Bloodfist 5 - Human Target (1993)

this one's actually not a no-brainer

The Bloodfist series began with no-brainer tournament action, and has now evolved into an action series with a story that makes you think and pay attention to plot. Bloodfist 5 is one of the best overall b-action movies I have seen. It does not have a huge amount of martial arts action compared to movies like Bloodsport or Shootfighter, but it has a lot of suspense, pretty good acting, good charcaters, and fights that look realistic.

The best thing about Bloodfist 5 is the suspense. Don Wilson plays "Jim Stanton", a man who worked for some crimelords, but shot at the beginning of the movie and awaken in a hospital only to have his memory erased. Not knowing if worked for the crimelords or as an undercover CIA agent with them, both sides want Jim dead. Now he's on the run and can trust no one but himself. Jim continually comes in contact with both sides, but each time adds suspense and a new twist to the plot. There are plenty of fight scenes thrown in, but only keeping up with the realness of the story, so there aren't any long scenes or flashy sequences. Just real fights that get the job done.

The characters are great in this film, and their actor counterparts do a fine job. There are plenty of martial art movie faces such as Steve James (American Ninja), Ron Yuan (White Tiger, Ring of Fire), Yuji Okumoto (Karate Kid II) and I can't think of his name, but the guy that played the main villain in Shootfighter 2. Steve James is the only one who really gives Don a challenge, beatimg him with a metal pole at the end of the movie before Don finally gets some good punches and kicks in. The others guys get a good beat down over and over throughout the film.

Bloodfist 5 is a great overall movie. Again, don't compare this to hollywood blockbusters, but in the genre of tight-budget b-action flicks, this one entertains in more that just action. Not as good as bloodfist 4, but probably qualifies to be one of the best of the Bloodfist series. July 7, 2007

Surprisingly good fifth entry

Bloodfist IV was good and V is surprisingly even better. The Bloodfist series with each sequel seems to be fleshing out more and more story. The first two films were no brain karate flicks in which the story took a back seat. But with IV and V, the story is actually more important than the well staged fights. Like the previous sequels, there is no connection to the other films so you don't have to worry about watching these babies in order. This time Don "The Dragon" Wilson wakes up in a hospital after being shot in the head...only he has no memory of who he is. Suddenly he is being pursued by crimeloards and the CIA. Was he a ciminal or was he a undercover offical? Yes the story sounds reminicent of The Long Kiss Goodnight, but every Roger Corman production I have ever seen borrows from some other film so it was not surprsing. In Conclusion I found the film to use its tight budget really well and I dug the amount of time that went into to the script to come up with some unique plot twists. December 11, 2004

Kung fu Hong Kong-style

It's probably a well-known fact that some of the best martial arts movies come from Hong Kong. CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON is a contemporary classic from Hong Kong. Jackie Chan, Jet Li, and Chow Yun-Fat are all martial arts legends who have made it big through the Hong Kong cinema. Cory Yuen (aka Yuen Woo Ping) has made himself a household name by staging the karate battles in such outstanding kung fu films as THE MATRIX, CROUCHING TIGER, THE ONE, CRADLE 2 THE GRAVE, THE TRANSPORTER, etc.

Don "The Dragon" Wilson, WKA World Light-Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion, stars in BLOODFIST V:HUMAN TARGET, a movie very much in the tradition of Hong Kong cinema. "The Dragon" plays Jim Stanton, a federal agent hell-bent on breaking up the arms-smuggling ring of Kwon, a nefarious Chinese criminal whose latest deal involves some stolen plutonium. Unfortunately, Stanton is shot in the head and left for dead by some of Kwon's meanies. He awakens in a hospital bed with his memory completely erased. Both Kwon and Stanton's superiors, who believe he's become a double agent, have him at the top of their hit lists, making his "wife" Candy (Denice Duff) his only ally.

There's no denying that HUMAN TARGET's martial arts sequences are lavish and flashy. One of the great things about Don "The Dragon"'s movies is that he's always given worthy opponents to go toe-to-toe with. In HUMAN TARGET, one of them is Steve James, whose been in such karate gems as the AMERICAN NINJA series. I rank him at the same level of all the best opponent's Don "The Dragon" stuck it out with, including Billy Blanks (BLOODFIST), Maurice Smith (BLOODFIST II), Gary Daniels (BLOODFIST IV:DIE TRYING), and Matthias Hues (BLACKBELT).

Still, it's Don "The Dragon"'s movie, all the way, and how better to showcase his astonishing kickboxing abilities than to put him in a Hong Kong-esque kung fu movie? August 20, 2003

Out of nowhere!

I had no expectations when I popped in this video, which might be why I absolutely thought it was the greatest film since "Total Recall." Great twists and turns, and "The Dragon" was quite good. I appreciate his realistic fighting style rather than all this "wire work" that is so preposterous in movies like "The Matrix." This film really deserves attention. It is that good. I highly suggest getting this film. April 28, 2003

Awesome kickboxing picture!

Move over Steven Segal. This picture has a great plot, filled with turns in the plot that keep you guessing, never knowing who to trust. Denise Duff is quite good in this. Who is she?! Usually, in a kickboxing film you only get long drawn out fights and little story. This film has terrific fights that don't outlast their welcome and a story that really works. Technical credits are solid. Writing and directing are top notch. February 17, 2003

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