I bought this one hoping for a fighting movie with Bolo Yeung as the main character. I was wrong about that. Bolo is more of a supporting character in the movie, and he only has one real fight. That was a disappointment to me, although the two main characters in the movie are OK. When it comes to the fight scenes, they're far from the best that I've seen. But, I've seen a lot worse too (try the totally ridiculous "Gladiator Cop", for example). The whole movie looks a bit cheap. The fight scenes are also very brutal, I guess they're the most brutal scenes I've seen I a martial arts movie. I have no problem with that, but I didn't really see the point in it. If you're not a hardcore action/martial arts-fan, you won't find any entertainment in this movie.
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sveknu19 September 2005
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udar556 April 2011Two young karate heads (Michael Bernardo and THE KARATE KID villain William Zabka) travel to Mexico and become seduced by the world of shootfighting, a deadly bloodsport type tournament. Hoping for a quick profit, our dudes stay to duke it out with a bunch of other fighters. Profit, however, is the least of the tournament organizer Mr. Lee's (Martin Kove) motives. Seems the boy's sensei Shingo (Bolo Yeung, in a rare good guy role) disgraced Lee in the past, leaving him with an arm forever in a brace. Seeing as how these are the prize pupils, Lee hopes to get the sensei to come to Mexico, setting the stage for and unscheduled rematch.
This was riding that post-BLOODSPORT wave (hell, they got Bolo) but perks it up a bit with some graphic violence (throat slashings, brain bashing, and even a heart ripped out). It was one of the few direct-to- video action titles back in the day to come out in R-rated and unrated offerings. The fight scenes are nothing new and the two leads (Bernardo looking like a muscle-bound Mickey Dolenz) are annoying. But you have to respect a film that casts Bolo as a docile sensei. There is even a bit where he shoots basketball with a young kid. You can't beat that type of anti-typecasting. Maryam d'Abo is the love interest and Eddie Albert also appears as a manager/gambler type (which he also did in FIST FIGHTER). The two karate kids and the sensei returned a few years later in SHOOTFIGHTER 2 (1996). -
swedzin15 April 2016This is one of those movies which is for karate, tae kwon do, kung fu and kick boxing fans, and of course, practitioners. This low budget martial arts movie, which is, as most of them very simple when it comes to the story, characters, directing and other stuff. There is simply no real complex stuff, no real dilemma between characters and no development. It's a typical good VS evil story with the haunting past element. A fighter Nick (Michael Bernardo) returns to his good friend Ruben (William Zabka), and upon their reunion they decide to sign in on the underground fighting tournament, held by Mr. Lee (Martin Kove). Nick founds out that the fights are brutal and sometimes to the death. But, Ruben is persistent and wants to fight. So, Nick asks for help from Ruben's teacher Shingo (Bolo Yeung), to save Ruben's life.
So, the movie is actually nothing special. Pretty bad when it comes to some stuff For example, actors can't act. Well, most of them are martial artists. The real actors are maybe Edward Albert, Richard Eden and Maryam D'Abo (and I still don't understand how did she get here?). Edward Albert and Richard Eden are not bad actors, but they really appeared in much of the low budget films. Martin Kove is also not a bad actor, but his villain Mr. Lee is just evil and that's it. He is evil and he looks kind of deadly. Nothing more. Though Kove posses some kind of charisma. Michael Bernardo didn't do much with his character, he just under played it. William Zabka was not that bad, I think he was decent. Though his character is somewhat irritating. Just wouldn't listen and he is too prideful. And not in an interesting, complex way he is just a jerk. Zabka did not move from these kind of films, he remained well known for being martial artist on the film, or rather a bully, just like in "Karate Kid". And for the last I saved Bolo Yeung. What can I say? This man cannot act and he doesn't have to. This man has such a powerful appearance on the film, such a powerful charisma and character that he simply doesn't need to act. He played himself basically, but this time he was the good guy. Go, Bolo, go! He is the main man.
The other things in the movie are nothing special, OK, the most important – fighting scenes. They were good, plausible. Well done filmed. Though, there are some that were ridiculous. And I think that music score is pretty interesting, especially in training montage. I recommend this film to all martial arts movie fans. -
michelle_garci16 February 2005I watched this for the first time a few years ago to declare my fan-lust for Michael Bernardo, back then anything that came out his mouth sounded good. But I saw it again today and on closer inspection, this movie has some of the worst dialog ever. When viewed with the sound off the actors do a generally good job of presenting their feelings, so they cannot be blamed for the corniness of the final product.
