Verdict
Summary
Fans of polished action movies might shrink back if they try watching Blade Warrior, but anyone with any sense of daring should earnestly seek it out because Jino Kang is very interesting to watch.
Review: A cop named Jack quits his job after he realizes there’s really nothing he can do on the law’s side that will protect the streets from vile criminals who are filtered through a corrupt or lenient justice system. Jack (played by Jino Kang, who also wrote, produced, and directed) goes back to his roots as a Hapkido martial arts instructor, and he waits and prepares for the day when the last man he sent to prison is released on early parole. That man is Blades, a martial artist in his own right who, when released a few years later, goes and calls on some of his allies to hunt Jack and his ex-partner down. When they kidnap and torture Jack’s ex-partner and boyhood friend, Jack is finally vindicated to unleash all hell on the guys the system allowed to go free.
Blade Warrior and its unassuming star Jino Kang personify exactly what real deal action stars are all about. He follows in the footsteps of the greats – guys like Bruce Lee, Chuck Norris, Jeff Speakman, and Don “The Dragon” Wilson. While their movies basically exist to serve as “vehicles” for the martial artist star within them, the star emerges as the sole reason to see the film. Their unique abilities and talents shine through, and it almost seems that the star isn’t really acting. What you’re seeing is who they really are. Kang doesn’t have a studio behind him in any way. He went out and made this movie all by himself, and it’s rough around the edges, but it’s a genuine document as it chronicles his abilities at the point in time when he made it, and it’s actually pretty amazing. Fans of polished action movies might shrink back if they try watching Blade Warrior, but anyone with any sense of daring should earnestly seek it out because Jino Kang is very interesting to watch. His Hapkido skills look intimidating, and as a centerpiece star he’s competent in ways that other off-the-grid martial arts star-hopefuls like Britton Lee (Ironheart), Il Lim (Acts of Violence), and Gary Wasniewski (Thunderkick) simply aren’t. It took Kang another decade to make his next movie Fist 2 Fist.