Verdict
Summary
Blastfighter has decent production values and I’ll never tire of watching bad guys getting blown to pieces.
Plot: Quentin Tarantino maintains that BLASTFIGHTER is the best movie that the legendary Lamberto Bava (DEMONS) has ever called ‘action’ on – and who are we to argue? Ultimately, this blistering bout of sweaty, sanguine-stained action-horror is one hell of an exciting ride – as an ex-jailbird, seeking little more than a quiet life in the wilderness, finds his scenic ideal invaded by some vicious redneck poachers. In response, blood is spilled, bullets are fired and the real prey becomes man – in this riotous mix of FIRST BLOOD and the backwoods shocks of DELIVERANCE and SOUTHERN COMFORT! Also highlighting a cast of Italian genre icons, including Michael Sopkiw (MASSACRE IN DINOSAUR VALLEY), Valentina Forte (CUT AND RUN) and George Eastman (ANTHROPHAGUS), BLASTFIGHTER makes its worldwide BluRay debut, uncut and uncensored, from 88 Films!
Review: Blastfighter hasn’t been officially available on DVD or Blu-ray until now, courtesy of 88 films and thankfully it’s been worth the wait. It’s been beautifully remastered with flawless picture and audio upgrades.
The film itself is still hugely entertaining with a massive bodycount and one of the best guns in cinema history; it can fire grenades, armour piercing bullets and more, so expect redneck body parts to fly off like it’s going out of style.
There is plenty of action and like the synopsis said, it’s a perfect mixture of First Blood and Deliverance. The 80’s had an explosion of Rambo clones but Blastfighter is different enough to set it apart from the others.
You’ll hate the villains who refuse to leave our hero Jake ‘Tiger’ Sharp (Michael Sopkiw) alone; all he wants is to live in peace but instead they just want to piss him off. Job done and now they’re all going to regret it.
Then to make things worse Jake’s daughter turns up wanting to reconnect with daddy; bad timing as she is really just there to be more annoying and say “I can’t go on”.
*Spoiler Alert*
Thankfully she does get killed off though which I didn’t see coming but that is the one thing which pushes Tiger over the edge and into a one man killing machine.
Every action hero should have an awesome name like Tiger; never mind the golfer, this is the man you should really be rooting for. He has a handlebar mustache of retribution and looks a little like Ned Flanders gone crazy. He kinda feels like Charles Bronson in Death Wish although Sopkiw doesn’t quite have Bronson’s charisma.
This being an Italian film some of it is dubbed so the acting isn’t the best, especially from the daughter Connie but for the most part it’s not the worst I’ve seen. It has decent production values and I’ll never tire of watching bad guys getting blown to pieces.
So the Blu-ray doesn’t have that many special features, just an interview with Cinematographer Gianlorenzo Battaglia, Collector’s Poster Postcard, reversible sleeve with Alternate Poster Art and some trailers. Let’s face it though, what you’re looking for here is the movie and for 80’s style action Blastfighter is a lot of fun.