Years after the conclusion of the first, the three decent members of the US karate team have bonded to the point that they have become true friends and even opened up a karate studio together. The dumb one out of the bunch, Travis, decides to take part in an underground martial arts ring in Las Vegas, not for honor but for money. Sadly, Travis is killed in the ring by Brakus, a big sweaty German with big pecks and his body is found floating by the Hoover Dam. When the police refuse to take action believing the death to be accidental, our remaining heroes from the first Alex and Tommy break in and rough up Brakus’ face. This leads to the order to kill Alex and his son and bring Tommy to fight.
Where the first movie was about honor and teamwork, this installment was centered around brutality and revenge. In many ways, of the old martial arts movies that I used to watch as a kid, they were more like this one as opposed to the first. Sure, there were honorable characters but often they were dragged into situations fighting for their lives or for vengeance. As such, this film feels less original but it also is not bound by the under-dog team feel that was jettisoned from the first. The scenes at the underground lair, The Coliseum, drive this home as we swap proud countrymen for bloodthirsty snots from the west coast who are as willing to order a death as they are a refreshment of their drink. This portion could be interpreted as a commentary on violence in entertainment and the savageness of mostly civilized moms and dads. However, this is not a George Romero movie, this is Best of the Best.
Things go a little better this time around on the acting front. As I said in my review for the original Best of the Best, the worthless members of the US team were dispatched leaving behind the more central characters and a bit more focus. Chris Penn is again the weakest link on the acting front of the heroes but he is easily surpassed by the talents of Ralf Moeller who seems to be channeling a combination of Schwarzenegger and some other foreign big sweaty villainous types. Eric Roberts is much better this go around with only one cringe-worthy line but we can chalk that up to trauma over his friend dying. Even Phillip Rhee is just a tad better this time although it is still apparent that he is a fighter first and actor second. But wait! This movie has the king of over-the-top: Wayne Newton playing himself, just under a different name as the Coliseum’s announcer. What more could you ask for?
How about violence? Yep, we get that in spades in this one. While the actual fighting was limited to the last act of the first movie, there are plenty of hand-to-hand fighting scenes frequently and mostly with good results. Even more fun than watching Tommy transcend the ranks of the fight club by kicking the crap out of the other challengers (most in bone or face breaking ways) is watching the duo tear up the random army of club security guards. As they have been expressly forbidden to carry firearms, they are no match for the pairing of Alex and Tommy as various members are thrown through windows, over railings, and into priceless vases. Yessir, these random explosions of violence were certainly lacking in the first film.
From the gunfights and explosions to the blood spatter over a plate glass window to the less horrible acting, I would say this is a slightly better movie than the first. Now, as I have pointed out the two are quite different in tone and intention but I will guess that if I saw the original fifteen times in my life, I’ve seen this one just one or two times more. I am a fan of senseless movie violence and while this is not on the level of RoboCop or Commando, there is just enough to satiate my desire for it. Plus it was written by the guy who played Walt Cummings on 24! As soon as I return this Netflix disc, I am buying this sucker for my collection.
Comments
Post a Comment