As a movie lover, I enjoy looking for or watching old films that have been tossed into the trash by bad reviews and terrible critics. This movie is one of them. It is a gem hidden under piles of bad reviews and ratings. From the title of the movie, I bet you can suggest what the movie is all about and what the plot is centered around, but I can promise you it is not what you think.
This movie was recommended to me by a good friend who is now late. Anytime I remember this movie, his memories come flooding back. Why? Because we went together to the cinema with some friends to see this movie. Hence why this movie has become one of my classics. It's a movie I can never forget.
”Lady Bloodfight” is a martial arts, action and crime movie that was directed by Chris Nahon. It was written by Judd Bloch and Bey Logan. This movie is the fifth installment of Bloodsport franchise. It starred Amy Johnston, Muriel Hofmann, Kathy Wu, Jenny Wu, Jet Tranter, Mayling Ng and along with others that we may be familiar with.
The storyline of this movie revolves around a young American lady, Jane who recently lost her job as a waitress in a cafe shop due to harassment from three male customers. She lost her job because she stood up for herself rather than to stomach down the harassment. So upon getting home after the bad at work she decided to travel to Hong Kong and find out how father died in a martial arts tournament he participated in years ago.
Jane successfully arrived at Hong Kong with nothing but her backpack and her father's photograph. As she began to explore the city in pursuit of her agenda she was attacked by three thugs who were trying to rob her. Jane being the brave and resilient one, fought off these thugs. This caught the attention of Shu, a female fighting champion who then assisted her to fend off these thugs. However, in the end, the thugs got away with Jane's father's photograph and some other valuables.
Afterwards, Shu then immediately recruits Jane to be her champion in the vicious, all-female underground martial arts tournament known as The Kumite. Shu began to train Jane so she would be ready when the tournament starts. Shu would've been her own champion but there is a reason why she has to bring forward a champion in her place. There is a little back story to it. Will Jane win the Kumite and find out how her dad died? Will Shu successfully train her?
My Review And Rating
I enjoyed watching this movie so much. It was quite entertaining, and thrilling. I will say this now, this movie doesn't support patriarchy. So if you are a fan of patriarchy, I suggest you don't watch this movie as it will just aggravate you.
This movie isn't just about women training and competing in a martial art tournament. No, it is a movie that excellently depicts a lot of things that are embedded with life lessons and morals. The themes this movie explores are all intertwined with its main and sub-plots. It was integrated together in such a way that it didn't give room for potholes in the story or flat characters. The plot was written well.
Some of the things this movie depicted was the darkness of humanity. When Sang, the organizer of the Kumite bets and tournament, confesses that he killed Wai’s brother to pay off his debts. This action created a grudge that lasted for years between Shu and Wai. Also, Sang’s action caused a chain of effects that led to a lot of bloodshed and affected the lives of the four main characters.
Another thing this movie portrayed was how seeking for revenge could lead to catastrophe and death. This was the story between Wai and Shu. They hate each other and seek each other's downfall. Wai was hell bent on avenging the death of her brother because she thought Shu killed him.
Also again, this movie depicted how pain can be your greatest motivator. Jane had a lot of pain she had kept bottled up inside. With this pain, it motivated her to go find answers about her father's death and it saw her through the Kumite training.
The cast of this movie were all amazing with their performances. The fighting was well and naturally portrayed by them that it almost seemed real. They did a very good job. The scene arrangements were good. The choreography was excellent, the cinematography was perfect and befitting. The camera was amazing because they gave us a 360° wide range of view during every fighting scene. The blood splatter had a strong effect of making the audience repulsive.
Rating this movie, I will give it 7.5 out 10 stars. It was good, thrilling, fast-paced and I was always on the edge of my seat for every fighting scene. It's a bloody film, there is violence there and if you get easily triggered I advise you don't see this movie.
I would recommend this move to lovers of martial arts and action films.
All images above are from the movie screenshots
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