As such the deepest soul searching moments are the ones that are presented through what some may call typical a training montage, and of course the tournament fights with a wide variety of styles and weapons. -
Oh, those good old days of the VHS, when movies, no matter their low-budget, had meaning. Back in the 80s martial arts films were so popular that any backdoor-garage-studio could produce a low budget film and make tons of money. After JCVM paved the way for tournament fighting style movies with his successful film, "Blood Sport," it was sure that many others clones would follow. Shootfighter followed on the same path but with a lower budget and less flare.
Shootfighter tells the story of two friends, Ruben (William Zabka) and Nick (Michael Bernardo), who are tricked to fight in a no-holds-barred tournament to the death by a blood hungry shootfighter named Mr. Lee (Martin Kove). Their master, Shingo (Bolo Yeung), has to save them from Lee and his cronies.
This movie was memorable because it had Zabka and Kove, both antagonists on Karate Kid (1984) and Yeung the main antagonist in Blood Sport. Now, the acting was average, photography was average, the plot was average, but the martial art choreography was top notch. That's one thing, no matter how cheap movies were back in the 80s and 90s they had some awesome fighting.
If you love old martial arts films, get a pizza, a case of beer, and watch this retro junk on a late Saturday night. You won't regret it. -
DunnDeeDaGreat13 March 2003Shootfighter: Fight to the Death is a marital arts film at it's low budget best. But surpisingly the film does have some decent fight scenes. It was good to see William Zabka in another martial arts role and the always good Bolo Yeung. He final fight scene with Martin Kove is one of the best for both actors. If you get a chance check this one out cuz it's not half bad.
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emm21 December 1998Martial arts / U.F.C. freakazoids will go nuts over the bloody gore and immortal body battles displayed here in SHOOTFIGHTER. Of high interest is the semi-reunion of actors William Zabka and Martin Kove, who are best remembered in THE KARATE KID. Of greater interest is legendary martial arts star Bolo Yeung. So what? I've seen a lot of other "no rules arena fighting" movies using similar plots, choreography, and brutally violent effects, and it's not so different, only this time I was watching a different movie. To top it all off, it's pretty lame and senseless. Don't get mocked by "UNRATED" labels printed on videotape boxes! SHOOTFIGHTER does not set any new and unified standards!
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tarbosh2200012 May 2010"You-disgraced-the-art-of-shoot-fighting" This opening quote sets the tone for this lively beat-em-up starring the ever-lovable Bolo Yeung as Shingo.
The plot revolves around two buddies named Ruben and Nick played by Zabka and Michael Bernardo respectively. Yeung plays their mentor. There is the prerequisite montage where he teaches them to "shootfight" and also they play basketball with young black children and Shingo smiles in an oddly fatherly way. Before the shootfighting tournament, there is a fight in a grocery store a la "Cobra" (1986) where Bolo shows off both his fighting and his broken English skills.
You may remember Zabka as Johnny from "The Karate Kid" where he infamously swept his leg at Macchio. Apparently he couldn't get enough karate-chopping action, so he hooked up with director Patrick Allen to give birth to Allen's one and only cinematic baby.
Ruben and Nick get embroiled in an underground "Shootfighting" ring. They eventually have to shootfight each other...to the death, but not before battling an array of wacky baddies in the ring, such as "Boa", who acts like a snake (including the hisses) and Mongoose, who adopts a mongoose fighting style, whatever that means. Some fights have a surprising amount of gore (i.e. limbs and fingers being broken off in a bloody mess), and this provides unintentional laughter and it sustains the viewer's interest until the end.
Martin Kove plays the evil mastermind, inexplicably named "Mr. Lee", who is behind all the shootfighting, and in his villainous rage, slices a pineapple with a samurai sword.
What is "Shootfighting" you ask? Well, that question is never quite answered satisfactorily, but after doing some research we were able to determine (by reading the back of the VHS box) that it is a "forbidden sport so brutal it's banned from the civilized world".
Prepare to get uncivilized with this classic.
