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Best of the Best

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Best of the Best

PG-13

1989

1h 37m

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

33%

Tomatometer

6 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

Five American martial artists prepare to battle the South Korean champions in the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

There is not a single scene in this movie that I found amusing, original or interesting. What we really have here is a documentary of the actors wasting their lives.

Rated: 1/4

Jan 1, 2000

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a watchable yet entirely forgettable drama...

Rated: 2/4

Oct 30, 2021

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JK Sooja

Common Sense Media

Perhaps in attempts to capitalize on the success of the original Karate Kid movie series (1984-89), this unfortunate movie was green lit. But nothing about Best of the Best is accurate or good.

Rated: 1/5

Jul 30, 2021

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Michael A. Smith

Nolan's Pop Culture Review

I LOVE this movie. Bad sequels take away from the original.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 8, 2005

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 1/5

Nov 5, 2004

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Scott Weinberg

eFilmCritic.com

Surprisingly not-awful cable-flick action-fest!

Rated: 3/5

Jul 25, 2002

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Audience Member

Fun, corny and incredibly 80s martial arts film. The only beef I have is that they are competing in a karate competition when all the forms and uniforms from the Koreans are taekwondo. It even says taekwondo on the back of their uniforms. Then in the class, some kids are wearing a taekwondo dobok, others a karate gi and one kid in a judo gi with the thick lapel. To Americans, everything is karate. Nonetheless I still enjoyed it despite this.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

05/12/25

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Ridugulous B

This movie embodies the late 80s early 90s. They show the values of friendship, camaraderie, and adversarity. It is a tale of do great things, get great results.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/04/25

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Daniel G

What would be a cliche 80s martial arts movie is made exceptional in the unique ending and quote between the last opponents. Worth the watch and should be a classic!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/24/25

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Audience Member

This was peak 80's cinema. I loved the movie when I was a kid and still think it's great.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/18/25

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Tasos L

I really enjoyed watching this flick.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

08/25/24

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Taha S

Entertaining start to end. Classic Martial Arts movie to watch post midnight. The ending is great.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/02/24

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Robert Radler

Director

Eric Roberts

Alex Grady

James Earl Jones

Frank Couzo

Sally Kirkland

Catherine Wade

Phillip Rhee

Tommy Lee

Chris Penn

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Synopsis

Five American martial artists prepare to battle the South Korean champions in the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics.

Director: Robert Radler
Producer: Phillip Rhee, Peter E. Strauss
Screenwriter: Paul J. Levine
Production Co: SVS Films
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 23, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $5.9M
Runtime: 1h 37m
Sound Mix: Surround

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