Best of the Best (1989)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Robert Radler

Writers:

Phillip Rhee (story) and
Paul Levine (written by) ...

Release Date:

10 November 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

There's a kind of inner strength you never know you have...until it's ALL you have.

Plot:

A team from the United States are going to compete in the world finals in Tae Kwon Do. The team consists of fighters from all nations, can they overcome their rivalry and work together to win ?

Plot Keywords:

Fighting | Korea | Tae Kwon Do | Seoul Korea | Tournament

Cast

Eric Roberts	...	Alex Grady
Phillip Rhee	...	Tommy Lee
James Earl Jones	...	Coach Couzo
Sally Kirkland	...	Wade
Chris Penn	...	Travis Brickley (as Christopher Penn)
John Dye	...	Virgil
David Agresta	...	Sonny
Tom Everett	...	Don
Louise Fletcher	...	Mrs. Grady
John P. Ryan	...	Jennings
Edan Gross	...	Walter Grady
Simon Rhee	...	Dae Han
Master Hee Il Cho	...	Korean Coach
James Lew	...	Sae Jin Kwon
Ken Nagayama	...	Yung Kim

Runtime:

97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | France:U | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:18 (video premiere) | Spain:T | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:16 | UK:15 | Singapore:PG | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Movie Group, The

Trivia:

The character Walter Grady is named after the father of Eric Roberts: Walter Grady Roberts.

Goofs:

Continuity: In one of the training scenes early on in the movie, Virgil throws a flying kick at a speedbag. He turns around, and his beard is shaved. The next time Virgil appears, he has his beard again. In the timeline of events, he does not officially shave his beard until right before the team leaves for Korea, near the end of the movie.

Quotes:

Coach Couzo: [to Wade as she confronts him after seeing Tommy's brother on tape] This has nothing to do with winning; if those boys do their best and fail, I'll still be proud, but if they don't give it their all and I don't give them mine, then it's my failure and my disgrace. In fact, that's exactly what happened to Tommy's brother...

Movie Connections:

Edited into Best of the Best 2 (1993)

Soundtrack:

RADAR LOVE

The Best is the Best

I'm not sure why I liked this movie so much. The plot is just another Rocky derivative and the dialogue rather pedestrian. However, it does have James Earl Jones which is always a plus. Despite the cliché story I still actually cried at the end. I was moved. I felt for these characters, their struggle and their triumph. This movie is a good guilty pleasure. It shouldn't be as enjoyable as it is. Here's to the emotional power of cheese.