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Powerful

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

There's a reason why Best of the Best is not at the level of Bloodsport, The Karate Kid, and Rocky. There's a reason why Best of the Best is not as well known as Bloodsport, The Karate Kid, and Rocky. The answer: Best of the Best is an all-too cheesy copycat of of all three movies. Of course the movies have all drawn inspiration from one another, but Best of the Best is much inferior. But, having studied the martial arts and knowing different movies' intentions, I liked Best of the Best more than most people. Most people hated it, but not me! Mixed martial arts legend, Chuck Liddell called this his favourite fight movie growing up. It wasn't that good. Best of the Best is the prime example of a guilty pleasure. That's why I'm giving it 10/10.One thing I will give this movie credit for is it is about taekwondo. Most martial arts movies are either about karate or kung-fu, and lately, mixed martial arts. Many martial arts blend in well with each other, but I must give this credit where credit is due. It is about five taekwondo experts from all across America--Alex Grady, Tommy Lee, Travis Brickley, Virgil Keller, and Sonny Grasso (Roberts, Rhee, Penn, Dye, Agresta)-- who are chosen to compete against a team of unbeatable Koreans in a full contact fight. Each man must learn to work as a team and deal with their pushy coach (Jones) as well as their own personal demons. Sounds familiar? The main fighters it focuses on are Eric Roberts' and Phillip Rhee's characters, Alex Grady and Tommy Lee, whose subplots are actually pretty good. Grady is a widower who must provide for his young son, and Lee witnessed his soon-to-be opponent (played by Rhee's real life brother, Simon) murder his brother in competition and he swears revenge. Both subplots are good and provide the substance and seriousness that the movie needed. When Lee's subplot gets looked into more, it actually is heartrending and provides great sympathy for the characters. Best of the Best features training sequences, fights, and various situations that mirror the movies I mentioned earlier. Also, I mentioned that this was much cheesier. During the final fight scenes at the end, the Americans (good guys) are clad in black and the Koreans (bad guys) are clad in white. From a guy with fight knowledge, i can assure you that the fight sequences are very well done, but the fighters themselves are comical. Sonny Grasso is your stereotypical Italian, Virgil Keller is a hippy, Travis Brickley is a rude cowboy, and Alex Grady has beautiful hair. The Koreans don't have any distinctive features, but are still funny in how they try to look and act vicious. Tommy's opponent wears an eyepatch and looks like Snake Plisskin from Escape From New York and LA. Tommy is the only fully serious one. The fights are great and there's great emotion stirred up. It leads to a somewhat cheesy, but thoroughly wonderful ending.

Eric Roberts, Phillip Rhee, James Earl Jones and Chris Penn star in this 1989 drama. Five U.S. martial artists, Alex (Roberts), Tommy (Rhee), Travis (Penn), Virgil (John Dye) and Sonny (David Agresta) are chosen to compete in a karate tournament against South Korea. They are coached by Frank (Jones) and begin getting to know each other as well as studying their opponents. Tommy is up against a man who killed his brother in a tournament years before and tries to get past it. Travis and the others are off to a rocky start, but begin caring about each other and they learn that's what a team is all about. I've always liked and recommend this great martial arts drama.

The 80's had some good martial arts movies, and some bad ones (really bad ones), this movie is a good one. While yes it does suffer some of the typical things in a martial arts flick, one lines, bad jokes, and some great fight scenes. The US tournament, the bar fight, and the match against the Koreans were all preformed very well.I'm a martial artist myself, who goes to tournaments, and trains as well. The training scenes are done very well, and James Earl Jones who I must saw is a wonderful actor does a good job as the coach. The coach at first is a old school type coach (Tough training and very strict), who seem to have a softer side, when he learns that the team members need Tommy and Alex to win.Overall a good movie, that any body can enjoy and or relate to if they have had a coach who was tough.

And by answering that, what I really mean is that "Best of the Best" probably is the second best martial arts movie ever made in the United States, behind "The Karate Kid" (1984). Director Robert Radler's film consists of a martial arts tournament, being held in Seoul, South Korea, between the American Karate team and the Koreans.The plot for "Best of the Best" consists of the assembly of the team, the selection of the fighters, their training by a dedicated coach (James Earl Jones), personal conflicts and triumphs, and the eventual showdown in Seoul with the Korean martial artists.Just one thing though: It's not Karate they're training in; it's Tae Kwon Do, which is Korean! Much more, why would Korean fighters be training in an Okinawan art? What's going on here? (Tae Kwon Do is constantly referred to as Karate throughout "Best of the Best" and its sequels.)The best of these Korean Tae Kwon Do artists is Dae Han (Simon Rhee), a one-eyed "Karate" machine who accidentally killed the older brother of American martial artist Tommy Lee (Phillip Rhee) during a match, and he carries that guilt on his shoulders of having to watch his brother die. Coach Couzo (Jones), his assistant Don (Tom Everett), and their trainer (Sally Kirkland) have the duty of assembling Lee and four others to fight in Seoul: Single-dad Alex Grady (Eric Roberts), Travis Brickley (Christopher Penn), Virgil Keller (John Dye), and Sonny Grasso (David Agresta). Their training regiment is long and difficult, with scenes inter-cut with that of the Korean fighters showing off their skills, jump-kicks and board breaks and all, leaving us wondering if our boys are really ready for Tae Kwon Do in its purest form.It should come as no surprise to drama hounds that they don't like each other and come from all walks of life. They have their personal squabbles too, like Alex's son is hurt in an accident and he himself struggles with an old sports injury, Travis's racist remarks only burden Tommy even further and alienate the men even more, and it's obvious that Couzo is hiding some skeletons in his closet as well. But once they learn to come together and act as a team, they'll manage all right (that's "Best of the Best's" message).Considering that "Best of the Best" has not gotten much attention, it is surprisingly well-made, well-written (with a story by Phillip Rhee himself and Paul Levine, who also worked on the script), and watchable. You do make a genuine connection with the characters (some are more developed than others), and you even feel for the Korean team at some points. The Koreans aren't some evil force out to conquer the world, but still aren't to be taken lightly because they're every bit as dedicated to winning as the Americans are. The script is uneven and the direction fades at different times, but these only seem to be minor obstructions from enjoying the picture.What it boils down to, ultimately, is a brutal full-contact tournament between the 10 members of both teams; the Koreans are fighting for national pride, while we're simply fighting for the right to be called the "best of the best." We take a beating, all right, but there is something genuinely heartwarming about the ending, that will be left up to the viewer to see. What is most unexpected about this ending and events leading up to it, is that during an era rife with xenophobia and American jingoism, Radler's film sweeps all that stuff aside in favor of a somewhat balanced portrait of the other side. Bravo.8/10