Blackbelt (1992)

Up-and-coming local singer Shanna is threatened when a serial killer begins targeting her, first with sinister letters, and who knows what next. She hires ex-cop and bodyguard Jack Dillon, who is determined to keep the starlet safe, even if he doesn't know what to make of her. But this case may prove too much, with vengeful mafia hitmen now on his trail, as well as a serial killer who's not only psychotic, but more than a physical match for Dillon's karate...

Based on its poster and name, Blackbelt seems pretty derivative of its star's earlier film Bloodfist. As it turns out, it's completely different, in ways both good and bad! The film plays out a bit like a low-rent version of The Bodyguard, while also doing enough of its own thing to stand out. It's a pretty entertaining watch.

Blackbelt has a good structure. We get effective intros to the hero and villain, and the story kicks into gear pretty quickly. We're given scuffles with hired thugs, brief encounters with the killer, as well as increasingly dangerous situations, before the last act takes everything up a notch.

I saw some summaries that made it out like the film's about the hero and the stalker up in an uneasy alliance as they're stuck on the streets the whole movie, fugitives from the gang trying to kill Shanna. Thankfully this is not the case. Hostile teamwork can be effective, but maybe not with a rapist and serial killer! At no point are the characters here on the run, although they do get a car chase and a few assorted fights. Sweet doesn't get a lot of screentime, but he as enough to build up a mystique.

Blackbelt is interesting in how dark it gets in some scenes! Not only is there a serial killer on the loose, with mutilated bodies and severed fingers on full display, but there's more, courtesy of some flashbacks. After a certain point it maybe goes a bit far into icky territory, but I was surprised at least to see a movie tackling topics like this! It almost feels sleazy. Whether films are sleazy isn't in what they do but how they do it. By the end I think this does a good job? And I'm impressed that it shows men can befall such things too, with the villain being a victim of female rape.

Jack is an alright lead. An ex-cop, karate teacher, and occasional bodyguard, who doesn't take injustice lying down, especially violence against women. Reluctantly agreeing to take this case, he doesn't know what to make of Shanna, and worries she's playing mind games.

Shanna is frosty and occasionally bitchy, with a surprisingly intense backstory (which she blurts out on a moment's notice), but has her nicer sides, and finds herself getting along with Jack as we go on.

despite this she hangs out with some pretty scummy characters, including a manager and sorta-boyfriend, who beats her up, and laughably tries justifying it in one scene, while Don has this glowering stonefaced look, like "Ohhh I'm gonna kill this asshole.".

Then he comes back again, despite every other villain in the film besides Sweet being dead or imprisoned, and only 16 minutes left. He hilariously tries to take on Don 'The Dragon' Wilson, losing immediately. After which Shanna has a negative reaction which realllly didn't endear me to her. It looks like she is playing games with Jack!

Don's old police partner is a pretty cliched guy, but fun. And Shanna's assistant is nicer than her, and I liked her!...Yeahhh, I was expecting her to die. But then the movie surprised me by killing off the partner! Yeah, I know, that's a cliche in it of itself, but it was a bummer. It doesn't effect affect Jack's character, outside of making him glower more. But then guess what. the assistant gets killed too! In fact, given Sweet's track record she was lucky if she was 'only' killed. Perhaps one sacrificial lamb character was enough. The others aren't even aware of her fate till near the end.

The supporting villain is a mafia head. Frankly Shanna kinda did do him dirty. Despite calling him the kind of scum she's tried to get away from all her life, she was more than happy for him to make her a nationwide star and pay for all her fancy clothes and house! He's still an asshole though, and pretty crazy in how he immediately resorts to murder to get back at his fleeing starlet.

And then there's Sweet, an imposing bruiser with a Vietnam history, martial arts training, and a wince-inducing backstory with a mother who loved him just a little too much! He's full-on crazy, and is such a casual danger to everyone else in the film that mafia thugs will just be chilling before some crime, and he'll just pop up and break all their necks!

The action in Blackbelt gets the job done, but there's a disappointing lack of martial arts, given the lead and the film's name. He's not even done up to look like a martial artist! Still, the gunfights entertain, and there's one scene involving a car that goes so far into ridiculous territory it felt straight out of The Gauntlet!

What follows is a gunfight in a cardboard box factory, with what look like a bunch of dads. It's funny, with the neverending bullets, Jack firing way too many rounds than necessary (I think the 5th shot killed them, mate!), some funny deaths, and a great fake-out from Don.

Jack then confronts mafia boss Eddie, who wouldn't you know it has found his own martial artist to back him up! Jack recognises him, and is basically like 'What the hell man, I thought you were cool'. Despite his poor choice of boss, the other fighter does show honour, and gets killed by Eddie before he can go too far. This whole scene the guy acts like a dope by doing everything openly, instead of just denying everything and lawyering up. But it's stupidity we can be grateful for! He gets a satisfying beatdown, and a fun one-liner from Don.

The final fight with Sweet is when martial arts really comes into play, with one expert pitted against another, who also happens to be a hulking giant. It's a tense, well-done fight, with some painful looking hits in there. The two naturally find an opportunity to pull their shirts off, but in a way that's not too ridiculous.

The fight choreography is fairly good, and has some cool moments. Some can feel a bit stiff and choreographed though. Not bad, but just that sense of watching planned movements. One thing's for sure though, the film does not live up to the hilariously overselling taglines on the poster! "The most action-packed, sexiest kickboxing movie ever made!", and "The greatest martial arts cast ever assembled!", courtesy of Paul Maslak, who may be slightly biased, considering he's an actor and fight coordinator/choreographer here.

The acting here is pretty good. Wilson is a fine lead, while Deirdre Imershein does well. Matthias Hues makes for a distinct villain, and steals the show! Nailing the character's physical side, as well as the intensity. There's also a pretty packed number of martial arts talent, albeit in small roles, and we even get a brief cameo from a grunged-up Timothy Baker from No Retreat, No Surrender!

The film is directed well, like an action-thriller with a slight horror vibe. The violence is all well done too, including a cheesy but gnarly finger chopping. Although it loses points since Sweet's finger is clearly visible during the fight scene after.

And lastly, the music here is pretty good, with Shanna getting some ok pop songs. The important one fits well as a normal song, and with the creepy vibe when it echoes in the past, on scratchy old recordings.

Overall, Blackbelt is pretty decent. Not really for the squeamish, and it's not the best of Wilson's films for me, but it's also not the worst either! It passes the time easily, and there's enough action to satisfy...