Best of the Best 2

The original Best of the Best was a sports movie about the American martial arts team going head to head with Korea. It ended with injuries on all sides, and both teams setting aside animosity and embracing each other in the spirit of sport. The sequel to this film though has practically nothing to do with the original storyline. Travis Brickley, the Texan fighter from the first Best of the Best film, gets involved with an underground fighting circuit where the prizes are huge, and your life is on the line. He's killed by the current champ, Brakus, and the death is witnessed by Walter, the son of Travis's best friend and fellow martial artist Alex Grady. Alex grabs his friend Tommy Lee, and the two of them decide to find out just what happened to Travis and how they can avenge his death.

At first the pair of unlikely detectives get pushed away and lied to, but eventually they find out what did really happen. They decide to beat the champ at his own game, and to shut down this ring for good. The result is several pulse pounding rounds of one on one combat in an arena filled with fire and watched by the rich and powerful like a modern battle of gladiators. In the end Tommy and Alex live up to their promise and, though battered and bruised, put an end to both Brakus and to the fights that took their friend's life.

Best of the Best 2 grossed over $6 million at the box office, but it took a noticeable and large step away from its predecessor. The first was almost a propaganda film, with the second fitting a much more action-oriented plot and archetype. However, despite the somewhat out-there plot, the film is still a solid action movie that delivers at least as well as other martial arts franchises popular around the time it was made.