Bullet Points: Bloodfist VI: Ground Zero
The Bloodfist Collection is an interesting body of work for Don “The Dragon” Wilson…
It all started out with Wilson as kickboxer Jake Raye avenging the death of his kickboxing brother in the original. The followup saw Jake competing in a fight to the death style tournament on a private island in Bloodfist II. From there Jake Raye was gone, Wilson remained and the sequels became stand alone stories under the Bloodfist umbrella.
In Bloodfist III: Forced to Fight, we get a classic behind bars action movie… In Bloodfist IV: Die Trying, Wilson plays a repo man who battles evil arms dealers who have kidnapped his daughter… Bloodfist V: Human Target goes the whole Don’s character has amnesia route and throws in one of the action world’s greatest supporting actors, Steve James. (Side Note: I really need to see this one!)
Then came 1995’s Bloodfist VI: Ground Zero, which gives us Don “The Dragon” Wilson’s first chance to make a Die Hard style movie…
- This Can’t Be Our Villain: The premise of Bloodfist VI: Ground Zero is about a terrorist group that infiltrates and assumes control of one of the United States’ nuclear launch facilities and in classic action movie terrorist fashion use this to extort money from the United States government. They gain access in an interesting way… a seemingly confused and panicked old man (played by Bert Remsen) drives right up to the front gate in his RV and tells the guards that his wife is sick and he doesn’t know what to do… so one of the guards goes inside the RV to see if he can help… the guard doesn’t find a sick old woman, instead he finds a group of terrorists who shoot him. Then the old guy starts barking orders… WHOA! WHOA! WHOA! I could not believe my eyes, Bert Remsen… the guy who I have seen in countless good guy roles (like the friendly priest from the unsung 80’s action flick, Eye of the Tiger) and who at this point was now 70 years old is going to be the main villain in an action movie!?!?! All I could think was… this can’t be our villain. And I was right… it seems our terrorist leader just had a really life like Bert Remsen mask on, as he peels it off and reveals his true self… Fawkes (played by Jonathan Fuller, who I will always remember as the main baddie in the Jeff Wincott film, Last Man Standing).
- Monkey Wrench: So now our terrorists are inside the launch site, but they still need the launch codes and the two launch keys to make this diabolical plan work. The launch code portion is easy since Fawkes has his Clarence Gilyard Jr. in the form of Sabian (Marcus Aurelius, Full Contact). Sabian is the tech guy who has created an algorithm that will decode the launch code… but it takes time. So while they wait for the decoding, the bad guys have time to retrieve the two launch keys. The first one is easy to get as they simply shoot the guy who was wearing it around their neck… but the second one is a little tougher, since the guy wearing that one was thinking on his feet and hid the key under the console with the aid of some chewing gum… that guy was Major Tillman (played by former Los Angeles Dodger, Steve Garvey). Tillman proves to be a tough nut to crack, even when Fawkes brings in Tillman’s love interest Tori (played by Cat Sassoon, who you may remember from Bloodfist IV: Die Trying) and holds a gun to her head threatening to kill her if Tillman doesn’t hand over the key… Tillman doesn’t crack and for the sake of the world is ok with letting Fawkes kill Tori… which was a good thing since Tori was really a double agent and Fawkes’ lover. This is about the time a courier shows up with a package for Major Tillman that must be signed for by Tillman and only Tillman…
- Not So Speedy Delivery: The Army courier delivering this package is one Nick Corrigan (Don “The Dragon” Wilson)… Nick senses something is not quite right from the moment he pulls up to the front gate and the terrorist posing as a guard almost forgets to have Nick sign in. After Tillman slips Nick the launch key during their brief interaction, Nick has all the confirmation he needs that something is rotten in Denmark… I should point out that Nick Corrigan was expected to be there and gone before Fawkes and his crew arrived, so Nick’s late arrival really gums up the works… something Nick will continue to do for the remainder of the film since he now finds himself in a classic Die Hard scenario as he races against the clock to stop the terrorists and save the world. Corrigan even has his own Reginald VelJohnson in the form of Strategic Air Command’s Major Marin (Robin Curtis, Recoil).
Bloodfist VI proved to be another solid entry in The Bloodfist Collection. There were really no surprises here (unless you count the Burt Remsen swerve at the start) given the familiar scenario and the fact that it starred action entertainment’s “Steady Eddie”, Don “The Dragon” Wilson.
The Bloodfist Collection would continue just months after the release of Bloodfist VI, when Bloodfist VII: Manhunt hit video store shelves in the fall of 1995. The seventh film in the series was a fugitive style movie as Wilson plays a man that is wrongfully accused of being a cop killer. The final film in the series came in 1996 with Wilson playing a retired CIA agent who is pulled back into the world of espionage when his son is kidnapped.
I believe there should have been two more films in The Bloodfist Collection, one where The Dragon travels in time and another where he travels to space… but maybe I am just being greedy.
If you are greedy for bullet points, you’ll love these Bonus Bullet Points…
- Mr. Dirty: During his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Steve Garvey’s wholesome image earned him the nickname “Mr. Clean”. Well, Garvey throws that out the window about 3 minutes into Bloodfist VI when he stops by his girlfriend Tori’s quarters for some nookie before work… I would like to point out that Tori appears topless in this scene and remind you that this was at the 3 minute mark of the film.
- If You Ever: …wanted to see Don “The Dragon” Wilson arrive late for an appointment because he stopped to patch up an injured rabbit on the side of the road, then Bloodfist VI is the movie for you.
- Familiar Face: Art Camacho (Firepower and To Be the Best) plays Rivera, a member of the terrorist group looking to cash in on taking control of the nuclear launch site.
- Out of Context Quote: “Does a pussy have your tongue?”
- If You Ever: …wanted to see Don “The Dragon” Wilson publicly out a person for purchasing a blow up doll from Pleasure Zone Novelties, then Bloodfist VI is the movie for you.
