Review of The Blood of Heroes (1989) by Sapphire W — 14 Oct 2008

Aka "Salute of the Jugger" or "Salute to the Jugger" or "The Blood of Heroes".

The first thing you will notice in this film is the ver stunning and very young Joan Chen. This will immediately be followed by a very long series of 'Oh I know him/her! They look so young!' moments. Despite this distraction you will be drawn into the story of Kidda and Sallow and all the other Juggers and their incredibly harsh and brutal world.

I was amazed at how depressing this film WASN'T. The director knew exactly what he was doing. The cast and well, everything about the film was brilliant. This is not a modern film, it does not have CGI or special effects to knock your socks off and I think that is one of the many reasons I will find myself watching it over and over again. The story, characters and acting are so strong that you don't notice any little imperfections that may occur.

I have seen reviews of this film liken it to "Mad Max" and it does indeed have a strong Mad Max-ian quality with a significant difference - this film is by far and wide the better film.

Pros:

Exceptional cast.

Brilliant Acting.

A captivating storyline.

Wonderful gritty style.

Cons:

You will hate this film if you watch films purely for special effects.

Or if you have a weak stomach or dislike 'post apocalyptic future' style stories with violence.