swedzin It is very rare and exceptional to have martial arts drama on big screen, or fighting drama films, well we had "Rocky" series, but this movie is not about boxing, it's about Karate and Taekwondo. The movie follows five best US contestants in full contact world karate/taekwondo championship against Korea. Trained by one of the best coaches in the US, the two leading characters are facing their own demons through training, now that was for the sense of drama… The film holds pretty interesting acting cast, starting with James Earl Jones, who plays coach Frank Couzo. Don't know how Jones ended up in martial arts film, but, I think he loved the character. Well, later he filmed another martial arts action film "Excessive Force" (1993), so he is fine by it, and he did his acting well as always. Now, we get to our two leading men… Eric Roberts, who plays a veteran fighter Alex Grady who returns after a long time absence, due to injury, to fight again on big competition. Roberts was solid in his performance, he always had that tough guy/martial arts image on his face, but he was funny on some occasions. Standing next to him as another leading man… Phillip Rhee who plays Tommy Lee, a real life martial artist and expert in Taekwondo and Hapkido. Tommy Lee participates in the tournament only because of revenge of his brother, who died by the hand of Dae Han, the leading captain of Korean taekwondo team. Rhee is not that quite good in acting, but I think he tried hard in some important scenes, but his martial arts scenes were great. Now, we get to our supporting cast… Chris Penn… well, Chris was a great actor, really intense in his performances, and I was pretty confused by his appearance here, because I saw him before in "Reservoir Dogs" and "The Funeral". But, maybe he took the role because of his martial arts skills and… he was good as the tough, troublemaker, bully member of five best fighters. And than we have Sally Kirkland (wow, she was something back then), as a second trainer, that appears from nowhere to show a true spirit of Koreans and their taekwondo. And we also have such great actors as Louise Fletcher, a great actress… but her career was washed up, even back then and John P. Ryan as a manager of US team. Now, in the Korean fighting team we have two well-known fighters as Simon Rhee (brother of Phillip Rhee), who plays Dae Han, a very skilled Taekwondo master in real life, but not a great actor, and we have James Lew, who was known as a supporting opponent to many martial arts stars during 90s.OK, now… fighting scenes were good, the atmosphere during the fight was good, most of other things were solid… And, we have that "usual" effect of Korean team… they were presented as a real villains here. You know, because the US team is a leading team in the film… and of course, the Koreans look really evil here, they are really stone cold, crazy and scary, but that was to increase the drama… And we have that usual cliché of fighters who are fighting with themselves before they enter the tournament, you know, the good old, "you'll never win until you defeat your demons". Overall, it's a solid movie and I recommend it.

Leofwine_draca BEST OF THE BEST is an attempt to do for martial arts what ROCKY did for boxing. That is, it attempts to be a feel-good, character-based movie about endurance, loyalty and patriotism, wrapping it up into a crowd-pleasing package with some great tournament battles along the way.It doesn't work.I found myself bored by this uninvolving film, one that's dated in the worst way of the '80s. The fashions are ludicrous, the hairstyles ridiculous, the characters overblown and boorish. Take, for instance, Eric Roberts's supposed hero, a vain, posturing and mulleted muscleman who looks like an extra from MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE. His appearance alone encapsulates everything that's wrong with this movie.Other characters fare no better. Phillip Rhee is underused and his character only springs to life during an unexpectedly poignant twist at the climax. James Earl Jones gets a few good speeches, but that's it. Chris Penn plays a loudmouthed jerk, and the others are bland and interchangeable.The film meanders through one cliché to the next, with family drama interspersed with some rather dull bar-room brawls and the like. The tournament at the end strives for grandeur and excitement, but instead I was itching for it to be over so I could go to bed. ROCKY this ain't.

cwbellor In 1989, all is not well in the world. Korea has amassed a 4 man army of unstoppable brick breakers who are highly experienced in the art of honorable ass-kicking. The US of A has no choice but to assemble their own fantastic foursome of charming uber athletes. There's Sonny - you only need know three things about Sonny. He's Italian, he does martial arts and he has a fondness for breast milk ...yes, breast milk. He says so himself. There's Virgil who is so enlightened that he meditates and wears tie-dye shirts. But don't be fooled by his centered demeanor, Virgil does have a weakness. He finds nothing more persuasive than "inner and outer labia." There's Travis the Cowboy, whose skill in karate is matched only by his winning personality and charming sexuality. He also has a tendency to be racist. There's Tommy, an Asian karate teacher who faces the toughest opponent in the one-eyed Dae Han, a master of competitive murder who killed Tommy's brother in another tournament. Finally, there's Alex. Don't be fooled by the bookish name, Alex is a powerhouse muleteer, whose only weakness is family tragedies and a bad shoulder. Best of the Best could best be described as a combination of The Karate Kid, Rocky IV, and Top Gun. The tension is palpable as the Americans realize what they are up against. After all, the Koreans practice for competition by trying to chop down trees with their hands. When they finally meet in Korea, they are in for the fight of their lives; a fight that no well-intentioned bar brawl can prepare them for. But there is no need for concern. They've got none other than James Earl Jones as their coach. This guy could knock a man down with his voice. Unfortunately, we don't get to see a demonstration of this and that might be the film's only flaw. Best of the Best is a winning combination of masculinity, martial arts finesse, American patriotism and manly emotion without a hint of homo-erotic undertone. Enjoy!

apetrov First, let's get something straight. I've seen (and will continue seeing) countless movies of all genres (I'm a fan of Woody Allen, Oliver Stone, William Freidkin, John Frankenheimer, Ridley Scott, Milcho Mancevski, John Woo...) and lately cannot even make myself finish watching over-budgeted, lame, boring, horribly scripted Hollywood crap targeted at people with an attention span of a chicken.Nevertheless, among the usually inartistic and "less-intelligent" categories such as martial arts or romantic comedies one can find a real gem. The cast is right on the spot; James Earl Jones, Sally Kirkland, Eric Robert and Chris Penn, even though not crème-de-la-crème actors, are well known and deserve credit for acting along major A-list actors during their careers (Eric Roberts was in the Dark Knight and pretty good to be honest). Now let's get to "brass tacks": a. it has a realistic, unburdened and clear plot; b. the 2 lead characters are well developed; c. the dialogue is superb, all characters seem human with fears, dreams and commitment we can relate to; d. the fights, even-though a bit unrealistic - the fighters seem intentionally slow at times waiting to receive the punches, are not over-choreographed, are entertaining and believable (injuries, tiredness, etc. are adequately expressed); e. typical American "pump-up one-liners" are kept at a minimum and only during the last showdown; f. the ending is truly fitting and unexpected. So, looking only for movies that have down to earth, realistic dialogue and believable development of events, irrespective of their weirdness, heroism or even everyday life simplicity, I truly recommend this one to all eclectic movie aficionados.Oh, the soundtrack is nice and pass on the sequels (they are not worth it).P.S. Please check also the romantic comedy "Two Weeks Notice" with Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock for a surprising touch of great realism and dialogue.