12 Ridiculously Macho Movies You Must See

Based on the (probably not) true adventures of Frank Dux, Jean-Claude Van Damme stars in arguably his best movie. When the young Frank breaks into a Samurai masters house to steal a sword, he is taken under the wing of Tanaka. When Tanaka’s son is killed in the underground fighting tournament, the Kumite, Frank is determined to compete and honour his adoptive father and teacher.

The Kumite tournament is the main draw of the movie. The tournament features some excellently choreographed fight scenes and a cavalcade of memorable characters, only to be found in exactly this type of movie. One of these characters is the awesome Chong Li, played by Bolo Yeung the man with the biggest pecs in martial arts, and the films primary antagonist.

Frank’s inevitable showdown with Chong Li and each character’s journey through the tournament are both compelling and brilliantly over the top. Bloodsport was a major influence on the martial arts movie boom of the ‘80s and Van Damme was catapulted into the a-list as a result; having a superb 10 years of success following this.