Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

SnoopyStyle Alex Grady (Eric Roberts) stopped competing after a shoulder injury and is now an auto worker. He gets invited to fight for one of five spots on United States Karate Team competing against South Korea. Tommy Lee (Phillip Rhee) teaches little kids in Fresno, California and forced to avenge his brother. Travis Brickley (Chris Penn) is rash, Virgil Keller is a Buddhist, and Sonny Grasso is from Detroit. Jennings pushes Catherine Wade (Sally Kirkland) on head coach Frank Couzo (James Earl Jones) as an eastern sensitive coach who understands how tough the Korean team is going to be.This starts trying to be a somewhat serious competitive sports movie. Then it turns more into a Kung Fu Chop Suey area. It never excel with either. This movie needs a more definitive protagonist. Eric Roberts is the big star and seems to be the functional lead. However, Phillip Rhee has the emotional arc but he doesn't have the acting skills to pull it off. This split keeps the intensity down. There is a bit of cheese value but this movie is not bad enough to be good.

KHayes666 Alright, I've seen over 3 dozen martial arts movies in my life time and this one is a good one, but I'm sorry to say...the acting doesn't deliver.The plot to the movie is VERY good on paper. The world's Tae Kwan Do championship is coming up and a team of 5 different Americans is chosen to face the reigning champions from South Korea. The Americans led by Coach Couzo (James Earl Jones) has to face themselves before facing their opponents, in more ways than one.We get your 80's character cliché of The best fighter but with troubled past: (Philip Ree), your guy who looks like a geek but could snap your neck in two (John Dye) your resident a-hole (Chris Penn), your supporter guy just to fill out the roster (David Argresta) and your leader who happens to be the star of the movie (Eric Roberts). We also got your female trainer who happens to care more about the fighters than their training (Sally Kirkland).Like I said, the on paper storyline development is phenomenal and James Earl Jones does a hell of a job in his role. Unfortunately other than Chris Penn, the rest of the cast leaves a lot to be desired. Sometimes Eric Roberts was a little too melodramatic in his role of Alex Grady and just looking at David Argresta in his role of Sonny made me laugh every time he appeared on screen.Now, as the movie progresses we learn that Tommy Lee (Philip Ree) happens to be pulling his punches because its discovered the leader of the Koreans Dae Han (Philip's real life brother Simon) had killed Tommy's brother years ago. Tommy doesn't want to hurt anyone but he's forced to literally knock out Virgil (Dye) to prove he can beat anyone. We also learn that Alex has a son who's injured in a car accident, and James Earl Jones comes off as a complete jerk to get Alex's mind off it. However in the end, James shows mercy and drives home the fact he is the best actor of the cast and his scenes later in the movie only prove it.Now for the plot holes....and there are a few. Apart from the shoddy acting, there's a scene where the 5 fighters are forced to run 20 laps around an outdoor track, which is 5 miles. We're supposed to believe Chris Penn....the fat guy from Reservoir Dogs and To Wong Foo....can run 5 miles without dropping dead? Also he supposedly does 165 sit-ups in a row, HA! Don't get me wrong, Chris Penn in his prime could play the antagonist as well as anyone but they really stretched the character's limits by having him cast. The next part is the bar fight where Team USA cleans house of the rednecks in the bar, how they didn't get arrested is what I'm trying to figure out.The ending is a little cheesy but it actually set up a "we're all winners" touching moment that even I thought was good. I won't give away too much but I'll get to the point and say the martial arts were good, James Earl Jones was good, the storyline itself was good, the ending was touching....but the acting was mostly ridiculous.My favorite highlight is actually something you'd miss it if you blinked. Wade (Sally) is getting Team USA to stretch and Travis (Penn) simply lays down, puts a towel over his eyes and goes to sleep while everyone else stretches and struggles.Overall its a very watchable movie with great fight scenes and Chris Penn and James Earl Jones delivering the goods. The rest of the cast...ugh.6 out of 10

disdressed12 am martial arts movies go,this one is pretty good.the acting is very good,compared to many movies of the genre.this type of story has been done before,but it really works here.the fight scenes are pretty good.the movie moves along at a fast clip. most of the main characters are likable.they all have different quirks as well,making for a good mix.and they all grow before the end of the movie.the movie also has the message of teamwork,friendship,and honour,but it isn't preachy and doesn't hit you over the head.i think it is certainly an entertaining 97 minutes.i don't think it's the best martial arts movie,but it's certainly closer to the top than the bottom.i recommend it. 8/10

steshawy Derek Roberts. truly the most underrated actor of our generation. now that i have stated what many of you already know...onto the film: this is the movie that truly has it all , tears , laughter , pain and tragedy . john pearl johns was never more believable than in his role as grizzled Vietnam veteran coach bullseye and Chris glen was also amazing as the retarded , fat guy come good . right from the start, this film tackles a controversial subject as Bruce lee has defected onto the American side, and proves himself a force to be tackled with. the films climatic showdown where the entire American team gang up on the last remaining Chinaman in Moscow has to be seen to be believed and all Can say is that this has to be the greatest Martial arts films of all time. as an experienced karate man i can say hand on heart that all the action scenes are as realistic as you are every likely to see on film. it of course can never truly capture the feel of fighting for your life as i have experienced many times, the tension of knowing one wrong move could be your last, the blood, the sweat and utter discipline that is demanded or the strange mixture of fury and sorrow as you see the life of another fade from this world but it comes quite close. all in all, a masterpiece