Review of Best of the Best II

Well, this was not a bad sequel, with solid budget and all… it is really watchable. The story continues after five best fighters won a competition against Korea, 3-4 years later. The three fighters Grady (Roberts), Tommy (Rhee) and Travis (Chris Penn) are now good friend and they are enjoying their retirement after championship, but the infamous troublemaker Travis is participating in underground fights in so called "Colosseum", and dies after he challenged a champion called Bracus. And now… as usual… just like in many martial arts films, the two remaining fighters Grady and Tommy are seeking revenge against Bracus and his manager Weldon. This film is strictly for those who love martial arts film, especially for those who are trained in Taekwondo, Hapkino, Karate, or Kung Fu…So don't pay attention to other things like script, or make-up… because there isn't anything special about it. The acting crew is pretty interesting here. We have Eric Roberts, Phillip Rhee and Chris Penn from the first film. Eric Roberts, with his usual performance, trying to look cool, but stiff in tense scenes. He was slightly, a little bit important here, because the real star was Phillip Rhee. Rhee was no longer to show his acting abilities, in this film, he was in his own terrain, to show really cool skills in spectacular fighting scenes. He really showed some good techniques from Taekwondo, Kung Fu, Hapkido and even some Aikido. Chris Penn was there… well we all knew that something bad was gonna happen to him. Not much from him, except that I didn't quite expect him here… I like him more in some serious films with his intense performance. Now, we have Dae Han (played by Simon Rhee) who returns to help Grady and Tommy in vengeance. Our bad guy champion is Bracus, played by Ralf Moeller, best know for playing Conan in "Conan the Adventurer" TV series… well.. they needed someone who is big, strong and imposing… but for heaven's sake… this guy can't talk right… he is like Arnie, even worse. He couldn't even hide his German accent. He wasn't even charismatic or evil… he was only a egoistic, angry tank who is strong and that's it. The real leading villain here was his manager and owner of the Colosseum, Weldon, played by Wayne Newton… who would knew it? A famous Vegas performer and entertainer who nearly played himself in this film, although he didn't sing, but he was OK, really cool. And he has an exceptional high voice. Other supporting actors… we have lovely Meg Foster, oh those eyes… so feminine… and for the real surprise, we have Sonny Landham… Billy from "Predator", love that guy. He was cool. As I said before… this is for martial arts fans and I highly recommend this film to them. Enjoy it.