Sometimes a movie you loved as a kid doesn’t hold up over the weathered battering adult years take on your taste. From 13-15 I loved and watched “Best of the Best” no less than a million times, and despite having not viewed it for over 2 decades, was shocked at how quickly I was right back into it, reciting lines and parts in rhythmic fashion.
The 1989 martial arts style film mirrors a common theme of fighting type movies from the 80s, trying to capture the immense success of “The Karate Kid.” On its surface, “Best of the Best” comes off as a poor man’s version of the aforementioned blockbuster – with sub par effects, an overly simple and predictable plot, characters so thinly painted you can see the peeling wood of the barn door, and flat out cheesiness as only perfected in the 1980s. But give it a chance. With an open mind and an acceptance of having fun, “Best of the Best” is a well paced and surprisingly touching and uplifting story.
Produced by Phillip Rhee – a real life martial artist who would also co-star, the plot revolves around the five men chosen to compete in a generic martial arts competition against the seemingly unbeatable Korean team. The tight run time of 97 minutes consists of the formation of the team and character introductions, and culminates with the tournament in Korea.
Eric Roberts stars as Alex Grady, the veteran fighter of the squad who looks at the tournament as his last shot at being something worthwhile. Alex Grady is a widowed father, living with his mother and five-year-old son. “Competing was the only thing that made me feel useful.” Grady confides with his mother. While dressed in unforgivable 80s fashion and style, Eric Roberts proves to be a great actor in the role. We see a hard working honest man who wants nothing more than the best for his son. One incredibly touching scene depicts Grady discussing the tournament with his son, and you will marvel at how well he plays the part.
Tommy Lee (Rhee) is a typical sensei who urges his young students not to use the fighting methods he teaches to hurt people. Tommy is a devout student of karate who has long concealed resentment brewing inside him (revealed through a series of ridiculously silly flashbacks). Lee and Alex form an instant friendship when the team is assembled and have a great bond that the viewer can really appreciate.
Rounding out the cast is James Earl Jones as Coach Frank Couzo, the standard no-nonsense dictator type coach. “You will eat, sleep, and shit competition.” Coach Couzo barks at the team in that perfect Darth Vader-like voice that only Jones has.
While the writing is amateur at best, the creation of team chemistry is something we can all appreciate. I love the comradery between the men, and in particular the transformation of bigoted selfish hothead Travis (Chris Penn) as he demonstrates growth throughout, though his arc could have and should have been more deeply explored.
There are countless flaws in the realism of everything , and they will need to be overlooked if you want to take the film seriously. If you watch it to add laughs to the mix as I did, they only aid in the funny. The fighting at the tournament is bloody and real, but an overly dramatic donnybrook at a country bar is everything you would expect.
Another unintentionally hysterical aspect of the story is the parallels between the US and Korean teams. As we see the US team training with state of the art methods and get invested in the backstories of the characters, we cut to the Koreans, out in the snow, chopping trees with their hands, doing draconian exercises, and just being berserk. You’ll have no option but to chuckle throughout.
“Best of the Best” is a hidden gem. It doesn’t have the fame or glory of other fighting films, but its a fun watch as a kid and an adult alike.
by – Matt DeCristo