Comeuppance Review by: Ty & Brett
For more insanity, check out:comeuppancereviews.com -
jasperkjaerlarsen-2270015 September 2021This movie has some potential but throw it All away... The two main carecters has some fine acting sequences, but the plot is simply to stupid sorry!... Oh yes lets fight with swords, and lets fight for some money, to kill each other.. the Main actors actually seems to have some moral, till they start killing people, for some Pocket money... Only Bolo and wife has moral and likeability!
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CountJonnie2 April 2021Shootfighter was a succesful but also overlooked fighting tournament movie of a genre that was mainly focusing on Van Damme and eastern martial artists like Jackie Chan. The brilliance is that it had the production value of a mainstream movie, but it was made with and for martial arts fanatics.
This was noticable in the horrible acting, but that never bothered the movie. What made this movie special, is that unlike movies such as Karate Kid where the lead star had like zero experience, the martial arts in Shootfighter felt authentic and it kickstarted the stunt careers of various actors, before the age of Power Rangers, Mortal Kombat and WMAC Masters.
So if you want to know what started decent martial arts movies? Sure, it was Van Damme's Bloodsport, Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris, but also Shootfighter. -
Leofwine_draca20 July 2021SHOOTFIGHTER is a typical beat 'em up of the mid 1990s, notable for looking and feeling extraordinary cheap throughout and for casting no-name stars as the leads. It's a pity as the supporting cast is much more interesting, from KARATE KID's Martin Kove as another baddie to the wonderful Bolo Yeung getting to play a good guy for a change. Here, he's the mentor to the main characters, and he even gets a couple of fights to himself too. The story is nothing special, just the usual arena fights and fallings out, but at least it's visceral and violent with some organ-ripping mayhem added to the mix.
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Hollins62518 February 2022Not much of a story (or sense) but look at that cast!
Where were Daniel Larusso and Terry Silver during the shooting? Would have been great if they had a cameo or something else.
The fights are more brutal than expected and there are plenty.
Must-see for every Martial arts Fan. -
If nothing else is true, there is at least one thing that martial arts flicks rather reliably have in common, especially those developed in the United States (or at least outside Hong Kong). For the most part, plot is light or thin, and little more than a pretense to spotlight honored disciplines. There's absolutely nothing wrong with this; these titles have a clear intention and surely know exactly what they are. 'Shootfighter: Fight to the death' certainly fits into that same category. There's a narrative, yes, but it's broadly unremarkable, and bears definite similarities to those of other pictures - and just as much to the point, the length is filled with scenes that quickly shift into fights, accentuating the thrust of the title. And with that: so long as you have no expectations otherwise, this is pretty decent, if unremarkable in the long run.
It's easy enough to highlight the movie's faults, or at least where it could have used a little more attention. The characters are pretty flat and standard: the hothead, the one with the troubled past who's trying to be better, the wise teacher with A History, the bad guys, the girlfriends. Most of the cast show glimmers of nuance in their performances that would surely sprout under the right circumstances, but a hardnosed fighting movie isn't that, and the restrictions are evident of what acting abilities they may possess. It's also noteworthy that the plot is even lighter than one may assume upon starting to watch, and I'd be lying if I said the climax didn't feel a little forced. Perhaps more substantively - if to a lesser extent than some of its brethren, 'Shootfighter' makes use of overzealous camerawork and editing in depicting some of the action scenes. There are too many times when, instead of plainly showcasing the genuine impact of each blow, the rapidity of the fundamental filmmaking is intended to heighten the thrills instead. In some instances this is important from a very real safety standpoint, especially in the last act, but overuse dampens some of the visceral stimulation that the film might have to offer.
On the other hand, while the presentation of martial arts is imperfect, it's better than not. Between the unmistakable skills of many of those assembled, and excellent choreography, the fight scenes are outstanding - tense, violent, exciting, and highly invigorating. Weirdly, 'Shootfighter' seems to be the only directorial credit for Patrick Alan, but in my mind it appears as though he demonstrates sufficient capability that I'm surprised he didn't make more movies. The action sequences are the chief draw of this title, and they make the viewing experience worthwhile - but there are, actually, other bits that are done well, too. If not terrific and essential, the score composed by Joel Goldsmith is gratifyingly dynamic and grabbing in no few instances, lending to the drama of the matches. The basic arrangement of every scene, including the whole environs of the tournament, feel suitably slimy and real. And while the screenplay at large merely serves its purpose - the utmost potential isn't teased out - we get peeks of character depth, their backgrounds and mentalities, that even unfulfilled is softly enticing.
