo Combate

Alex, notorious street fighter and thief, meets the kung fu master Sun in prison, who teaches him the deadliest of all martial arts disciplines: "the iron hand". However, after his release, Alex has to fight in "Kumitte" - brutal full-contact fights without rules. Alex quickly realizes that there is much more at stake. He has to fight for his life...

I didn't expect this to be better than Bloodsport, it's hard to top that 1988 classic, however this sequel isn't too bad. It's watchable at least for the kumite and there's plenty of matches featuring an array of different styles. Donald Gibbs reprises his role as Jackson. Daniel Bernhardt, who resembles Van Damme and Sean Connery, does well as the hero. He fights well, though he lacks Van Damme's unique Belgian charm. The main villain, however, is bland and not as imposing as Bolo Yeung. The bits between the fights are so-so and isn't as interesting. Overall, a passable effort.

It may have the usual tropes of a martial arts flick, but 'Bloodsport 2' is a decent dtv sequel that stands on it's own without ruining what came before it. I'm really surprised at how competent this turned out to be instead of a drag. The fisticuffs display decent choreography, plus some known faces and a story that traces betrayal, redemption, friendship. This was my first time seeing Daniel Berndhardt too though the man was no stranger to these types of flicks.

Alex Cardo (Bernhardt) a self centered thief steals a valuable katana from wealthy businessman Mr. Leung (Pat Morita) in Thailand. When his partner John (Philip Tan) betrays him, he's caught and sent to prison where he meets Sun (James Hong). A man who teaches him to be a better person and a mystical martial art 'Iron Hand'. He also learns about a Kumite coming up and how brutal head prison guard Demon (Ong Soo Han) has entered. Leung uses influence to free Alex who enters the tourney, but at the price of getting back the katana.

Coming in at a light 80 mins nothing here will surprise a seasoned viewer of b-movies and there's some undeniable weak elements. The Kumite just happens to be taking place there instead of Hong Kong (as before) and you just have to roll with it. Ditto a lone lady fighter which doesn't come off very well. On the plus side, Alex's arc from being an a-hole to trying to atone for his sins comes off well. Morita, Hong are fun to see though the latter shouldn't be in a fight scene. Like the first title, different fighting styles get shown off and it was a hoot to see Donald Gibbs return as Jackson too.

Obviously low budget fare, 'Bloodsport 2' suffers from a scattered story and some suspect editing. Definitely juggling one too many friendly characters by the end. However I was glad it didn't trash the original unlike 'Kickboxer 2'. Demon is shades of Bolo Leung and Berndhardt comes off pretty well. I'll give 'Bloodsport 3' a chance seeing as how decent this turned out.

I just finished watching this movie right now, I've seen it a flew times now, and I like it, its a good martial arts movie, al thogh...it still dosnt come close to the first Bloodsport, which is one of my favorite films of all time. its a classic.....you should see this movie if you like movies like this......but, I gotta say, the guy who plays Alex is the best Van damme rip off I have ever seen!....I think they should make a new bloodsport , and call it, Bloodsport 5: the return of Frank Dux! lol, and have Van Damme fight this guy that trys to imitate him in these movies! That would be funny!

There were only a few issues that kept this from being a better film. We don't care about the hero. There's no exposition (not including the old man telling the story to the kids). And there's no reason why we should like him. 5 minutes of background on his character and some events that make us cheer for him would be helpful. Pat Morita and Donald Gibb in very minor throw away roles that just tries to give the film some kind of pedigree. The acting was atrocious. The music if there was any was forgettable. The love scene didn't work. The villain was not as developed as he should have been. It's OK to have a woman in the kumite, but she would have to be the greatest technical fighter in the world to compensate for the huge disadvantage of the overpowering strength of the men. And she wasn't that skilled. Still an enjoyable film for Bloodsport fans. But it could have been better.

After watching "Bloodsport" and enjoying that movie to the fullest, I just had to watch the sequels too even though van Damme has nothing to do with them. Instead, Swiss Daniel Bernhardt takes the role of our fighting hero. In my opinion, he makes a really good replacement for van Damme. The fight scenes are really great in this movie too, and there are lots of it to make every martial arts fan out there satisfied. The villain in this movie, 'Demon', is unfortunately not nearly as interesting as Bolo Yeung's 'Chong-Li' was in the first. But that's a minor detail. But seriously, this "Iron-hand"-stuff should have been removed from the script. It was just too ridiculous in a movie that tries to be a bit realistic. On the upside: It was really cool to see that Donald Gibb returned as 'Jackson'.