From the outset it’s apparent that this movie is a better production than most of Van Damme’s movies. Sudden Death is a proper movie and has a very similar concept to Die Hard.
Van Damme plays a fire marshal working at a Pittsburgh Penguins v Chicago Blackhawks hockey game where he also brought his kids, and it turns out the Vice President is having a party in the owner’s box and has a large security detail but it’s been infiltrated by a highly organised gang of crooks who hold the Vice President and all people in the arena to ransom after rigging the whole place to explode, while everyone’s watching the game oblivious. Van Damme’s character smells something’s up when his daughter gets kidnapped after she witnessed a murder, so Van Damme tracks her down and begins to get to the bottom of the whole operation.
I’m generally not a fan of political dramas, but this movie contains just the right amount of that stuff and has just about strong enough actors to make it work well between the faster action scenes.
There aren’t really any boring bits in this movie, so long as you’ve not seen it already within the last few years. But it’s also pretty standard, in a way. So I rate it Upper-OK.
This movie isn’t terrible boring, but the acting is incredibly poor & cheesy, from the dialog to the combat scenes it’s like a bunch of kids put it all together.
The basic concept is an interesting one but the acting and screen combat resemble what you’d expect from Power Rangers.
Jonathan Brandis plays a physically unfit boy struggling with asthma and constantly daydreaming about assisting Chuck Norris in wild battle scenes. Jonathan’s performance is so-so.
Chuck Norris plays the boy’s hero in his dreams, but also appears as his team mate in real life when the boy enters a karate tournament and needs an additional team mate. Chuck’s performance is so-so – I’m not his biggest fan and this is far from his best movie also.
Makoto ‘Mako’ Iwamatsu (from The Big Brawl, 1980) plays the old man from a Chinese restaurant who trains the boy to be a great martial artist. Make does a good job here I think. His role is a bit like Mr Miyagi from The Karate Kid. He’s the real star of this movie I think, although he’s officially the third main character at best – fourth according to the closing credits which ranks the boy’s dad much higher than I would.
Beau Bridges plays the boy’s dad and he gives a non memorable performance in my opinion. His role is really non descript here anyway.
Julia Nickson-Soul plays the boy’s teacher who is also the niece of the old man who trains him up, and the almost-girlfriend of the boy’s father. She does a decent job, I think.
Joe Piscopo plays the eccentrically angry teacher of the boy’s billy; the rival of Chuck Norris; and the leader of the main team who the heroes’ team is competing against. He does alright although his acting is super cheesy, like a cartoon supervillain brought to life.
Danica McKellar plays the boy’s crush and eventual girlfriend. Her performance is mediocre.
John Buchanan plays the main bully who challenges the movie’s main character to compete in the tournament. He gives a fair account of himself, a bit like his teacher did.
That’s all the significant characters in this movie.
I rate it Watchable, and even that’s a stretch considering it got quite boring in the middle, but it warmed up and became watchable again in the second half as the kid’s training became more serious and he accepted his bully’s challenge to compete in a tournament. This movie has shades of The Karate Kid on so many levels, but the cheesy acting and cheap cinematography here does not compare what we get from that classic.
While the concept of this movie was decent, and the main script features had potential, the execution was poor to say the least. The actors weren’t terrible but the script detail and sound effects were barely existent. There were a few would-be momentous moments, but they were built so badly they’re anticlimactic, even cheesy, near satirical, David Brent style. While the opening was messy at best, and I was consistently tempted to switch off within the first 10 minutes, I was recommended this movie by a friend who also recommended some good ones, so I gave it the benefit of the doubt and kept watching patiently. Fortunately, the plot did start to get interesting as the movie developed, so I would call it a watchable movie, but I’m in no hurry to rewatch it this year, this decade, possibly even this lifetime unless I feel the need to review the sequels in which case I may start by rewatching the original.
The lead characters in Best Of The Best include Eric Roberts (brother of Julia Roberts) and Phillip Rhee (a Korean martial artist, therefore quite fitting for this movie which has a Korean Taekwondo theme). Their acting isn’t terrible, however Eric’s true martial arts acumen is clearly weak or non existent, and the camerawork and stuntmen try to make up for this which results in an experience that’s hard for a real martial artist to appreciate. Maybe he’s a grower, and people who were brought up on his movies come to appreciate his acting even if he’s clearly not a credible fighter, a bit like Liam Neeson? Phillip Rhee is a poorer actor than Eric Roberts, but gives it a decent effort and has genuinely strong Tae Kwon Do skills which make some more convincing fight scenes.
All in all, this movie is mediocre by today’s standards, and doesn’t come close to competing with the best movies of the 80s either. It’s more fitting for an old kids’ action TV series, like an episode of the Power Rangers which has a similar level of weak screenplay and cheesy near-satirical acting but can still constitute light entertainment when you’re bored.
