Edward R. Pressman, the producer behind rebooting “The Crow” has now announced a remake of the 1988 Jean Claude Van Damme action film “Bloodsport” with Phillip Noyce (“Salt”) directing a Robert Mark Kamen (“Taken” and the “Transporter” films) script. My first and only question is why?
“Bloodsport” was a really ordinary film that had some good fight scenes but was most notable for launching Van Damme into the limelight. Arguably it was the film “Kickboxer” (1989) that made Van Damme a star, but “Bloodsport” was the fan favourite. With no Van Damme, the remake will just be another fight film and don’t we have a million of them already?
They have re-worked the story a little from the original, according to Screen Daily the plot is: “…the story will follow an American who goes to Brazil to recover from the violence he has experienced in Afghanistan who gets involved in a martial arts contest.”
One of the key elements of the original film was the brutal, realistic fight scenes. Studios don’t like R ratings today and if the film is lumbered with a PG13 it loses one of its main ingredients; ultra violence. Unless they can find the next Van Damme, this will just be another mediocre action film that will disappear into obscurity. The original “Bloodsport” was not a huge success at the cinema, it built a cult following on home video so I’m not even sure, after 23 years, that the film even has name recognition with the current key demographic of the 18-25 year olds.
What are your thoughts on a remake of “Bloodsport”? Comment below.
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Hmmm… I can’t see how this is going to work without the Muscles from Brussels and his signature roundhouse kicks… and who the hell is going to play Chong Li?! I will literally vomit if its Jet Li…
I’m tired of all these ‘reboots’ – Fright Night, The Crow- don’t the studio execs realise that part of the charm of the originals is the decades that they are set in (Fright Night- 80s cheese, The Crow- early 90s Nirvana). It all just seems so lazy and pointless…
Everyone is saying Bren Foster will be cast… He is really the only guy that can do as good if not better at Martial arts and this time round they will have a guy that can ACT!!
I hope Bren is in this.. i agree with “FAST” the man is amazing all round!
Bren is dexterous in acting and martial arts
Dignified he must be.
Hollywood is running out of ideas
Meanwhile, if you want to see a review of the original film, check this out:
This is ridiculous. For one thing, the film was not ‘ordinary’. It’s excellent!!!! There is no room for improvement here. The cast is never to be repeated. There is no substitute for Bolo Yeung as Chong Li, and JCVD as Dux. An over-produced Hollywood version is as cheap and insulting to the original as Jessica Simpson covering “I Love Rock and Roll.” Leave it alone guys, get a new idea!!!!!!!
It is one of my favorite martial arts movie.. till this day I haven’t seen no martial artist kick the way he does. I mean those kicks land so perfect.. I would actually want to see a remake. even if van damme would be like a ninjitsu teacher in this flick.. instead of the Asian one in the original flick.. on the real he would be to old to be the one competeing in the ternament. that guy from undisputed 3 boyka would probably be good for the main guy
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