Member AlbertV Posted May 2, 2008 Member Share Posted May 2, 2008 I just watched a movie called The Number One Girl, and it was a very cheesy martial arts actioner about a former kickboxing champion who is invited by his best friend, a London mobster, to be the judge at a beauty pageant..next thing you know, the champ falls for the #1 contestant, who the mobster has a thing for and then the champ has to fight the mobsters' bodyguards before taking his former buddy on in a fight to the death. This was extremely cheesy and the fight scenes themselves were pretty badly edited. The film stars Vinnie Jones as the mobster, 2001 World Karate Champion Tony Schiena (WAKE OF DEATH) as the former champ and in his final film role before his death, Pat Morita as the host of the pageant. So, I would like to know what American made martial arts films, whether it was a Hollywood A-list film or a straight to video B-Z movie you felt should join this film as some of the cheesiest bad martial arts film list? Here's a few more for me: Tiger Street - It started off having potential but I expected a better final showdown between Julian Lee and Christophe Clark. Would have been Tae Kwon Do vs. Freestyle Karate. Equal Impact - Twin taekwondo brothers Jay and Joe Gates play twin MA champions and one of them is kidnapped forcing the other to find him. There aren't exactly enough good fighters in the film overall to save the film, but the Gates Brothers are really good and did the best they can to work with the fight scenes. Cyborg Cop - David Bradley's possibly worst action film. The major problem comes in the fight scenes. Sometimes, the camera angle was so bad that in one scene, he completely misses kicking a thug, but the thug played it off as getting hit. That's how bad this was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Chinatown Kid Posted May 2, 2008 Member Share Posted May 2, 2008 Don Wilson's original Bloodfist has to be on that list, although Bloodfist 2 wasn't too bad with some nice fights. Also Ring of Fire(another Don Wilson flick), To Be The Best, Final Impact and Street Crimes(all starring Micheal Worth), King of the Kickboxers, No Retreat/No Surrender films, Tiger Claws and Shootfighter(both starring Bolo), and Blood Moon starring Gary Daniels to name a few. Not saying all of these are bad either, some I quite enjoyed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted May 2, 2008 Author Member Share Posted May 2, 2008 Same here...speaking of Michael Worth..just did his profile on the main page. I just thought of a few more: American Streetfighter - Gary Daniels Full Impact - Gary Daniels Capital Punishment - Gary Daniels Future War - Daniel Bernhardt (before Bloodsport 2) Personally, I like the martial arts films made by PM Entertainment because it seems they knew how to edit fight scenes at times. Loved the way the fight scenes were edited in RING OF FIRE, with the double takes from different angles mixed with some very nice slow motion shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Monk Sante Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 I have 2 titles for ya,'Kill or be killed' & Kill & Kill agian. Oldies & cheesy just the way I like em. Opps I forgot these are not American films, can't forget those accents. OK, I'll throw in the Cheesy Sho Kosugi films from the 80's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member MasterDrunk Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 Yer AlbertV that Number One Girl was a cheesy stinker. I recently found a free {thank god} download of it. Being from UK I was curios as Vinnie Jones is big over here and i thought whats this? it never made it into Blockbusters/cinema's, now i know why lol{he'll do anything for a few quid/bucks low}. To add to your list id put all the Karate Kid movies for although i enjoyed them as a kid, there was more cheese in those than an Edam factory. And anyone who disagrees you can wax off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Morgoth Bauglir Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 American Chinatown. One of the most poorly made movies I have ever seen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted May 3, 2008 Author Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 All the sad too because the star of American Chinatown, Taejoon Lee, is the son of the founder of Hwarang-Do. I did like Bobby Kim as the mentor though it would have been nice to see him fight in the film. Is it just me or is Bloodfist the most copied movie since Fist of Fury? Bloodfist (Don Wilson) Full Contact (Jerry Trimble) Angel Fist (the late Cat Sassoon) Dragon Fire (Dominic La Banca) Bloodfist 2050 (Matt Mullins) Same plot...fighter enters tournament to avenge sibling's death with "surprise twist" in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Endsang Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 You seem to be forgetting STREET FIGHTER, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme! Then again, I find pretty much all American martial arts movies cheesy, more or less. Could also mention Best of the Best, especially with the sobbing finale. Bloodsport and Kickboxer are also indeed cheesy, but in a good way, and they actually feature some pretty decent martial arts! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tantheman Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 Has anyone seen Angel Town, this late 80s, early 90s cheesy looking American actioner starring Kickboxing champion Olivier Gruner? I've seen the trailer about a thousand times on some VHS copies of movies like Above Law (aka Above the Law). I always thought it looked worth a watch for some strange reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 It's pretty bad Tantheman....! I have BLOODSPORT,KICKBOXER, NRNS, KING OF THE KICKBOXERS, AMERICAN NINJA, and thats about it for american MA flicks! I can dig em' for their 80's cheesiness. But when I wan't real action, I look East! