On B List of Movie Reviews
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Best of the Best II (1993)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
4/13, 2/20, 4/21
4/13:
The cheesy graphics during the intro of Best of the Best II serve as a warning of what's to come.
Replete with shadow punches and kicks, it's a straight rip-off of
Lionheart with Wayne Newton
doing a bad imitation of Richard Dawson from
The Running Man. There are good-looking martial arts scenes.
Unfortunately, they're few and far in between.
It's disappointing that Eric Roberts' hair is cut short. At least, he somewhat pours emotion into his character again.
Sonny Landham, famed for playing Billy in Predator, is wasted. It's nice to see Simon Rhee as Dae Han again.
All in all, the top-notch quality that was seen in Best of the Best is not there in the sequel.
2/20:
Although there's plenty of martial arts action, Best of the Best II is not the same as the original.
Wayne Newton keeps reminding me of Richard Dawson in The Running Man, and the setup of the gladiator arena brings back
memories of Lionheart. What was Travis Brickley doing there? Fat, sweaty, and out of shape, he was never good to begin
with and could be wiped out by Tommy Lee. That's why Travis died in the ring after facing a mammoth bodybuilder
(Ralf Moeller). Frank Couzo can't be happy about failing to teach him anything of value.
Eric Roberts is less effective this time around. Reportedly, he felt compelled to come back to make up for the disappointment
of the original. Uh, really? I thought it was one of the best sports films made. Simon Rhee reprises his role as Dae Han, but I
would've liked to see more of him. Sonny Landham is okay. As a result, Phillip Rhee is the main show, hence the next two
sequels featuring him.
All in all, Best of the Best had originality, but none of it can be found in this sequel.
4/21:
Although not as riveting as the original, Best of the Best II is a decent sequel.
The nice part is that it changes up things. Instead of a sanctioned martial arts tournament, they go underworld with Wayne Newton
giving his best imitation of Richard Dawson. Some of the guys return: Phillip Rhee and his brother Simon, Eric Roberts, and
Chris Penn. I wonder what Coach Couzo thought of Brickley doing this sort of thing and then found out afterwards.
Former professional bodybuilder Ralf Moeller is a worthy adversary, but he reminds me of Attila in
Lionheart which
came out three years earlier. In fact, it and Best of the Best II are practically the same film, and there's a bit of
The Running Man going on, too. However, I don't mind because it's an entertaining movie. I wish Simon Rhee was
involved more often. At least, there's a lot of Sonny Landham.
All in all, it's hard to go wrong with Best of the Best II if you liked the original.