Best of the Best II

Best of the Best II is a 1993 martial arts film directed by Robert Radler, and starring Eric Roberts and Phillip Rhee. It is the first sequel to the 1989 film Best of the Best. The plot follows four of the characters from the original film, and was released on DVD on February 6, 2007.

For the science fiction anthology, see Best of the Best Volume 2: 20 Years of the Year's Best Short Science Fiction Novels.
Best of the Best II
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRobert Radler
Produced byPhillip Rhee
Peter Strauss
Written byMax Strom
John Allen Nelson
Starring
Music byDavid Michael Frank
CinematographyFred Tammes
Edited byBert Lovitt
Florent Retz
Production
company
The Movie Group
Picture Securities Ltd.
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • March 5, 1993 (1993-03-05)
Running time
101 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$7 million
Box office$6,044,652[1]

Plot

After returning home from South Korea, three members of the U.S. National Team set up a martial arts studio in Las Vegas. Travis has been secretly competing at "The Coliseum", a brutal underground fighting arena managed by Weldon, whose protégé Brakus is the venue's owner and undefeated champion. Ordinarily a challenger must defeat three of its "Gladiators" in order to face Brakus, but Travis challenges Brakus outright. Amused by Travis's arrogance, Weldon grants his wish.

Alex's eleven-year-old son Walter begins testing for his black belt, but falls short. When his father makes an impassioned speech praising his son for his maturity, Walter cancels his babysitter. Alex insists that Walter accompany Travis to his bowling league. Travis reveals his secret to Walter, who blackmails Travis into letting him watch the fight with Brakus. Brakus pummels Travis and breaks his neck, killing him.

Walter runs home and alerts his father and Tommy, and together they proceed to the dance club which serves as a front for the Coliseum. They are intercepted by Weldon, who claims that Travis left the Coliseum on his own. Tommy searches the city until the police find Travis's body floating in the river along with his damaged car, the apparent result of an auto accident.

Alex and Tommy return to the club and confront Brakus, who admits to killing Travis. Tommy connects with a punch that sends Brakus crashing into a mirror, scarring his cheek. Brakus condemns Alex and his son to death, but orders Weldon's henchmen to bring Tommy back alive.

At Travis's funeral, Alex and Tommy are startled by the appearance of Dae Han, Tommy's old rival from South Korea, and adopted brother. Still owing a debt to Tommy for sparing his life, Dae Han pledges his help to bring Travis's killer to justice, which Tommy politely declines.

While riding his bike home from school, Walter is tailed by a black vehicle. He returns home to warn his father and Tommy, but they come under attack by a group of armed men. After fending them off, they pack up and head out of town to seek refuge with Tommy's Native American grandmother. There they encounter Tommy's uncle James, a once-promising fighter whose career was ruined due to a clash with Brakus. Claiming to know how to defeat him, James begins to train Alex and Tommy.

Their training does not last long as Weldon's henchmen track them down. James tries to intervene but is shot to death. While Tommy is forced into the waiting helicopter, Alex and the others are herded back into the house. As Weldon's men prepare to execute them and blow up the house, Walter provides a distraction which enables Alex to overpower the gunman. Tommy's grandmother prompts Alex to fire four shots to signal their deaths, at which point the thugs set fire to the gasoline trail, causing a massive explosion. After emerging from the cellar unharmed, Alex leaves Walter with his girlfriend Sue, then recruits Dae Han and his Korean teammates to storm the Coliseum and rescue Tommy.

At the Coliseum, Tommy fights his way through the Gladiators, but is outmatched by Brakus. As Brakus prepares to finish him, Alex breaks into the arena, his presence giving Tommy a second wind. A barrage of kicks send Brakus to the canvas, and Tommy warns him to stay down. But Brakus does not comply, leaving Tommy no choice but to break his neck.

With his champion defeated, Weldon announces Tommy as the new owner of the Coliseum and invites him to say a few words to the audience. Tommy takes the microphone and declares the Coliseum closed. When Weldon protests, Alex silences him with an elbow to the face. Alex and Tommy leave the arena and turn off the lights.

Cast

Reception

Best of the Best II was a box office flop, earning only $6,607,218.[2] It received mostly negative reviews from critics,[3] but few positive ones.[4] As a result, further sequels were not given a theatrical release. The film currently holds an 11% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 9 reviews with an average rating of 3/10.[5]

Nevertheless, the movie was a great success on the VHS-to-rentals market following its theatre release, and it was this success that spawned two sequels that similarly found their niche in the direct-to-video market.

Film historian Leonard Maltin gave the film a negative review, but also said, "[it] actually improves on its lame predecessor, which appallingly wasted its top-drawer cast." Returning star Eric Roberts claims to have made this film to compensate for the original. In Maltin's words, "What a considerate guy!"[6]

Soundtrack
  • "World Destiny" (Performed by Rave Crusader)
  • "Paranoid" (Performed by Angel Ice)
  • "Je N'Aime Que Toi" (Performed by Angel Ice)
  • "Down for the Count" (Performed by Mark Yoakam)
  • "Guilty" (Performed by Public Nuisance)
  • "Willie Rise" (Performed by Lil D & Big C)
  • "Everybody Loves a Winner" (Performed by William Bell)
  • "No Guts, No Glory" (Performed by Jeff Steele)
  • "(To Be) The Best of the Best" (Performed by Mark Free)

In 1996, the World Wrestling Federation introduced a character called "Brakus". The character was portrayed by German bodybuilder-turned-wrestler Achim Albrecht.

References
  1. Best of the Best II at Box Office Mojo
  2. Dukta, Elaine (March 9, 1993). "Weekend Box Office : Oscar Nominee Boost Tapers Off". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
  3. Hurlburt, Roger (March 9, 1993). "MOVIE REVIEW If You Like Fighting, It's Rah, Rah Rhee". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
  4. Thomas, Kevin (March 8, 1993). "MOVIE REVIEW Throwing the Dice With Death Underneath Las Vegas". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
  5. "Best of the Best 2 (1993)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  6. Maltin's TV, Movie, & Video Guide
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