Best of the Best

The American taekwondo team is preparing for a tournament in Korea. Alex, played by Eric Roberts, has an injured shoulder and a son he is raising alone; Tommy, played by Phillip Rhee, knows he will face the Korean fighter who killed his brother in the ring years earlier. James Earl Jones plays the coach and Christopher Penn the team's least stable member. Where the film separates itself from other eighties sports pictures is the ending. When the tournament finishes it does not bother declaring a winner; the real question is whether Tommy will take his revenge, and the answer breaks the genre's usual pattern. That closing scene is why the film is still remembered. Phillip Rhee produced it and appears in it. Bob Radler directed. Three sequels followed, in 1993, 1996 and 1998. Who it is for: viewers who like eighties martial arts films and the team-training template. Who it is not for: anyone seeking combat realism, or who will find the scoring overwrought.