Lua Sangrenta

This is clearly one of the best movies starring Gary Daniels. There are two reasons for that. The fight scenes in this movie are just great! Well choreographed, really exciting and WAY better than some of the other crap that Daniels has taken part in ("American Streetfighter" or "Capital Punishment", anyone?). It's a shame that Daniels hasn't gotten more good directors to work with, because it's really great when it finally happens. The second reason why I like this movie, is because of the cool buddy cop-feel between Daniels and Jeffreys. There haven't been enough of this kind of movies for a while. The story is also OK, although everyone should watch this movie for the action, and only for the action!

Action fans, rejoice. If you're fortunate enough to find this film anywhere, do not hesitate to snatch it up. If you're interested in Asian cinema, BLOODMOON will give you a sugar rush of the intense fight sequences you've enjoyed from such Eastern filmmakers as Tsui Hark and Yuen Woo-Ping. In fact, BLOODMOON has some of the best action choreography I've ever seen. I'd rank it up there with DRIVE (starring Mark Dacascos) and FIST OF LEGEND (starring Jet Li). It's a violent, balletic display of fighting prowess from stars Gary Daniels and the main villain played by Darren Shahlavi. To be honest, most of the fun of BLOODMOON comes from watching Darren waste the "best fighters" in New York City. He's essentially a serial killer that targets disciplined fighters (whether they be wrestlers or martial artists) and takes them down to prove that he's the best at what he does - which is taking people down! Darren dispatches these other combatants and often hysterical ways. It's not enough for him to flip a man over his shoulder to snap his neck (killing him instantly) - he then has to throw the man's corpse through a storefront window! It's a brutal sequence that will leave your sides splitting.

Gary Daniels is a more than competent actor. His English accent and charm is part of what makes him a likeable hero. He's also a committed family man, always concerned for his loved one's safety. His foreign status and unselfishness also make him a somewhat atypical hero. Oh, did I mention that he's a superb martial artist? Gary doesn't even have that many fights here (one short one versus a group of thugs and then two longer set pieces against Darren) - but when he's on, he's on. His abilities shine as he fights to the death with Darren for the safety of his niece and, during the climax, his daughter and estranged wife.

And the climax is the point at which this film unfortunately fizzles out - albeit slightly. There's a somewhat hokey resolution to BLOODMOON that's a little too convienent. And Darren goes down too easily for someone who's shown himself to be such a powerful force.

Bottom line, if you crave martial arts action, BLOODMOON will not let you down. It's a must-own film and one of the best action films outside of Hong Kong. I'd rank it fairly close to DRIVE - and anyone who's seen DRIVE knows that's high praise indeed.

Although the DVD cover and plot synopsis tries to promote "Bloodmoon" as a serial-killer thriller, that part of the film is the least successful one. It works much better as a "buddy movie" and a martial arts flick. Gary Daniels and Chuck Jeffreys have a surprising amount of chemistry: Jeffreys is obviously the better actor of the two, and perhaps working with him inspired Daniels to work a little on his acting as well. And Darren Shahlavi is truly spectacular as the villain - how can this guy move so fast? The action choreography in this movie is terrific; not one fight scene is bad, but the final showdown in particular is about as good as it gets. Do you remember Jackie Chan's fight against that deaf-mute guy at the end of "Police Story 2"? That's the level of combat I'm talking about. The Hong Kong influence can be clearly seen in the speed of the fighting, the occasional (don't worry, it's very occasional) use of wires, and the crazy, over-the-top stunts. In short, if you're a fan of the genre, "Bloodmoon" is at least worth seeing, if not owning. (***)

On the positive first, the fight choreography in this is top notch. One of the best I have saw for this genre. It literally hits, and it feels like there were painful touches in there. Its shockingly quite raw tbh. It does not have the dance quality of higher budget films that I hate. In fact, there is a point that I feel that maybe they are taking this fighting far too realistically. Its the clear highlight of the film.

What really makes this though interesting is the concept. Silence of a Kungfu Champion is a good summary for the story. It makes you like double take and seek it out.

Then story and presentation. I am more mixed to be honest. It is very sitcom-y. Let's say that. Its literally a Buddie cop but quirky and less realistic than your higher budget films. Each line has a weird hokey joke with it and its mostly campy fun in some ways. Sadly, it works 2/3 of the way (felt the middle part is far too slow). It loses a lot of momentum once the master got killed AND it got really muddled with a lot of the plot beats.

Soft recommendation. The fight scenes are the best.

This is one of those films you see and go tell your friends all about it. The action is well done and Chuck and Gary both have terrific martial arts abilities. Although I do think both men should have fought Darren at the end it was still a great film. It was rather fun to point out the obvious stunt doubles, but the action is in the same category as such films like Drive, Super Fighter, and No Retreat No Surrender 3. I hope I'm not offending anyone when I say this, but this proves that Asian choreography is much better than most American choreography. Darren kicks really good but I still am a big fan of Donnie Yen's (Iron Monkey Ballistic Kiss) kicks by far. This movie scores high in my words so check this one out. You will not regret it.