Best of the Best 2 - The Invincible

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Movie
German title Best of the Best 2 - The Invincible
Original title Best of the Best 2
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1993
length 92 minutes
Age rating FSK 18
Rod
Director Robert Radler
script May Strom
John Allen Nelson
production Phillip Rhee,
Peter E. Strauss
music David Michael Frank
camera Fred Tammes
cut Bert Lovitt
Florent Retz
occupation

Best of the Best 2 - The Invincible is an American martial arts film directed by Robert Radler from 1993. For Ralf Möller , after Universal Soldier and Cyborg, it is the third appearance in an American film and the second supporting role as the bad guy.

action

The action takes place a few years after the events of Karate Tiger IV - Best of the Best . Alex Grady, Tommy Lee and Travis Bickle have opened a Taekwondo school together in Las Vegas . Travis secretly competes in the Colloseum , a secret arena under a disco. In his last fight, he challenged the owner Brakus. When he is supposed to play babysitter for Walter, Alex's eleven-year-old son, he simply takes him to the arena. Brakus, however, clearly dominates the fight and breaks Travis' neck to the cheering of the audience. Walter disappears in time and tells his father and Tommy about Travis' death. But even after Travis' body was found, the police refuse to take action, as everything looks like an accident. Tommy and Alex take matters into their own hands and break into a club management meeting. Tommy injures Brakus in the face in the ensuing scuffle and he seeks revenge. He sends his henchmen after Walter, Tommy and Alex. The three flee to Tommy's grandparents of Indian descent.

The three of them prepare for their next steps on the small, remote farm. They are supported by James, the son of the family. The notorious drunkard almost defeated Brakus once and teaches them everything there is to know about their enemy. However, the preparations are interrupted by Brakus' men. They kidnap Tommy and kill James. Alex and Walter, however, manage to escape from the farm with a trick, which the men then burn down. After saving the grandparents, Alex travels back to Vegas.

Tommy fights to survive in the arena. After winning three fights, he can play against Brakus one evening later. Meanwhile, Alex, with the help of his friend Dae Han (Tommy's opponent in Karate Tiger IV ), organizes the resistance in the discotheque. While Tommy takes on Brakus, Alex and Dae Han fight their way through the disco. After Tommy initially strongly dominated his opponent, he lost to Brakus in a stick fight. When Alex arrives at the arena, however, he can still turn the tide and defeats Brakus, but refuses to kill him. After being attacked from behind, he does so and becomes the new owner of the Colloseum. He declares the club closed.

background

Unlike its predecessor, the film was not incorporated into the Karate Tiger series in German-speaking countries , but was released under its original English title Best of the Best 2 .

Like Karate Tiger IV , the film started in theaters in the United States. The starting weekend was on March 5, 1993. He played a total of 6.6 million US dollars and was thus more successful than the first part, but was still a flop. There was no theatrical release in Germany, the film was released directly on video.

The film was unindexed in August 2019.

criticism

Like most martial arts films from this period, the film was not rated as the “great moment in film history”, but some critics praised the trashy character of the work. In particular, Ralf Möller's portrayal of Brakus, his second major role in a US film, reminded many of the early years of his friend and patron Arnold Schwarzenegger .

“The best martial arts movies are well-oiled stupid fun. "Best of the Best 2" fits the bill, not only because it's the sequel to a decent original but because it further lives up to its name by borrowing bits and pieces from other genre films. ”

“The best martial arts films are well-oiled, stupid joke. Best of the Best 2 fits into this pattern, not only because it is the continuation of a decent original, but also because it lives up to its name ("The best of the best" - the author) by picking up all the little bits and pieces similar genre films. "

- Richard Harrington : Washington Post

"Relatively well-photographed action film that continues to satisfy the ostensibly denounced lust for the bloody spectacle."

- Lexicon of international film

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Box Office. Box Office Mojo, accessed October 3, 2010 .
  2. ↑ https://www.schnittberichte.com/news.php?ID=15040
  3. ^ A b Richard Harrington: Review. Washington Post , March 8, 1993, accessed October 3, 2010 .
  4. ↑ Best of the Best 2 - The Invincible. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used