“Best of the Best” is a great sports film. It’s a little like “The Karate Kid” meets “Bloodsport” and that’s a great combination. It’s a very realistic martial arts film and I actually think the style works really well here. We also have a lot of big names in here and a surprisingly interesting plot.

We follow the American team as they prepare for a martial arts tournament in South Korea. They are the best fighters from across the country but they will have to train like their lives depend on it if they are going to stand a chance of defeating their Korean opponents. Along the way, they will have to deal with various personal struggles.

The American fighters include Eric Roberts (“The Expendables”, “Runaway Train”), Phillip Rhee (“The Kentucky Fried Movie”) and Chris Penn (“Reservoir Dogs”, “Rush Hour”). I particularly enjoyed the performance from Roberts and Rhee is clearly an excellent martial artist. Even though he’s not a professional martial artist like Rhee, Roberts looks surprisingly convincing during his fight scenes. Easily the biggest name in here has to be James Earl Jones (“Field Of Dreams”, “Conan The Barbarian”) as their coach. Also, Kane Hodder from several of the “Friday The 13th” films has a small appearance as a thug in a bar.

“Best of the Best” is an underrated martial arts flick. It did have several sequels but it’s not a film I’ve heard mentioned enough. Some people have criticised it for its similarities to other sports films such as “Rocky”. However, I think this film is entertaining enough to be worth watching regardless. The fight scenes are really entertaining, especially the tournament fights at the end. If you’ve seen other fighting tournament films then this one will seem very grounded in comparison to movies such as “Enter The Dragon” and “Bloodsport” but it’s still entertaining. All the action feels realistic and that’s what I really like.