YMMV / Bloodsport

• Alternative Character Interpretation: The old man who leads the main characters to the hidden Bloodsport arena in Kowloon excitedly gives the thumbs-up and says, "Ok, USA!". This is supposed to be an example of pro-Americanism but considering the guy is leading the Americans into an arena where they could be beaten to death in front of a roaring crowd... perhaps not so much.
  • While it's not said, it's possible that Shingo died in The Kumite. The bigger question is, was it by Chong Li?
• Aluminum Christmas Trees: Trying to blind your opponent with chemicals has actually happened in combat sports. Muhammad Ali would accuse Sonny Liston of coating his gloves in something to get it into his eyes and blind him.
• Awesome Music: Many songs from the soundtrack, but the crowning one has to be Stan Bush's "Fight to Survive".
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Paco the Muay Thai fighter is the one fighter asides from Dux, Jackson, and Chong Li to be shown with a personality, a cocky, aggressive, somewhat dirty fighter who's also shown dominating in his fights, making it all the way to the semis to eventually face Dux.
  • From the sequels: Max Omega, played by none other than Chad Stahelski, is Always Second Best to the protagonist and has some very memorable fight scenes.
• Harsher in Hindsight: In the final fight, Chong Li temporarily blinds Frank by throwing powder in his eyes. In 1993, the real Frank Dux lost his sight in one eye due to complications from a brain tumor.
• HeartwarmingMoments: Even after being blinded, and still having a dangerous opponent to contend with, Dux goes out of his way to ensure the safety of the referee, whom Li is trying to use as a distraction.
• Ho Yay: Frank and Jackson appear to have more of a romantic chemistry than Frank and Janice.
• Moral Event Horizon: If curbstomping Jackson wasn't bad enough, Chong Li kills his semi-final opponent as a threat to Dux.
  • Even if you were willing to let that pass, the fact that Li was willing to cheat by blinding Frank, rather than face him Man to Man was pretty disgusting.
    • A dose of Fridge Horror when you start to wonder, how often Chong Li would cheat to win a match that wasn't going in his favor?
• Narm: After Chong Li kills his semi-final opponent, he tells Frank "You are next!". Unfortunately, Bolo Yeung doesn't pronounce the "T" in "next" very clearly, making it sound like he's saying "You are necks!" instead. The fact that Chong Li killed his opponent via a Neck Snap increases the silliness even further by way of an unintentional pun.
• Narm Charm: Incredibly silly but fun.
• Overshadowed by Controversy: Much of the conversation around the film in the modern era concerns Frank Dux and the accusations that the story about the Kumite was made up whole cloth, if not copied from the earlier claims that Count Dante made in the late 60’s (who like Dux, professed to have fought in a secret tournament no one can prove existed). This is on top of numerous accusations of stolen valor from multiple journalists.
• Retroactive Recognition: Yes, that is future Oscar winner Forest Whitaker as one of the agents trying to capture Frank.
• Romantic Plot Tumor: The romantic subplot has absolutely nothing to do with the tournament that is the actual plot of the movie: it seems as if the love interest was added only to pad out the length.
• Spiritual Adaptation: Some fans actually consider Bloodsport closer to a faithful live-action adaptation of Street Fighter, whereas the actual Street Fighter film, which came years later, was so campy and poorly scripted that no one took it seriously.
• Tear Jerker: When Chong Li blinds Dux. The powder alone looks painful enough, but when Dux realizes he is blind and lets out an agonizing scream, it sounds genuinely heartwrenching. He does win the fight and get his sight back, but it's still pretty sad.