Only the Strong
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Movie Reviews of Only the Strong
Movie Review: Wushu? Karate? How bout a spoonful of Capoeira?
Summary: 5 Stars
Zuum zuum zuum smart that kid didnt mention the other lyrics to promote that SUV. Mark is indeed a great martial artist. This film shows you how vital music is to this martial art. Definately a classic, and the best Capoeira movie out there I think, cuz I dunno if there are others out there. There was that one part in the Quest, and Halle Berry did some moves in Cat woman. Eventhough that woman is 10 years older than me, I think we have a lot in common. Thats right Halle, Im your soulmate! Find me!......Nevermind. If youre into martial arts stuff, check this out when you have the time. Movie Review: Ready to Jinga?
Summary: 5 Stars
It's flat out amazing -and utterly utterly unfair- that Mark Dacascos didn't become a huge star in 1993 when ONLY THE STRONG was released. It was released horrid reviews from leading critics (I'm looking at you Roger Ebert!!!!) and managed to amass only $2 million in domestice gross. And for reasons that fail to make sense on any level, CHARLIE'S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE got to take in over $100 million. You must be joking.
It's nice to see Capoeira, the Brazilian martial art, to get such nice treatment. Rarely do modern day kung fu movies specify the particular technique of the combatants, and Capoeira is certainly deserving of some attention.
Like most martial arts movies, the story takes a backseat to the action, which is good in this case, since you wouldn't want any ditractions from Mark's many combat scenes, especially his duel with the evil Silverio (Paco Christian Prieto).
Only the dumb would consider themselves a martial arts fan or Mark Dacascos fan if ONLY THE STRONG wasn't in their collection.
Movie Review: Not good, but what other choice do you have.
Summary: 2 Stars
First of all, I would like to start off by saying that this movie sucks. Here are a few of the things that supports my decision. 1. Dacascos does not know Capoeira. He played the berimbau (an insrument used in Capoeira) wrong, he pronouced many of the terms incorrectly, and he had no flow to his movements. 2. The acting was horrible. While watching this, you kind of get the picture that the director wanted to finish this movie a soon as possible. Most of the lines were just stupid. Dacascos character had no real history. apparently had this mysterious past you really could care less about because the plot was so predictable. 3. The fighting was laughable at best. Capoeira is the only martial art that was outlawed for being so violent and unstoppable. You don't need corny fight scenes to show it's usefulness. Most of the fight scenes where repeated movements that were shot at different angles. Dacascos was doing meia lua's (a spinning kick in which both hands are on the ground as you strike) that were knocking out three people at once. In one ridiculous scene, Saverio (the drug lord) pointed to where he wanted Dacascos to stand so that he could miraculously appear behind him and perform and unchallenged jumping kick to the back of his head. I wish an experinced Capoeirista would have done the fight scenes. Although this movie was horrible, it is the only movie in which Capoeira is suppose to be the main artform used. While watching this movie, one can only hope that this poor performance dosen't hurt Capoeira's chances at being the cornerstone of another movie. Movie Review: Zoom zoom zoom Capoeira mata um!
Summary: 4 Stars
That's right! Mazda got it, I got it, and how about you? Mazda's commercials always play their theme song using one of the songs in this movie. Who would have known that one of Mazda's personnel would find the beginning of "the song" so intriguing and so perfect to use it during their commercials? Capoeira is one of Brazil's main identities not to mention soccer, Formula One, good old Brazilian coffee, and so on. I personally bought this because I wanted to keep it in my collection as well as to enjoy their moves and awesome music. If you want, you can zoom zoom through this dvd until chapter 13 to hear the music. It's a school bus scene, taking the students to a field trip and in the morning, they are awakened to a beautiful surprise and the song begins, "Zoom zoom zoom capoeira mata um!" which in Portuguese means "Capoeira kills one" and the zoom zoom zoom is translated to the sound of the wind when you move your legs so fast that you can almost hear the zoom zoom zoom. Movie Review: Formulatic Movie Delivers a Strong Kick
Summary: 4 Stars
This film, directed by Sheldon Littich and starring martial artist Mark Dacascos, is a fine piece of work despite formula script. There are several reason why it works so well: 1: Dacascos, is not only a bonda fide martial artists, learning the martial arts as a child from his famous martial artist father Al Dacascos, but he is also a very good actor.
2: Littich takes a simple movie and is able to focus on a couple of main characters where we begin to sympathize with their social condition and the "hero's" attempt to see that they have choices and can change the conditions.
3: Littich picks for this film the martial art caporia. This little known art (compared to karate, kung fu, judo, etc) is flashy and exciting to watch if performed well. The fight scenes are different and well staged.
Yes, this plot is formulatic, but it is still an impressive movie.