Blackbelt (1992)

Sorry, this movie sucks

One of my all time favorites.

Just what I expected

Awesome Movie

Jack Dillon (The Dragon) is an ex-cop turned martial arts instructor. He also does favors on the side for people that need help but can't exactly go to the cops. When up-and-coming singing star Shanna (Imershein) receives a severed finger in a box, she turns to Dillon for help. Shanna has other problems as well, as her "backer" is mobster Eddie Deangelo (Beymer). He's pressuring her to sign a new contract with him, and she doesn't want to. Naturally Deangelo focuses all his rage (and goons) on Jack Dillon, her new protector. Amidst fighting his way through the underworld to protect Shanna, Jack discovers that insane, murderous, psychopathic ex-mercenary killer John Sweet (Hues) is behind all the mayhem. Only a confrontation between Dillon and Sweet will determine the fate of Shanna, among other people. Who will win? As this is a Corman production, it seems he wanted to go with the Bloodfist formula of having real-life martial artists in the cast, and with their screen credit along with their name is their fighting title. Also it's 80 minutes, so right there we see the formula. But Blackbelt is truly Don "The Dragon" Wilson at his best. His lovably wooden performances are here in full, but he gets a ton of great lines (pretty much all of them, and they're almost all snappy one-liners). Wilson worked on the fight choreography, and in true early-90's fashion, the violence is simultaneously brutal and, at times, very funny. Both his, as well as Matthias Hues' entrances are both great and it's a treat to see them together, and their final fight doesn't disappoint.Hues also puts in a career-best performance as the Psycho (1960)-inspired Oedipal bad guy. Sure, Hues is always the baddie, but here he shows some depth as the ironically-named Sweet. Also, according to the plot, his blows are powerful enough to kill people. And his yells and grunts are priceless.Naturally, in a classic cliché, Dillon and Deangelo "go way back" - and it should be noted that even though Dillon isn't officially on the force, he has a partner, Sturges (Blumenfeld). There really should have been a Dillon and Sturges TV show. It would have been a great cop drama - the classic, dedicated but pudgy cop and the Karate-fighting ex-cop solving crimes. What's really criminal is that this was never made. But at least we have Blackbelt. (However, that title is somewhat misleading, as Dillon's, nor anyone else's) belt level is ever talked about, much less fought over.Not to be insulting to Miss Imershein, but the role of Shanna should have gone to someone just a little bit hotter, perhaps Wilson's Ring of Fire (1991) co-star and frequent Corman starlet Maria Ford. Then their relationship would have been more believable. But watch out for the posters of Shanna gracing the cover of "Rock" magazine (not meant to look like Spin, surely), along with Pearl Jam. Hey, it was 1992 after all. But all her accolades are certainly deserved once you see her perform the song "Love Rocket" - along with the background dancers who are so comatose they make Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" girls look like a row of Rip Taylors on speed.As for the VHS box: The story for the movie was co-written by Neva Friedenn (who also wrote for other Wilson vehicles) - and on the cover there is a quote: "The most action packed, sexiest kickboxing movie ever made!!" Note the two exclamation points. And guess who the quote is attributed to? Yes, Neva Friedenn! You can tout your own productions on their VHS boxes like that? Who knew? Additionally, they misspell "Matthias" when talking about the mighty Hues. Just shameful, really.It should also be noted that Ian Jacklin is in this movie for about one second. Despite that, this movie is still worth seeing, as it is an entertaining romp from the golden age with two of the genre's most beloved stars. What's not to like?For more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

A Former cop (Don Wilson) is hired to protect a singer (Deirdre Immershein) from a psycho serial killer who's also a martial arts expert (Matthias Hues).I am a big Matthias Hues fan , and i must say that he looks as good as always in this movie. Although, after watching his movies, i see that they still cant set up a fight properly, because Hues is always gets beaten by weaker opponents. Same happens in Black Belt.I actually expected more from this movie. I expected the villain to be something like Van Damme's "Torch" in THE REPLICANT. In Blackbelt we have a serial killer, who is after a singer who looks like his mother, who abused him when he was young.Wilson on the other hand is trying to stop him , delivering his usual lines as a "good guy". His acting still needs a lot of work.Figh scenes are somewhat solid, but like i mentioned earlier, the final fight scene between Wilson and Hues looks ridiculous, as well as Wilson's fights during the movie.So if ur a Don Wilson fan, or you like seeing Matthias Hues as a villain, Blackbelt is worth a watch. Don't expect great plot, and great fight scenes.

This is a surprisingly decent martial arts film, with some good fight scenes and 2 fun performances from Don "The Dragon" Wilson and Matthias Hues!. All the characters are pretty cool, and the story isn't too shabby either, plus Don has quite a bit of charisma and has a certain presence to him!. This has got to be one of the best low budget Martial arts films i have ever seen, and it's also pretty well made, and the acting is above par for this type of film!, plus Matthias Hues is one scary dude!. The characters are really likable, and the martial arts action is pretty good, however i was a bit disappointed in the final fight i thought it could have been a lot better, and most importantly longer!!. It's sad Don continued to do Direct to video films after his 1st 3 Bloodfist films were all a flop, as i thought he had a great deal of potential to be a cool action star!,and the fight choreography was great! plus it's got some of the most violent fight scenes ever!. This is a surprisingly decent martial arts film, with some good fight scenes and 2 fun performances from Don "The Dragon" Wilson", worth the watch. The Direction is decent. Charles Philip Moore and Rick Jacobson do a decent job here with above average camera work, cool angles, and keeping the film at a fast pace!. There is quite a bit of blood and violence. We get lots of very bloody gunshot wounds,severed finger,bloody broken noses,lots of harsh bloody beatings,bloody stabbings,cut off finger,an extremely bloody impaling, and lots of blood.The Acting is surprisingly not bad!.Don 'The Dragon' Wilson is fantastic here, he is a lot of fun to watch, had quite a bit of charisma, did okay in his emotional scenes, is a great martial artist, had okay chemistry with Deirdre Imershein and was great overall!. (Wilson Rules!).Matthias Hues is very menacing as the main villain, and is a frightening presence, and what's more scarier he is a martial artist! (Hues rules). Deirdre Imershein is hot, and did what she had to do decently i rather liked her. Rest of the cast do fine. Overall worth the watch. **1/2 out of 5

black belt is a good movie it's about a insane martial artist matthias hues who is stalking a singer who hires don wilson to protect her. the movie has a decent plot and good action scenes,especially the climax where wilson takes on hues henchman then finally hues in a final showdown.so if your a fan of good martial arts flicks then this ones for you.