Only the Strong (1993)

Ex-Special Forces soldier Louis Stevens (Mark Dacascos) returns to Miami to find his former high school overrun by drugs and violence. A master of the Brazilian martial art, capoeira, Stevens pledges to straighten out a dozen of the school's worst students by teaching them this demanding and highly-disciplined fighting style. Slowly, his program begins to work, giving the students new hope and purpose. But the local drug lord, himself a martial arts expert, vows to stop Stevens' positive influence. Now Stevens must fight to save his own life, as well as the lives of his rebellious young students.

Kind of like STAND AND DELIVER, but with a ginga...

Why Mark Dacascos isn't a bigger name in movies confounds me a bit. To me, he's always had the qualities to be a star in action cinema. Guy looks good, is very fit, has an appealing screen presence, and can even act some. And he's definitely got the martial arts cred. I first saw him in ONLY THE STRONG back in 1993, and dude left an impression.

This film takes us back to the days when it was still hip to hoist a ghetto blaster on your shoulder. Louis Stevens (Dacascos), a former Green Beret and fresh off a military stint in Brazil, has just returned home to the seamier side of Miami. When visiting his former school teacher, Louis can't help but note the downhill progression of his old high school. Steel bars and security staff run rampant in school, but do little to stem the thuggery and drug deals going down. When Louis applies his capoeira techniques to fend off several goons on the school grounds, his teacher takes in the students' reactions and hits on the idea of hiring Louis to instruct the art of capoeira to twelve of the worst kids in school.

Predictably, Louis's experimental martial arts program doesn't win the kids over in a day, but, little by little, progress is made and the kids begin to pay attention. But one of his pupils turns out to be a relative of the local drug and chop shop kingpin, Silverio, who himself happens to be a capoeira master. As Louis begins to impact these messed-up kids, Silverio begins to feel threatened. Soon, he and Louis are engaged in a brutal contest to determine who runs these Miami streets.

While ONLY THE STRONG isn't my favorite Dacascos flick (that would be Crying Freeman and the awesomely awesome Drive (Special Collectors Edition)), it's still a very solid action film. The fight choreography is very good, with the film showcasing the Brazilian art of capoeira. Dacascos is a dynamic martial artist, slicing the air as he does with acrobatic strikes and kicks. Dacascos was already well-versed in judo and karate, but had to learn the discipline of capoeira for this movie. I'm no expert so it's not for me to say how convincing he is in demonstrating his capoeira skills, but I came away feeling good about this very rhythmic martial arts. I dig that capoeira exudes such a sense of fun and excitement in its free-wheeling, seemingly improvisational style. Even right now, I feel like busting a ginga (cue the song "Paranaue...").

There's a whiff of Stand and Deliver and Lean on Me in this film, but don't get it twisted, ONLY THE STRONG is, above all, a martial arts movie, so there's a fair amount of violence here. But, hopefully, viewers will come away with an awareness of just how much training, focus, and self-sacrifice it takes to master the martial arts, and also with an appreciation of the inherent beauty and serenity of the thing. The film's plot tends to run its generic course, with the school teacher premise serving more as a backdrop to the capoeira sequences. And, in these sequences, Mark Dacascos shines.

Really, why isn't this guy bigger in movies? August 24, 2008

I love Mark Dacascos

Sexy and talented martial arts actor Mark Dacascos gets to show off his fine body and skills in this average plot film. The star is martial arts style known as Brazilian Caporeira and Mark's really good at it. The style developed because slaves were forbidden to be taught the martial skills so it was disguised as dance. Pretty ingenious! If you are interested in seeing this fighting style and Mark Dacascos then I highly recommend this film. May 24, 2008

Lame and unrealistic.

The plot line, acting and action sequences are all horrible - barely good enough for a "B" movie. This story has been used too many times and still glosses over the reality of fighting. Public fights never end like it is shown in movies - vengence and maiming and death are much more a realistic end to physical violence.
Further, although the martial art style is exotic and interesting - this is not a fighting system! Sure it may have some distant roots in a camouflaged martial routine - but was and is not a true or even practical fighting system (like Krav Maga or MMA). It takes very little understanding of physics to see that standing upside down on one hand while kicking, is not the most effecient use of balance, weight or speed - all of which are required for effective fighting. Watch something else... May 21, 2008

Only the Strong

Very nicely done story and it explores the beautiful movements of Capoeira style martial arts. February 23, 2008

Little Known Action Classic

Mark Dacascos never really made it big as an action star for whatever reason. However he did seem to have the needed requirements: minimal acting chops, a ripped body, and the ability to do some amazing fight scenes. The last reason is what makes this movie a little known action classic. The movie is completely average, except the amazing kicks & other athletic moves preformed mostly by Dacascos. The best part of the fight scenes however is the fact that they don't look completely fake. With movies today they use so many wires & special effects that they leave whatever sense of reality the movie had previously maintained behind. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes old school action flicks. If you like this movie you will probably like "Drive" another little known classic featuring Dacascos. "Double Dragon" is another movie worth mentioning of his, but only because it was one of the first movies based on a videogame. February 15, 2008

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