Of course, one could him and haw about qualities and critiques all day. When all is said and done the only point of inquiry 'Shootfighter' cares about is the value of the fighting, and by that measure, this is pretty swell. Again, the martial arts violence illustrates flaws in action film-making, but is generally tight, fluid, and energizing; the picture is well made overall, and I do like it. It's just that unless one is an utmost fan of someone involved, there's no particular reason to seek out this specific production over another, and others unquestionably stand out more. (Also, despite Bolo Yeung's top billing, and the supporting part of Maryam d'Abo, neither have all that much screen time, so don't get your hopes up on their accounts.) Still, if you've somehow stumbled across 'Fight to the death' in the first place, chances are it's something that's going to be up your alley one way or another. Don't go out of your way to see this, but if you chance upon it, 'Shootfighter' satisfactorily scratches the itch for fighting fun. -
Autlan19 April 2006A quarter million grand prize waiting at the top of the shadowy podium pits hungry combatants with diverse fighting styles against one another. Some fighters more aware of the extent of the changes to the rules than others.
Enter two fleet footed late twenties with a rad taste for cheesy ambient music and chest thumping teenage dialogue. Frustrated with the pace of the official ladder these restless slow-bloomers watch a promotional shootfighting video and quickly decide to take time out of their busy chick wooing schedule to head for Mexico.
After less than glowing results in the first leg, the two disagree when it comes to upping the stakes to move into the next round. They go their separate ways, rebellious drifter taking straight arrow's place training for the Karate Regionals while he adopts his own training regime to ready himself for the shootfighting finals.
The finals unveil the brutality in a flurry of heated death matches and without an exit his buddy has to return to fight by his side. Foolhardy deal making tests the limits of their friendship and ultimately presses their trainer and shootfighting master into the match he refused the exiled leader of the underground Mexican ring all those years ago. -
nagyovamonika25 March 2018I personaly like this movie. Seen it for the first time as a little girl when it just came out. Its a good karate movie from 1993 so of course if u watch it 20 years later its not gonna be the same. Especialy when karate movies are not as popular as they use to in 90's. So the bad reviews are not very fair.
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cspschofield31 January 2007Shootfighter (and its sequel Shootfighter II) can claim only one real distinction; it gives Bolo Yeung a chance to play a good-guy for a change. I happen to like that. Otherwise it is a not- bad example of the 'no-rules tournament' school of martial arts film. The music strikes me as above average, and the acting isn't actually painful, but this isn't deep, significant, or an undiscovered gem of film history. It's a "B" film; an exploitation gig - what Roger Corman would do if he was into punch and kick operas.
Jet Li does this better, and so does Chuck Norris sometimes. Otherwise, you could do a LOT worse. -
You have probably watched Bloodsport with Jean Claude Van-Damme and the awesome Bolo Yeung as a villain, Bolo also stars in this movie, he just have one fight, but his role is important for the plot.
Nick and Ruben decides to join some shootfighting matches for win a great amount of money. The shootfighting champion is Mr Lee, Lee killed Shingo's brother (played by Bolo Yeung, Shingo is also the master of Nick and Ruben) in a shootfighting match, held in Hong Kong. Is this a chance for Shingo for revenge his brother's death ?
Like i said, there is a touch of gore (including the most graphic arm breaking scene that i ever saw), that made the movie more enjoyable. Bolo Yeung performance was awesome, just like in Bloodsport, but here, Bolo have an important role for the plot. The soundtrack was just OK for this kind of movie. watch it, IT'LL TEAR YOUR HEART OUT ! -
Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Shootfighter; here's the breakdown of my ratings:
Story: 0.75 Direction: 1.25 Pace: 1.50 Acting: 1.25 Enjoyment: 1.50
TOTAL: 6.25 out of 10.00
Once in a while, there comes a surprise in the Martial Arts movie genre. An original story. Shootfighter is not that surprise. The only astonishing thing about the story is that it required three writers to borrow the usual elements from other fight flicks.
