Best of the Best >> Worst of the Worst???

[Sohan]

I've never been a big fan of martial arts flicks, even though I've been involved in combat arts for over 30 years. I do, however, know what I like: Karate Kid, Rocky, Enter the Dragon; even the recent flick Chok Dee: Kickboxer are what I consider pretty darned good martial arts movies.

I didn't see Best of the Best when it came out in theatres, and it wasn't available at my local video store, so when I finally got Blockbuster Online, I discovered the title was available, and I was eager to finally see this film that has received such great praise. Well, I was quite disappointed.

This is an appallingly bad, bad film. The casting was terrible, with some of the worst actors of our time. How Eric Roberts, James Earl Jones, and Sally Kirkland ever received Oscar nominations for other roles is a mystery to me. If the Academy had watched BOB first, they would have thought otherwise. Even if you look past the simplistic plot, cheesy music, and ridiculous dialogue, there are still many absurdities associated with this film:

--The coach won't let Alex go home to visit his son, nearly killed when struck by a car. What the hey??? I have had many coaches over the years, and if a coach had EVER told me that I had to make some contest a priority over the life of my son, he would have needed surgery to remove my foot from his tuckus. I nearly turned off the movie at that point. And why did Alex come back? I wouldn't have wanted to represent a coach that told me to ignore my son's welfare.

--Travis Buckley (Chris Penn). First of all, the guy is too slow and out of shape to be a karate champ. Secondly, any karate competitor that behaved as he had at the qualifier would have been disqualified in disgrace, much less given a spot on the National Team. And his personality? He wouldn't last 2 minutes in my dojo with that racist antisocial attitude. He'd be out on the street with his gi in one hand and his teeth in another.

--What's up with the USA vs. South Korea animosity? Since when is South Korea our enemy? I understand the personal issue between Tommy and Dae Han, but the excessive USA-USA-USA chestbeating while a guest of the host country was nauseating. I thought that Rocky 4 was about the worst sports movie in that regard, but this movie was pretty darned close.

--I simply didn't understand the sudden team unity. I didn't buy the way the team pulled together at the end, particularly the way it embraced Travis, who showed no redeeming qualities during the film. Magically the team binds together after the coach goads one fighter into knocking out his teammate, tells another he is kicked off when he takes time out to visit his potentially dying son, witnesses a brutal bar fight of his athletes and not only doesn't discipline them for their behavior, but seemingly offers approval?? No way.

--In the big showdown, the USA loses 3 of its 5 matches badly, and wins the last two by rather close margins, yet only loses the points battle by 1 point?

--In Alex' (Eric Roberts) bout, I can understand him once making a comment like "I'm going to kick your bleep". But twice? A little over the top. Really, comments like these showed a complete lack of respect for the Americans' opponents--I even found myself rooting for the Koreans at one point.

--Dae Han had one eye, but was considered the scariest fighter in his class. What doctor approved him to fight? I can't imagine any fighting commission approving a one eyed fighter to compete in a combat sport. Heck, guys get held out of UFC for WAY less than this. Try fighting someone with one eye covered sometimes and see how far your lack of depth perception gets you.

This movie is horrible. I am thankful it only lasted a little over 90 minutes as my stomach couldn't handle any more. It should be listed as a comedy for the endless incidences of unintentional humor it contains. Even taking into context movies of the same decade and the social and political context as well, this film deserves a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10. Even the Karate Kid 3, a truly bad movie in itself, is superior to this.

With respect,

Sohan

Edited February 23, 2007 by Sohan

[lordtariel]

Aw, and you didn't give Best of the Best 2 or 3 a chance? I never made it past the second one. It's been a long time since I watched that movie, but I remember there wasn't much worth remembering. But at the same time, you have to remember the era that movie was released in... there's all kinds of dogs out there that were just as bad. This was just an action flick with a martial arts tournament bent.

[bushido_man96]

Ouch, Sohan.

Although I can see the merit in the points that you make,....I still enjoy the movie from time to time. I like that action; not concerned with the acting.

Number 2 is the same way for me, but I haven't seen 3.

[Elky]

Fighter in the Wind is the peak of karate film-making - anything else falls way behind!

[NightOwl]

No good MA films? This gives me an idea for a thread...

[Sohan]

Ouch, Sohan.

Although I can see the merit in the points that you make,....I still enjoy the movie from time to time. I like that action; not concerned with the acting.

Number 2 is the same way for me, but I haven't seen 3.

Perhaps had I seen the movie at the time it first came out I might have overlooked some of the sillier aspects that I am more aware of today, having gained some perspective with age.

Recently I have been catching up on some movies that were favorites of mine when I was young, but today many of them seem REALLY bad--I can't imagine what made them so appealing in the first place....lol

But it's the same with movies that I didn't appreciate years ago, yet think are masterpieces today, such as Krzysztof Kiezlowski's trilogy Blue, Red, White, and almost anything from Akira Kurasawa.

With respect,

Sohan

[Shotokan-kez]

Errm i loved the movie! Even got the sequals, although they don't go any where near the first one.

[username8517]

Did anyone know there was a BotB 4 that came out in the late 90s? I happen to stumble on this one a few years ago and I must say it made the first one look spectacular.

[bushido_man96]

Did anyone know there was a BotB 4 that came out in the late 90s? I happen to stumble on this one a few years ago and I must say it made the first one look spectacular.

I didn't know there was a 4th!

[BLueDevil]

well, im not to heartbroken I didnt see it then haha