If you enjoyed this movie, you may be pleased to learn there are several sequels. Eric and Phillip both return in Best of the Best 2 (1993), then Eric doesn’t return again but Philip stays on to star in the third and fourth movies of the series (released in 1995 and 1998 respectively).
This is a movie about a prisoner played by Wesley Snipes, locked up for life after being an undefeated California state boxing champion, now a 10 year reigning prison champ, having an organised fight inside prison with the heavyweight boxing champion of the world, recently given a short sentence, played by Ving Rhames (the hacker from Mission Impossible). That’s it, two guys meet in prison and arrange to fight. That’s as far as the plot goes. The actual fight scene at the end is quite boring and dragged out for a good 20 minutes. If not for the very respectable cast members, this movie would not be worth watching, but Wesley is his usual self and mildly entertaining in this poor excuse for an action movie. Ving Rhames is average in his role. We’re also treated by a supporting role from Peter Falk (of Columbo) who does a good job, as well as Fisher Stevens (the bad guy from Hackers) who ain’t bad, and Michael Rooker (leader of the Ravager pirates who adopted Peter Quill in the Guardians Of The Galaxy trilogy) who is pretty good here. So we’ve got a decent cast, working with a barely existent script. Sack the writer and the director. Give this team something serious to work on.
Lionheart is a fun concept for first time watching, and for infrequent rewatching, but if you see it too often this movie becomes simplistic and drags on a bit – especially the fight scene at the end, and the sobbing scene that follows it – so leave it a good few years between each viewing.
This movie was also released under the names AWOL: Absent Without Leave (in the UK) and Wrong Bet (in Australia & Oceania).
Cast
Van Damme is his usual self – good acting and exhibiting his trademark moves. But we don’t see any fun training scenes or learning scenes, he just begins as a decent fighter fleeing the French Foreign Legion to see his dying brother, then fighting to earn money to help his brother’s widow & child.
Decent supporting actors include Harrison Page who does a good job as Van Damme’s hustling manager from the streets, who was the organiser of his first paid fight and climbed the ladder with him. Deborah Rennard also did well as the higher level fight manager who has a crush on Van Damme’s character; and Brian Thomson did alright as her head of security. Ashley Johnson also did alright as Van Damme’s brother’s widow. There were no really bad performances – the whole cast was of a decent standard. Vojislav Govedaricaty was also very convincing as the legionnaire sergeant who followed Van Damme to America in order to escort him back home; and Michel Qissi (born Mohammed Qissi) played the sergeant’s accomplice, also tasked with bringing Van Damme back.
Good to see Michel Qissi get a role here, as he also played Tong Po, the main adversary in Kickboxer (1989) just one year prior to Lionheart, although he’s unrecognisable as the same person. He also had a minor role as a competitor in Bloodsport (1988) the year prior to that – again, that was a totally different look. It really looks like three different people. Michel also came back to play a minor role in Kickboxer: Vengeance (2016), which was the first official sequel to the original (the four Kickboxer movies in between were not affiliated with the original and did not feature Van Damme). Meanwhile, Michel Qissi’s real life brother, Abdul Qissi did quite well as the final boss adversary in Lionheart. Abdul later went on to play Khan, the final boss adversary in The Quest (1996), and he also had a minor role in The Order (2001).
The Karate Kid is a classic martial arts movie – along with its sequels it was responsible for making karate and martial arts in general a lot more popular around the world – building on top of all the Bruce Lee led Kung Fu hype from the decade prior.
It probably deserves an 8/10 for first time viewing, but I give it 7.5/10 to account for rewatchings from an action hero movie fan’s perspective. Pat Morita does a fantastic job as the old man (Mr Miyagi) who teaches karate to the lead actor; and Ralph Machio does a decent job as the lead actor playing Daniel LaRusso (‘Daniel san’), a boy who’s not very strong and can’t fight well but has a determined attitude and a sensitive mind capable of learning fast, especially under the tutelage of a great teacher like Mr Miyagi. Martin Kove also does a pretty good job as the aggressive karate teacher (Sensei John Kreese) who instructs the bullies, and William Zabka does a fair job as the leader within their crew and the main antagonist in this movie (Johnny Lawrence) who has a history with Daniel’s newfound girlfriend.
Pat’s character was based on Chōjun Miyagi, who is credited as the founder of the Goju-ryu, one of the most popular styles of karate, as well as Fumio Demura, a more accessible modern karate man who Pat spent a lot of time with in order to nail the attitude of this character.