We have a villain, Mr Lee, who makes an enemy out of Master Shingo when he kills one of his pupils and friend in the Shootfighting ring. Mr Lee believes shootfighting should ask for the ultimate sacrifice. Unluckily for him, nobody else believes people should die for the sport, so he is exiled from the country. It's not long before he opens the gates to his own Shootfighting arena in Mexico, where a fighter's death is commonplace. Enter Rubin (the angry one) and Nick (the normal one), martial arts experts looking to make a quick buck to pay off the shark's loan on their dojo. Being the champions they are, it doesn't take long for them to enter the arena of death. Except, they don't know the principal fights are fatal. Oh, and guess what - their Sensai is none other than Master Shingo. But hey, it's a good job that most audiences don't watch Martial Arts movies for the riveting storyline.
The fighting isn't the best you'll see in the genre. However, a few different styles are on offer, which will please most. Luckily for the viewer, director Patrick Alan does a respectable job filming the fight sequences. Every fight holds an element of tension and excitement, which is what you need, especially when the weapons come into play.
The reason I watched Shootfighter was purely for Bolo Yeung. The physic on this man is intimidating. But when he gets his game-face on, he's downright scary. His fighting style also comes across as one of the strongest. It was a shame that he was not in the film for long. Out of the two main characters, it's Michael Bernardo, as Nick, who comes across as the stronger fighter of the duo. However, his acting skills aren't as sharp as William Zabka's. Though it's Maryam D'Abo I felt sorry for her as, like Yeung, she has little to do in the film, which is a sin as she's a good actress.
All-in-all, Shootfighter is a passable fight flick to pass an hour and a half of your time enjoyably. The fights are well choreographed and engaging enough for genre fans and newbies alike to savour. Well worth a watch or two.
Please feel free to visit my Holding Out For A Hero list to see where I ranked Shootfighter.
Take Care & Stay Well. -
paul_haakonsen28 December 2022Okay, well I have had the 1993 movie "Shootfighter: Fight to the Death" on DVD laying around for several years before I actually got around to watching it. Having picked it up at a cost of next to nothing in the local thrift shop, I only got around to watching it after a friend said it was actually a good movie.
I had always put off the movie on two accounts, first and foremost because of the lousy title. I mean, "Shootfighter", come on. What does that even mean? It is just hands down one of the worst and most laughable titles I have seen to a movie. And I can't claim that I have been much of a fan of Bolo Yeung neither.
However, I must admit that "Shootfighter: Fight to the Death" was actually a good movie, it was somewhat reminiscent of the "Blood Sport" movie in many way, yet mixing in elements from other martial arts movies. But still, writers Judd Lynn, Larry Felix Jr., Peter Shaner and Robert Ginty managed to put together an enjoyable enough script for director Patrick Alan to bring to life on the screen. Sure, the storyline was pretty straight forward and somewhat generic for an early 1990s martial arts action movie, but isn't that what makes it all the more enjoyable?
Something that definitely surprised me about "Shootfighter: Fight to the Death" was the cast ensemble. They definitely had a lot of familiar faces on the cast list, with the likes of Bolo Yeung, William Zabka, Martin Kove, George Cheung and Gerald Okamura. I have to admit that "Shootfighter: Fight to the Death" was actually one of the better movies that I have seen Bolo Yeung in, aside from "Blood Sport". And it definitely was fun to have Martin Kove and William Zabka back on the screen together after having seen them in the movie "Karate Kid" and later again in the "Cobra Kai" series.
There was a good amount of display of martial arts in the movie, and let's just be honest here, that is why we watch these movies, isn't it? To see impressive martial arts and fight sequences. And "Shootfighter: Fight to the Death" definitely has that. Sure, some of the martial arts performers weren't really great actors, but they definitely knew their fighting well enough.
I found "Shootfighter: Fight to the Death" to be genuinely entertaining and enjoyable. It was a trip down memory lane and back to when I was a teenager, growing up with these martial arts movies. Just look beyond the laughably bad title, and you have a rather enjoyable movie on your hands.
My rating of "Shootfighter: Fight to the Death" lands on a six out of ten stars. -
Terrorantula21 July 2020The fighting is good, especially with the weapons, and I just love bolo...but there are tons of plot inconsistencies and for some indescribable reason the main two characters appear to be two guys who are boyfriends that in the beginning seem to share one older girlfriend, I dont know if it's bad directing or intentional but it's uh... unique and sometimes confusing.