SmugKitZine
Tied for the best movie I have ever seen
NekoHomey
Purely Joyful Movie!
Afouotos
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Tweetienator
If you like the first two Mad Max movies this one is meant for you - in a post-apocalyptic world the new gladiators called Jugger live like Nomads and play a tough and bloody game in small outposts, honor, women and provisions are the wages. A Jugger's greatest dream is to play in one of the great games in one of the last great cities - where honor and riches can be earned.This one is a fine B-trash movie - a good shot of violence and action, solid acting, and a good production value. Rutger Hauer plays Sallow, a leader of a team of Jugger. Like some of his early works e.g. Flesh + Blood, Ladyhawke and The Hitcher, The Blood of Heroes does not disappoint. A nice snack for the post-apocalyptic fanatic.
Phillip Moss
I'm reviewing this based on my opinion of it as a high school kid. That's when I originally saw it and repeated viewings haven't changed my opinion. I have always liked Rutger Hauer and Vincent D'Onofrio. I love just about everything about the movie in its simple butt-stomping game and story. Its a sports movie with Mad Max as the background. I'm surprised that the RT score is so low, but I think most fans of this kind of genre will like it.
Woodyanders
In a bleak near future society has regressed to a desolate feudal state. The lone source of hope is a brutal gladiatorial game called jugging in which rival teams beat the living tar out of each other while one person tries to put a severed dog's head on a stick. A jugging team lead by the steely and hard-nosed Sallow (a splendidly rugged performance by Rutger Hauer) are determined to participate in a big league match. Eager new addition Kidda (a fabulously feisty portrayal by Joan Chen) helps out. Writer/director David Webb Peoples expertly concocts a harsh and gritty, yet still positive and optimistic ode to the human spirit and sportsmanship which makes a profound and touching statement about man's basic need for achievement. The jugging matches are every bit raw, savage, bloody and exciting as they ought to be, with lots of heavy duty beatdowns and several truly jolting moments of nasty violence (watch out for the scene when Kidda bites a guy's ear off!). Moreover, there's a surprising sense of genuine humanity to be found amid all the unrelenting grimness and vicious carnage; the respect and loyalty the jugging players have for one another is truly moving. The uniformly fine acting by a tip-top cast rates as another substantial asset: Hauer and Chen are terrific in the leads, Max Fairchild adds real depth to his spot-on characterization of redoubtable and pitiless, yet honorable champion jugger Gonzo, plus there are praiseworthy turns by Vincent D'Onofrio as the brash, cocky Gar, Delroy Lindo as the strong, imposing Mbulu, Anna Katarina as fearsome warrior woman Big Cimber, Gandhi MacIntyre as the jolly Gandhi, Justin Manju as the proud Dogboy, and Hugh Keays-Byrne as ruthless aristocrat Lord Vile. The climactic jugging match is totally thrilling and compelling. Well worth seeing.
Julie Hoverson
This is my favorite sports movie in the entire world.PLOT: Just trying to get by, traveling from town to town playing the game of jugging, Sallow is finally convinced by his younger, eager teammates to take one last shot at glory and take on The League - despite the fact that Sallow, once a member of The League had long ago been kicked out for a moral transgression.See, it's a sports movie.It's the people and the setting that make it fantastic. The movie opens with a simple paragraph on the screen which basically says "no one remembers how life used to be, no one remembers how the game of jugging began, and no one remembers why it is played with a dog's skull." AND THAT'S ALL YOU GET. The movie expects you to figure out the rest for yourself.I love it when a movie WANTS you to be smart... For instance, it is never stated WHY, after each match, they mark up the "game dog skull" and carry it around with them - but when they present the bag of skulls at League HQ, and the judges look them over carefully, you can't help but guess the markings must be some sort of record of the scoring...The characters are great: Sallow (Hauer), with his world-weary airs "Juggers can't have sex with each other after a match - unless you like rubbing wounds on wounds..."; Kidda (Chen), who subs in a game against Sallow's team when her town's Qwik is injured, and gets so caught up that she decides to run away with them; the backbones of the team, Mbulu and Big Cimber - both obviously vets who, while they have no ambition, can't stop playing; and "Young Gar" (D'onofrio), the eager young pup who wants nothing more than to make a name for himself and who Sallow can see will probably follow in his own footsteps, even to the point of taking the same fall.Even without the stellar performances, I would suggest watching the movie for the background details. Every time I see it, I see something cool and new.The first thing you see of the jugging team, in the first ten minutes of the film, is their gearing up for a game - one uses a bedrail for a weapon, while another looks like a pipe with some kind of gearbox covering, Mbulu has an honest-to-god football helmet for his headgear, while Sallow's more makeshift helmet is wrapped in old tire treads.And the places they travel - some have minimal electricity, while most don't, buildings are made of old tires and chain link fencing, and the man with the accordion is god.