The script writer Robert Mark Kamen really went to town with the creativity involved in teaching Daniel-san how to block punches by having him wax cars, paint fences, etc. This makes for a great scene where a frustrated Daniel-san learns what skills he’s unwittingly acquired, as Mr Miyagi also raises his voice for the first and only time in this movie. There are some brilliant scenes & clips throughout the movie, but there’s also a bit of drama that makes it a bit boring if you rewatch it too often.
Techniques
On a side note, the Wax On and Wax Off techniques are similar to Shuto Uki (knifehand block) in Karate; or Biu Sau (darting hand) in Wing Chun Kung Fu.
Paint Fence up and down would be the Cheung Kiu (long bridge) version of Tai Sau (lifting hand) and Gam Sau (pinning hand) in Wing Chun Kung Fu.
Sand Floor would be Gedan Barai (lowline sweep) in Karate; or Gaang Sau (ploughing hand) in Wing Chun Kung Fu.
The Crane Kick (Crane Technique) is based on a popular Karate move called Mae Tobi Geri 前飛蹴 (Front Jumping Kick) which itself, like all major forms of Japanese & Okinawan Karate as well as Wing Chun Kung Fu, stems from Fujian White Crane Kung Fu.
This movie has plenty of the same creativity that made the previous two a success. Pat Morita does an outstanding job as Mr Miyagi, and Ralph Macchio does a decent job as Daniel-san too. This time the movie is set back in the States, but new rivals emerge in the form of an old student (Terry Silver) of the nasty Cobra Kai sensei (John Kreese), plus a new recruit (Mike Barnes) hired specifically to beat Daniel in the tournament and beat him up in the process.
Thomas Ian Griffith almost steals the show – he does an outstanding job as Terry Silver who makes it his mission to deceive and torment Daniel-san and Mr Miyagi. Sean Kanan does a decent job as Mike Barnes who bullies Daniel-san throughout the movie (as he’s hired to do by Terry Silver), and Martin Kove does a decent job reprising his role as John Kreese too.
Other cast members include Daniel’s new girlfriend Jessica Andrews, the lady from the pottery store across the road (played by Robyn Lively, who does a fair job), and Snake, a student of Terry Silver who is tasked with organising & assisting the bullying (played by Jonathan Avildsen, who does an excellent job, he is very convincing, albeit in a relatively minor role).
Due to creativity maintained, as set by prior movies in this saga, and considering the introduction of great new cast members, plus a strong ending as per usual, this movie deserves a 7.5/10 in my view.
This movie did well to develop the characters the way it did; but if it had a bit less bonsai tree drama, a bit more interesting action, a bit more meaningful philosophy, and a stronger leader female, plus dare I say a stronger lead male playing Daniel-san, this could be a more exciting movie worthy of an 8 or higher. It’s got so many strong ingredients that other movies don’t have. It’s fun to watch the whole series of Karate Kid movies back to back every few years, and these days we have the luxury of topping that off with the new Cobra Kai show which has six seasons out already and is still going strong. I recommend you finish every season of this show before moving on to Jackie Chan’s 2010 remake of The Karate Kid which has none of the same actors and is all about Chinese kung fu really, not Japanese karate.
See also: Cobra Kai – the new satirical action comedy drama TV show
The new Cobra Kai show sees many of the old Karate Kid actors return after several decades away, including: Ralph Macchio who plays a middle aged Daniel-san; William Zabka who plays a middle-aged Johnny Lawrence, Daniel’s nemesis from the original movie; and elderly versions of John Kreese (played by Martin Kove) and Terry Silver (played by Thomas Ian Griffith).
But that’s more for nostalgia than anything. The best thing about this series is the introduction of a new generation of outstanding cast members including Xolo Maridueña (from Blue Beetle) and Tanner Buchanan.
Note though, this show is a bit satirical, not so serious as the movies were. That doesn’t mean the acting is bad, it’s just a different vibe, a different genre now.
This is a much better movie than Undisputed II, which itself was a much better movie than the original Undisputed movie.
In ‘Undisputed III: Redemption’, Scott Adkins reprises his role as Yuri Boyka, now crippled with 1 broken leg after losing the last fight, and outcast to the filthy depths of Gaga’s prison – a similar position the Nikolai, the man in the wheelchair who helped his rival in Undisputed II.
Undisputed III is about the crippled beaten fighter, recovering to a level where he can fight again, but not yet fully recovered. This time, he surprises everyone by beating Gaga’s new champion Sykov, to earn himself a shot in an international prisoner tournament, then surprises everyone again by beating the guy given favourable treatment by the establishment. That’s literally the script in a nutshell, hence why I don’t rate it highly on plot, and the action is a bit monotonous, but it’s still clearly better than Undisputed II.
