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Phillip Rheeis best have intercourse for his role in theBest of the Bestmovies , and the first celluloid in the series was inspire by real events in his life-time . InBest of the near , Rhee portraysAmerican soldierly arts championTommy Lee , who is chosen with four other belligerent to link up the U.S. Karate Team for an forthcoming match with the Korean team . Tommy confront a greater challenge than any of his teammates in fighting the unnerving Dae Han ( Simon Rhee ) , who killed Tommy ’s pal in a mate years in the first place .
In an consultation with Scott Adkins ( viaThe Art of Action ) , Phillip Rhee explained that the genesis ofBest of the undecomposed , which he co - wrote and produced , stemmed from a spar incident in his younker . During the match , the opponent of Rhee ’s brother Simon got him out of the band and attempted to hit him with an axe kick . Rhee and his teacher , Grandmaster Hee Il - cho , intervened and after the confrontation had end , Rhee approached the other very skilled martial arts fighter to say " I ’m good-for-nothing I strike you , but it was out of the ring , and you were about to axe kick my chum , and I could n’t let you do that . "
Rhee explain that , to his surprise , the opponent was not defensive but apologetic , stating that he ’d been trained to stay on attack until his coach gave the parliamentary procedure to stop . Rhee then revealed that he competed alongside his old opposer in the 1980 Korean Olympics , with Rhee state , " What was great about that was that he was my enemy and became my close ally . " This incident , as Rhee explained , partially formed the base forBest of the Best , and had an apparent influence on Tommy ’s relationship with his teammate Travis Brickley ( Chris Penn ) .
The 1980 Korean Olympics also inspiredBest of the Bestin another way with Rhee ’s battle in the warriorlike art tourney . Rhee confront some backlash from local spectators as a Korean - born fighter vie for the American team ( viaTae Kwon Do Times ) . Rhee also fight against the Korean team ’s skipper , but the historical peer end with the two fighters show each other great obedience before the audience , with Rhee commended by both for his scrap skills .
Both events glow through very clearly inBest of the upright . Travis Brickley , at first belligerent toward his fellow American scrapper and Tommy especially , turns over a newfangled leaf by the close , becoming a squad player and very supportive of Tommy . The emotional final mate between Tommy and Dae Han engage license with some elements , with Tommy fighting an home battle of want to revenge his brother ’s decease in the climax of the warlike humanistic discipline cinema . By the end , though the American team is defeated , the badly beat Dae Han get amends with Tommy for the death of his brother and offers himself as his raw brother , with the two combatant tearfully embracing before the cheering crowd .
Despite fictionalizing some face of Rhee ’s taradiddle of antagonist - turned - friend , Best of the Bestholds genuine to the heart and soul of the news report from his fight days . TheBest of the Bestmovies continue to stand year later on as perhaps the purest and most enduring tribute to Tae Kwon Do in American martial arts films . Moreover , as the progenitor oftheBest of the Bestmovie series , the originalBest of the Bestitself remains a darling ' 80s martial arts classic , move over greater exponent and impingement byPhillip Rhee ’s tangible - lifespan stories that helped shape it .
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