Bloodmoon Reviews

Aussie kickboxing sensation Gary Daniels and a team of high-powered stuntmen dazzle viewers with some of the sharpest martial arts choreography this side of Hong Kong. It's beside the point that the toneless scenario housing all of this muscular grace is merely a been-there, done-that revenge story line. Disgruntled at having been disqualified from participating in martial arts competitions, Chad (Darren Shahlavi) seeks revenge and stature by murdering other top martial artists. The case baffles maverick detective Chuck Baker (Chuck Jeffreys). Balking at being teamed with retired criminal profiler Ken O'Hara (Gary Daniels), Chuck shortsightedly doesn't realize that Ken is no coward, just a battered hero whose last case nearly cost him his life. Calling himself the "Bloodmoon Killer," Chad (whose specialty is a death blow delivered by screw-in steel-tipped fingers) kills Dutch (Rob Van Dam) and, in combat he broadcasts on the police computer, Ken's beloved instructor Master Welling (Ken Kensei). Welling's murder arouses the enmity of both Ken and Welling's daughter Kelly (Brandie Rocci). Ken and Chuck deduce that Kelly is the killer's next target. Having faked his death several years ago keeps Chad from suspicion, at least until Kelly figures out his ruse and he kills her. After kidnapping Ken's wife and daughter, Chad challenges him to an ultimate one-on-one bout at an abandoned factory. Having connected Ken's family to a bomb, Chad nearly kills interfering Chuck with a metal-fingered punch. The fight concludes with Ken knocking Chad off a high wall and freeing his loved ones. BLOODMOON's rousing finale compensates somewhat for a lack of tension in the rest of the film. The inevitably-resolved antagonism between Ken and Chuck is an obvious plot mechanism, and the two police veterans are mighty slow to discern a pattern from Chad's choice of victims. But the electric athleticism of the principal players makes up for the weak plot and substandard acting of some cast members. The effectiveness of the fight staging itself carries a daring element of surprise. Where other action pics opt for brutal impact, BLOODMOON displays martial artistry with wit and panache. If you're a martial arts maven, kick the rating up a half-star. As a showcase for tendon-bendin' terpsichore, BLOODMOON is definitely energizing. (Graphic violence, extreme profanity, adult situations.)