A street hustler competes in a contest of the world's best fighters.
PLOT:
The time is 1925. Chris DuBois (JEAN CLAUDE VAN DAMME) is a N.Y. city street hustler, ally to the street urchins, and foe to the police and local gangs he steals from. Escaping from the police, he ends up on a cargo ship and is soon enslaved. Freed by Lord Dobbs (ROGER MOORE), a black marketeer, he ends up being bartered to an island native who trains fighters for a secret, invitation only competition. The best fighters from all over the world have been invited to determine the international champion, who, by the way, will take home a huge solid gold dragon. The gold spikes the interest of Dobbs who "buys back" Chris and then plots on how to steal the dragon, since he doesn't believe Chris has a legitimate chance of winning it. The film ends up with a prolonged fight competition, showcasing the physical prowess and agility of fighters from all over the world.
WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
If they like Van Damme or similar martial arts type films.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13
For adventure violence and martial arts fights.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME plays a street hustler (who steals for food and fights with the police) who is thrust into a fight competition where he must use his physical prowess to survive.
ROGER MOORE plays a black marketeer who only looks out for himself and any profit he might be able to make.
Machine guns/Hand guns: A local gang returns to retrieve their money from Chris and the kids, and shoot the place to pieces. In addition one of the members holds a hand gun to one of the kid's heads. During the ensuing fight, a pistol goes off and strikes a child in the arm.
Naval warfare: Cannons and guns are fired, injuring and killing people.
Straight razor: Used to threaten a tied-up Chris on a ship.
Cross bows: Fired at, and bring down, a German dirigible (being used to steal the gold dragon).
There is a dream/flashback scene where Chris as a child is told by a woman that things don't look good since his mother is very ill and then she gets up and leaves him orphaned in the city park.
(All of the fighting listed below includes kicks and punches to the head, body and occasionally the groin area.)
Chris thwarts a bar robbery by beating up two of the three robbers (one who holds a knife to a bartender).
Chris strikes several policemen as they try to bully him off the street.
A local gang returns for their money and shoots the kids place to pieces and one of them holds a gun to the back of a child's head until Chris beats them all up.
A sailor threatens Chris with a straight razor.
There is a naval battle between several ships: Cannons and guns are fired from ship to ship, injuring and killing people.
Some locals on a beach attack Chris unexpectedly to test his readiness for fighting.
Three local bullies pick on and beat a weaker local and Chris comes to the rescue by beating them up.
Chris knocks out two people in order to steal their clothes for a disguise.
One of the competitors comes into a room and knocks out one of Chris' companions.
The heavyweight champion, Maxie Devine, picks a fight with Chris (big mistake!) and of course gets beat up.
There are two short scenes of kickboxing before the big final competition.
Big final competition: Extended scenes where the competitors finally face off and there is much violence (punching, kicking, strangling, etc...)
A competitor is killed as his opponent raises him in the air and then drops him down breaking his neck (or back -- we can't really tell).
And finally, there is the obligatory last fight scene where Chris is beaten to a pulp, but somehow, incredibly, gets to his feet, and then beats the pulp out of his evil opponent.
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