If Hallmark made a movie about Karate then "Best of the Best" would be it. It is on one hand the equivalent of a martial arts version of "Rocky" with stereotypical elements such as underdogs, training montages to a pumping soundtrack and of course a big fight climax. And then on the other it has emotional drama, family issues which arise to cause issues which then combine with that big fight climax to manipulate your emotions. And as such it would be fair to say "Best of the Best" is seriously corny and features plenty of melodramatic over acting and cheesy dialogue. But at the same time "Best of the Best" is strangely enjoyable, drawing you into the various cliche elements, making you laugh at the obvious humour and being slightly impressed by the martial arts action.

Following tryouts to represent Team USA in an invitational martial arts tournament against Korea, Alex (Eric Roberts), Tommy (Phillip Rhee), Sonny (David Agresta), Virgil (John Dye) and loud mouthed Texan Travis Brickley (Chris Penn - Pale Rider) are chosen. Despite being a team they don't always get on but under the coaching of Frank Cuozo (James Earl Jones - Sneakers) he manages to bring them into shape and working as a team. But with not long to go before they head off to Korea trouble strikes when Alex's son is seriously hurt and he has to leave training to rush to hospital and Tommy discovers that his opponent when they reach Korea is the same man who killed his brother in a previous martial arts tournament.

I'm not going to say that the storyline to "Best of the Best" is some original master piece as it obviously draws on other movies especially when it comes to the sporting side of things. And whilst it is sort of unusual that instead of following one underdog we have a team it doesn't really bring anything new to the genre. As such we watch as the team go from rivalry to bonding, through the heavily choreographed training before they get to the big fight where one of them has to deal with a memory which has been haunting him whilst another has to fight against injury. Actually I have to say that with "Best of the Best" basically splitting the emotional drama of the big fight between Alex and Tommy makes it a little bit more interesting than if it had just been about one or the other.

Alongside this stereotypical sporting storyline you do have more emotional drama which again comes from both Alex and Tommy. We get Alex having to leave training and his chance of glory when his son is seriously injured in a road accident and we also have Tommy learning that he will be fighting the Korean who killed his brother in a previous martial arts tournament. It is again all very obvious and our emotions are seriously manipulated by the heavily choreographed drama as both Alex and Tommy may not get to compete but it is strangely entertaining. I say strangely because it is all very melodramatic and overly acted but this almost Hallmark style element brings a bit of welcome diversity to the sporting drama even if it is as cheesy as hell.

But the thing is that everything about "Best of the Best" is seriously corny and predictable and you find yourself laughing too often for the wrong reasons. When James Earl Jones as coach and team manager Frank Couzo bellows at the team it's so false that it borders on the comical. And when they all go out too a bar before training starts the mix of cheesy dialogue and a predictable bar brawl also ends up as laughable. Although having said that when it comes to the action, not the choreographed training to music but the actual fights you have to say they look quite good even if the over the top acting of being in pain is again comical.

As for the acting well there is not a single performance which doesn't go over the top. From Eric Roberts as Alex who hammers home emotional dialogue with so much melodrama that it hurts through to Chris Penn as arrogant Texan Travis Brickley, there is not a single realistic performance or character in the movie. But then you watch Phillip Rhee as Tommy Lee fighting Dae Han Park played by his brother Simon Rhee and you have to be impressed by both their martial arts skills. And that is the thing, whilst the acting from everyone often borders on the cheesy the actual fighting sequences impress.

What this all boils down to is that "Best of the Best" is not a good movie and is both cliche and corny. But at the same time, despite the over acting and melodrama, it is strangely enjoyable. And whilst it follows the obvious sport movie formula mixed in with a touch of Hallmark emotional drama it is entertaining, although often for the wrong reasons.