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member GungFuFighter Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 No Retreat, No Surrender American Shaolin King of Kickboxers Bloodsport Kickboxer 1, 2, and especially 4 American Kickboxer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tigerstyles Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 Angel Town is not cheese its class! shame theres no DVD release Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Tantheman Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 Tigerstyles, dude, you must be joking. From the trailer it looks like cheese city! But do you actually think its good? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kingofkungfu2002 Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 I still have Angel Town on VHS, and although I haven't seen it in ages, I remember it being okay. I agree, I'm also surprised it hasn't been released on DVD. I'll add a couple of movies to the list though: Ironheart (Bolo, Richard Norton) Breathing Fire (Jonathan Ke Quan, Jerry Trimble, Bolo) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted May 3, 2008 Author Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 (edited) I have Angel Town on VHS (taped it from cable) and it was pretty cheesy. It gives a message about joining gangs and Olivier Gruner does some pretty nifty kickboxing scenes in the film, but he doesn't have any real opponents worth mentioning. I did like Peter Kwong's appearance as Gruner's friend and a fellow martial arts instructor. Trivia: Playing the driver of Stoney's gang was a pre-fame Mark Dacascos. Edited May 27, 2021 by AlbertV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member TibetanWhiteCrane Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 Talking about 80's cheese.... THE LAST DRAGON has em' all beat! Sho nuff' the ghetto samurai.... holy balls, who wrote this...??!! But it is funny as hell though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Chinatown Kid Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 I went to see all of Van Damme's cheesy movies in the early 90's like Death Warrant, Lionheart, Double Impact, and Universal Soldier and did enjoy them at the time, he was the only one putting out major movies featuring martial arts action in the US beside Stevan Seagal at the time. He wasn't that good of an actor but he did have charisma and some nice kicks and flexibility. It's a shame he got on dope(Cocaine)later in his career and he took a backslide and lost alot of respect from fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member gravedigger666 Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 I watched today American Ninja#5,it was quite cheesy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kingofkungfu2002 Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 I watched today American Ninja#5,it was quite cheesy. Ah yes, James Lew in a cape Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member rawtee Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 I have an odd one called "Breathing Fire" starring Jonathan Ke Quan AKA the character "DATA" from the Goonies (that 80's film if you might rememebr". The movie seems reminiscent of something Roy Horan would do (a la superfights)but out of no where Bolo Yeung was bored and played the villain. Its preeeety cheesey but rare I think. Looks like it was shot on a home video camera. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101509/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member kingofkungfu2002 Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 Plus, it features Bolo in drag Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Endsang Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 Anyone seen/heard of a movie called "Gladiator Cop", starring Lorenzo Lamas? I don't really remember if it was a MA movie, but it was indeed cheese royale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member AlbertV Posted May 3, 2008 Author Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 Plus, it features Bolo in drag Yeah and guess who the fight choreographer and executive producer of BREATHING FIRE was???...Tan Tao-Liang!!!! Using the fake name "Delon Tanners", he took the story from Shaolin Deadly Kicks, modernized it and added a twist involving the Vietnam War. Bloodmatch - good story, bad execution. Thom Mathews was a definite miscast as the kickboxer who interrogates four former champions who screwed his brother by fighting them one-by-one in the ring. I credit Benny "The Jet" (who choreographed the fights) for trying, but Mathews pretty much looked bad. I would have loved to see someone with the caliber of a Jerry Trimble or hell, Sasha Mitchell in Mathews' role. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member lightning hopkins Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 Ninja Turf [aka the much catchier L.A. Streetfighter] (1985) is another great moment in lowbrow American martial arts filmmaking. Directed by Woo-sang Park, the same guy responsible for the previously mentioned American Chinatown (as well as several earlier Korean epics featuring, among others, superkicker Hwang Jang Lee himself), Ninja Turf brings together actual martial arts semi-luminaries like Jun Chong, Philip Rhee, James Lew, and Bill Wallace, and then spoils their great fight scenes and solid choreography with amateurish camerawork and a lame storyline. Catchy '80's synthesizer theme music that runs through the movie almost makes up for all the faults, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member gorhama Posted May 3, 2008 Member Share Posted May 3, 2008 Plus, it features Bolo in drag Oh yeah.....Bolo made one helluva ugly woman!! I love Breathing Fire for how terribly bad it is. The fight scenes are fun and "Shorty" er I man Key He Kwan looked good, I'm shocked he didn't do any more martial arts "B" movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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