Bloodfist 5: Human Target

BLOODFIST 5: HUMAN TARGET (1994)

Directed by: Jeff Yonis
Screenplay: Jeff Yonis
Starring: Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Denise Duff, Yuji Okomoto & Steve James

Good old Don "The Dragon" Wilson kept churning out these low rent Roger Corman produced Bloodfist films, making a total of eight (that's right: eight!). Cheap, short in runtime, full of kickboxing action and quite often, cheerful, the Bloodfist flicks (all varying in theme after the tournament fight based first two installments) are good low budget fun. Part 5, Human Target, is kinda like Wilson's version of The Bourne Identity as it sees him get shot in the head, wake up with no memory and then go on the run with a cute babe as various gangsters, government employees and other bad dudes chase him and pop up at regular intervals for him to kickbox.

Low of budget it may be, these Corman cheapies have a certain charm and, most importantly, loads of action. Wilson was an impressive real life tournament fighter and while his films don't always showcase his abilities to their best, he still gets ample chance to roundhouse kick, break people's arms and punch out bad guys: often two at a time. The fights come thick and fast with a never ending supply of goons for Wilson to kick the crap out of and there is a nice bit of gunplay in there as well. Wilson also gets to scrap with World Kickboxing Champion Danny Lopez and the late, great Steve James (American Ninja) in one of his final roles before his untimely death.

As well as loads of kickboxing action, Human Target actually has some good character interplay as director Jeff Yonis, despite his tiny budget, tries to give the film a sort of noir feel. Wilson actually shows some range as the memory devoid hero and his blossoming relationship with leading lady Denise Duff (Subspecies) is refreshingly not rushed and allows the characters to have some interaction between all the fighting and shooting.

At the end of the day, Human Target is still a low rent Bloodfist film featuring silly bad guys, missing plutonium, memory loss and lots of high kicking action but on its own limited terms, it's well done and has a little more style and better acting than is usually found in these types of flicks. It is also one of Wilson's better endless stream of 1990s kickboxing action films.