No Surrender Cinema: Bloodfist III: Forced to Fight

Remember The Shawshank Redemption? Of course you do. Now pretend that Tim Robbins’ Andy was a skilled kickboxer, and Morgan Freeman was the prison elder that the corrupt system couldn’t tolerate anymore. Sprinkle in a bit of racial tension, a few moments of comic relief, and a sympathetic pervert, and you’ve got Bloodfist III: Forced To Fight!

It could be considered blasphemy to compare a low budget fight fest to one of the greatest movies of all time, but Bloodfist III can be considered a classic in its own right. It’s certainly one of the best of the 80’s and 90’s low budget actioners, with a solid cast, great action that seems to never stop, and in my opinion the greatest performance of its star, Don “The Dragon” Wilson.

We’ve got all the requirements for a B movie beat ’em up here. Wilson plays Jimmy Boland, wrongfully accused of manslaughter and stuck in one of the country’s most corrupt prisons. In the early moments of the movie, Jimmy comes to the aid of another prison who is being assaulted (in more ways than one, if you know what I mean) by a ruthless inmate named Luther and his crew. “The Dragon” dishes out some quick prison justice, disposing of Luther’s cronies and killing Luther in self-defense. This act draws the attention of every inmate, guard, and official in the prison, and puts a target on Jimmy’s back. He’s loathed by the black inmates who think the killing was a hate crime, he’s coveted by the white supremacists for dispatching of Luther, and Blue, Luther’s partner in the prison drug trade, wants to put Jimmy in the dirt. Jimmy soon earns friends in the well educated Stark, and Stark’s multi-racial gang of prison gardeners. Also along for the ride is the unfortunately named Diddler, who is in prison for an unspecified sex crime (though it’s implied he may be a child molester), who becomes Jimmy’s confidant at first out of necessity, but earns his spot on the side of good by saving Jimmy’s life from an attack in the prison yard.

Aside from all the fighting (because let’s face it, why else did you buy or rent a movie from the Bloodfist series), there’s a bit of heart to this movie. Wilson’s Jimmy is literally forced to fight, a victim of profiling and racial tension. Richard Roundtree’s Stark has risen above the inmate warfare and tries to better educate those stuck serving time. Even Diddler, for as horrible a crime as he may have committed on the outside, is a meek, shy guy who is struggling to stay alive while battling whatever inner demons he may have. All of our heroes are likable, and are supported by character actors Andre Rosey Brown and Tony Di Benedetto, who lend some comic relief to all the attempted murders going on around them. The racial tension plot point is something that’s still relatable in today’s society, though even the movie itself can’t seem to keep Jimmy’s race straight. Several times he’s referred to as “the chink” and put to work in the prison laundry, though Jimmy himself reveals himself to be half Japanese during a heartfelt talk with Stark. I’m not sure if it was shoddy script work, or done on purpose to reflect the racial ignorance in the film.

Bloodfist III has no relation to the previous two installments, and would set the course for each ensuing Bloodfist to be a self-contained story with Wilson portraying a new character each time. Forced To Fight was named by Wilson in an interview recently on this very site as one of his favorite movies to do, and it shows in everyone’s effort. Wilson delivers some solid acting in between fight scenes, giving the Jimmy character some depth as opposed to the run of the mill “inmate who is really a good guy” role. Richard Roundtree is solid as the pacifist Stark, and Gregory McKinney (Jax from the first Mortal Kombat film!) plays Blue with a sinister intensity. Sure, you’ve got a few of your stereotypical B movie characters here. White supremacist Wheelhead (Rick Dean) is your typical biker looking foil, while evil prison official Taylor (Charles Boswell) brings to mind a quote from the “Time Chasers” episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, where Mike spots the obvious villain character and quips “Hi, I’m Bob Evil!”. You just know by his greased back hair and smirk that Taylor doesn’t have the inmates best interests at heart. Still, that’s a minor quibble on an otherwise solid outing.

Bloodfist III: Forced To Fight didn’t win an Academy Award, and you may not find it to be as deep as I did, but it’s not a movie you’ll regret watching. I was pleased to see that this was one of “The Dragon’s” favorite movies, as well as one of mine. It’s currently available to watch for free on YouTube, and can be had for cheap on DVD if you decide you want your own copy. Action movie aficionados won’t be disappointed, and neither will those who like a little substance to go along with the sidekicks. Show “The Dragon” some love and check out Bloodfist III!