Blood and Bone

Straight to DVD action movies all have a common theme that the people who rent/purchase them accept over the outsiders that scoff at them. The theme that I am referring to is the “action over everything else” mainstay. Steven Seagal and Jean Claude Van Damme made a mint from these films in the early 90s and a small but dedicated fan-base (myself included) continue to support them. So for me to say that Ben Ramsey’s Blood and Bone was lacking in story and character development would make me seem more the snob than the practical movie reviewer that I am. What I can say however is that Blood and Bone is a true gem of the genre, it is a glorified portfolio for the kinds of ass that Jai White can beat on camera but the character Bone is what really makes this movie.

A mysterious man enters the projects and looks for a place to stay after serving some time in prison. When asked his name he responds simply with “Bone” and nothing else. The owner of the house who finally puts him up is Tamara (Nona Gaye), a single lady who takes care of orphaned children and a retired old man. Reluctant about Bone in the beginning due to his intimidating presence and quiet demeanor, Tamara is ever on edge about the man and the late hours he would leave the house  to return battered and bruised in the morning. What Bone does during these hours however is the premise of this movie, he is a street fighter, one that is unlike anything else the sport has ever seen. Hooking up with Pinball (Dante Basco) to sponsor his fights, Bone works his way up in the ranks of notoriety int he fighting game, to earn a fight with the current champion Hammerman (Bob Sapp).

Defeating Hammerman earns the attention of crime boss James (Eamonn Walker). James notices Bone has taken a liking to his beautiful and drug addicted girlfriend Angela – a woman he obsesses over to a fault. But Bone could be his answer to moving from 5-digit street fights to the multi-million dollar arenas of his colleagues. With Angela and the promises of riches as leverage, James tries to recruit Bone, but Bone’s motivations are his own and they don’t realistically sync well with James.

This is an action movie lover’s dream come true. Michael Jai White takes on multiple opponents using the length and breadth of his martial arts techniques. A few known faces from the MMA world have cameos, such as Gina Carano as the sultry Veretta and Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson as the thug JC. Kimbo’s acting was really good, and aside from laughing at the fact that it was Kimbo, he really pulled off the prison tough guy thing on camera. My only gripe is the fact that Bone has absolutely NO EQUAL in his skill, very much like Tony Jaa in Ong Bak, this movie is all about one guy beating a bunch of bodies using different techniques. As a martial artist myself, I always like when the main guy runs into a worthy adversary – sadly even the champ of champs becomes Bone’s bitch within mere seconds.

If you haven’t seen Blood and Bone and you are looking for a good action movie check it out as soon as possible.

Written by Greg Dragon – who has written 364 reviews on Spicy Movie Dogs.

Cinephile and opinion writer, Greg Dragon has been a fan of movies since the 80's when Kung Fu theater was all the rage and Roger Moore was James Bond. As an opinion writer that has reviewed Box Office releases on a number of prominent websites, Greg is the founder and lead critic of Spicy Movie Dogs.