elshikh4
Despite what you think, despite what hundreds of reviews think, and despite what I myself sometimes think; this is one cool action movie.Yes, Gary Daniels can't act, Chuck Jeffreys' magic routine is weird (doing it over dead buddies !), Frank Gorshin is all-the-time angry, and Darren Shahlavi is horrible ! But hey, this time you can forgive. And for 2 reasons.Firstly, there is redemption. A very fine one. Which's the rest of the movie. I mean, look at the fight sequences; they can't get more perfect. Their choreography is magnificent, their performing is flawless, and their direction is fiery. In brief; it's rare when you see hard-working, creatively-done, and highly entertaining action like this. Kudos to the movie's choreographer and director Siu-Hung Leung. This man knew and loved what he was doing.Then, the writing. It made the antagonist as a martial arts heroes killer; which's interesting, as it's the serial killer movie where we'll have the opportunity of enjoying a fight sequence before every murder. The buddy cop formula was on. Not the best, but workable. The script was surprising and convincing; one of the definitions of "smart" in my book. The use of the internet element wasn't less smart. It even managed to add some emotional moments; concerning a father and daughter relationship, and an odd-couple turned good-buddies relationship. I just hated the personal, no legal, man-to-man encounter in the end, where killing is the only available justice !You have to love extra merits; such as the rapid-fire pace, the expressive electronic music, the lovely montage of New York, and the sexy body of Brandie Rocci. Secondly, there is a strange quality. It's in the way this movie's bad points develop into good. Watch carefully the infamous acting form nearly everybody, especially the iconic one of Shahlavi. It's TOO DAMN LAUGHABLE! It magically serves as brilliant comedy. Shahlavi is worth watching, more than once, for every single reaction he does. His smiles, eye looks, and way of talking; all were done in a style that great comedians can't reach !Daniels's low acting talent is compensated by his presence and martial arts wonders. Jeffreys' magic routine was a feature to make his character funny; and it's better than similar features, done with other sidekicks, in other buddy cop movies, for the same purpose; like Dan Aykroyd's schizophrenic spasms in Loose Cannons (1990), Kevin Kline's love for disguise in Wild Wild West (1999), and Josh Hartnett's acting mania in Hollywood Homicide (2003) ! Gorshin wasn't a disharmony; scrutinize most of the police chiefs, in the American action / thrillers since Dirty Harry, and you'll easily find out that they're nothing but screaming angry naggers !In this manner, some details are rather appealing. For example, the evil man's customs; as if he's KISS' biggest fan. His joyful bomb at the end. His explanation of it, as he refuses to kill children, yet left on a recorded tape, in case he died (how thoughtful !). And the way how that very tape starts running right after the explosion (Now how precise !).1997 was light on the buddy action movie (Men in Black, Double Team, The Edge), and heavy on the buddy comedy movie (Mousehunt, Gone Fishin', Fathers' Day, Nothing to Lose, Out to Sea, Money Talks, Trial and Error, Good Burger). Now here's Bloodmoon, which can proudly join the list of that year's best buddy action movies,.. and best buddy comedies as well ! It's where the vices can be considered virtues.. Aaah, the more you live, the more you see !
Raging Gaijin
Action fans, rejoice. If you're fortunate enough to find this film anywhere, do not hesitate to snatch it up. If you're interested in Asian cinema, BLOODMOON will give you a sugar rush of the intense fight sequences you've enjoyed from such Eastern filmmakers as Tsui Hark and Yuen Woo-Ping. In fact, BLOODMOON has some of the best action choreography I've ever seen. I'd rank it up there with DRIVE (starring Mark Dacascos) and FIST OF LEGEND (starring Jet Li). It's a violent, balletic display of fighting prowess from stars Gary Daniels and the main villain played by Darren Shahlavi. To be honest, most of the fun of BLOODMOON comes from watching Darren waste the "best fighters" in New York City. He's essentially a serial killer that targets disciplined fighters (whether they be wrestlers or martial artists) and takes them down to prove that he's the best at what he does - which is taking people down! Darren dispatches these other combatants and often hysterical ways. It's not enough for him to flip a man over his shoulder to snap his neck (killing him instantly) - he then has to throw the man's corpse through a storefront window! It's a brutal sequence that will leave your sides splitting.Gary Daniels is a more than competent actor. His English accent and charm is part of what makes him a likeable hero. He's also a committed family man, always concerned for his loved one's safety. His foreign status and unselfishness also make him a somewhat atypical hero. Oh, did I mention that he's a superb martial artist? Gary doesn't even have that many fights here (one short one versus a group of thugs and then two longer set pieces against Darren) - but when he's on, he's on. His abilities shine as he fights to the death with Darren for the safety of his niece and, during the climax, his daughter and estranged wife.And the climax is the point at which this film unfortunately fizzles out - albeit slightly. There's a somewhat hokey resolution to BLOODMOON that's a little too convienent. And Darren goes down too easily for someone who's shown himself to be such a powerful force.Bottom line, if you crave martial arts action, BLOODMOON will not let you down. It's a must-own film and one of the best action films outside of Hong Kong. I'd rank it fairly close to DRIVE - and anyone who's seen DRIVE knows that's high praise indeed.
elcabio
This is one of the few watchable B movies, you can actually appreciate. Not as good as "Drive", but it joins a select few American made action movies that have entertaining segments. Don't expect any performances that would make Anthony Hopkins shudder with envy. Ofcourse, this movie has a Hong Kong action director...Elcabio
SoHigh
This was actually a good martial arts movie that had a somewhat original plot. The fight scenes were killer and the acting wasn't half bad. But truly, the greatest thing about this movie was the on-screen presence of the world's greatest athlete . . . that's right folks, Mr. PPV, Mr. Monday Night, the Whole F'N Show himself, Rob Van Dam. I recommend this one if you can find it at the video store, but look for it late one Saturday night on HBO or the Movie Channel or some cable network.
