"B"-movie maverick Roger Corman's 1992 martial arts flick "Blackbelt" is in many ways a kickboxing-themed take on the highly successful "The Bodyguard," which came out that same year. "Blackbelt" stars Corman favorite, and 11-time professional kickboxing world champion, Don "The Dragon" Wilson, who also leads a cast of at least 10 other prominent kickboxing champs - most of whom will be largely unknown to anyone who was not following the world kickboxing scene of the 1980s and early 1990s.
In the film, Wilson plays Jack Dillon, a former cop and some-time professional bodyguard who runs a small martial arts dojo in Los Angeles. He is approached out of the blue one day by Shanna (Dierdre Imershein), a rising rock singer who recently received a box of flowers with a woman's severed finger in it. Reluctantly, she was convinced by her assistant and best friend to hire Jack for his services as a bodyguard - and in the process running afoul of both Shanna's sleazy manager and mobbed-up music producer, the latter of whom sends a legion of disposable henchmen after Shanna and Jack because he's certain that she will not renew her contract with him and thus cost him $2 million. And in a major subplot, the wild card in all this high-kick-'em-up craziness turns out to be John Sweet ("I Come in Peace" Mattias Hues), a psychopathic Vietnam War vet-turned-mercenary who has also showed up on the scene with his own personal agenda that he will stop at nothing to fulfill.
True to most Corman productions, "Blackbelt" riffs on a lot of bigger and better film productions - which writer/director Christopher Philip Moore borrowed from quite liberally. But of course, Corman's always been able to produce a film that is pretty cheap, but does also have some pretty slick production values given their budget limitations. Don "The Dragon" Wilson, hot off the success of the "Bloodfist" series - the first two of which, I have seen and liked - is at his usual high-kicking best, even if he's not the best or most charismatic screen hero out there.
"Blackbelt" is a good little flick for a rainy day, and if you're a die-hard kickboxing fan from the late '80s/early '90s.
5/10
In the film, Wilson plays Jack Dillon, a former cop and some-time professional bodyguard who runs a small martial arts dojo in Los Angeles. He is approached out of the blue one day by Shanna (Dierdre Imershein), a rising rock singer who recently received a box of flowers with a woman's severed finger in it. Reluctantly, she was convinced by her assistant and best friend to hire Jack for his services as a bodyguard - and in the process running afoul of both Shanna's sleazy manager and mobbed-up music producer, the latter of whom sends a legion of disposable henchmen after Shanna and Jack because he's certain that she will not renew her contract with him and thus cost him $2 million. And in a major subplot, the wild card in all this high-kick-'em-up craziness turns out to be John Sweet ("I Come in Peace" Mattias Hues), a psychopathic Vietnam War vet-turned-mercenary who has also showed up on the scene with his own personal agenda that he will stop at nothing to fulfill.
True to most Corman productions, "Blackbelt" riffs on a lot of bigger and better film productions - which writer/director Christopher Philip Moore borrowed from quite liberally. But of course, Corman's always been able to produce a film that is pretty cheap, but does also have some pretty slick production values given their budget limitations. Don "The Dragon" Wilson, hot off the success of the "Bloodfist" series - the first two of which, I have seen and liked - is at his usual high-kicking best, even if he's not the best or most charismatic screen hero out there.
"Blackbelt" is a good little flick for a rainy day, and if you're a die-hard kickboxing fan from the late '80s/early '90s.
5/10