Other contestants include an American boxer called Turbo (played by Mykel Shannon Jenkins), a talented Brazilian capoeirista called Santiago Silva (played by Lateef Crowder), etc.
Undisputed III is like a cross between Van Damme’s movie In Hell (2003) where he fights prison battles organised by the wardens, and Van Damme’s other movie Bloodsport (or The Quest) where tournament contestants come from all around the world, showcasing their different styles.
I won’t spoil the story by going into further detail, I’ll just say this movie is a level above the ones before it in the Undisputed saga – a series of movies where each one is markedly better than the one before it (so far).
Scott Adkins does a good job, as do most of the other significant cast members, including Mykel Jenkins the American boxer who befriends Boyka; Mark Ivanir who plays Gaga; and Marko Zaror who plays Dolor, the Colombian fighter who is the main antagonist in this movie aside from the prison bosses & military leaders in charge.
In-keeping with the pattern of improving upon the last one, Undisputed III also has a good ending, even better than that from Undisputed II.
The Undisputed saga is quite unusual in how every next movie is better than the one before it, and this movie is no exception to this – at least in a way (mood wise, and maybe also plot wise) Undisputed IV is considerably better than the already much improved Undisputed III.
The cast is about as good as previously, but cast was never much of a problem in this saga. We have a lot of new faces now – only Yuri Boyka (played by Scott Adkins) is the same, plus the odd prison warden or military boss in a very minor role. But the sound has been upped a level, as is noticeable from the outset – the atmosphere is much more like what you’d expect from a high budget, high quality action movie now.
Cast wise, Scott does well as always. Teodora Duhovnikova does an mediocre job as Alma, the lead female character – the struggling wife of the opponent Scott regrets killing.
Brahim Achabbakhe does an average job in the role of Igor Kazmir – the local champion who Boyka needs to defeat to set Alma free. Martyn Ford makes an epic appearance as The Nightmare – the wildcard extra final boss fighter. Alon Abutbul does a good job in his role as the local mafia boss called Zourab who Alma owes big money to. Other supporting cast members ranged from okay to pretty good.
The plot is about as good as Undisputed III, maybe better – hard to compare as they’re so different, it’s like apples & pears. The diversity of action here may be a bit better too, a bit less monotone. But the musical sound effects, and probably some other less obvious things that affect the mood, that only higher budget movies have, seem much more on point this time. The ending probably doesn’t trump the previous one, but it’s no less creative and well executed this time round.
Overall it’s a decent movie – still a bit gritty, cold and one dimensional like the others, but getting quite closer to the level of a top action hero movie now. I can’t imagine Scott can keep doing these fancy spinning high kicks much longer, he’s already getting close to 50 years of age, so we might never get an Undisputed 5, but he could tone down the fancy moves a bit and work with a more exotic plot perhaps.
Also known as Karate Tiger, this is one of the very few movies that Jean-Claude Van Damme has done where he doesn’t play the benevolent hero role. Kurt McKinney is the hero in this movie and puts on a decent performance, so much that he doesn’t seem at all out of place – Van Damme doesn’t overshadow him at all here. Meanwhile, Van Damme plays the role of the main enemy and does an good job of it.
This movie is packed with uplifting training scenes backed by good soundtracks (although the music varies between versions and some are far better than others). It’s got a low quality of acting by all but the lead characters but is a story you can really enjoy and get motivated by, like many mild-quality martial arts movies are when they have a classic action hero tale, a good lead performance, and good soundtracks. The plot works, although it’s a bit thin.
It was first released in Italy on 20 October 1985, but wasn’t released in the UK & USA until over 6 months later, on 2 May 1986 – hence why IMDB & Wikipedia say it’s a 1985 movie but some sources think it’s a 1986 movie.
Watch it online
You can currently watch the full movie online for free here if you don’t mind about 25 inconvenient advertisement interruptions (or use a download site).
This is one of Jean-Claude Van Damme’s best movies after Bloodsport. Kickboxer was released just one year after Bloodsport and you’ll spot a few resemblances in the training methods and fighting techniques used in this movie.
Dennis Chan Kwok-San treats us to a strong performance as Van Damme’s trainer in this movie.
Kickboxer has a good storyline and good training scenes – it really captures the imagination and draws you in with the help of great soundtracks too. It has a good amount of action, with bits of drama in between. It has a very basic plot that could do with a bit of extra help, and it would benefit from an additional very strong cast member.
Sequels
Kickboxer also has sequels (as it’s a franchise) but they’re not starring Van Damme, with the exception of the sixth instalment and thereafter where he has a supporting role. Generally the sequels are neither similar nor as good as the original – but 6, 7 & 8 are quite star-studded with combat sport celebrities.
