MovieChat Forums > Best of the Best (1989) Discussion > Tommy's silly sacrifice (SPOILER ALERT)

Tommy's silly sacrifice (SPOILER ALERT)

posted 11 years ago by pilarp-1
6 replies | jump to latest

Why the hell did Tommy give up that final fight? Why are we supposed to believe he had no other choice but win the fight and kill Dae Han at the same time or spare his life and lose the tournament? Dae Han was exhausted, but one more light punch or kick from Tommy would definitely not have killed him while it would've been enough to knock him down for USA to win or at least score a point for a tie. Considering how weak Dae Han was at the end of fight, he sure would have broken less bricks that Tommy would have. In any case, Tommy didn't have to kill Dae Han to win the fight and the whole tournament, so what was the purpose of his silly forfeit?

[–] Herreken 11 years ago

I don't think that fight was ever about scoring points or winning a sporting event for Tommy. If he was going to hit Dae Han one more time, it would've been with everything he had. I don't think Tommy had the restraint to pull that final strike or kick.

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[–] brprod 10 years ago

Remember being in Naples, Italy and was taking martial arts as a kid. Saw this and it was a moment that i learned what true self control was. Was a 6 or 7 year old knucklehead back then. It was a moment that showed discipline.

I agree with you completely Herreken, if he was going to hit him again it would of been for the kill. There are very few martial films that show this effectively and I believe BotB showed it beautifully.

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[–] MrBlondNYC 10 years ago

For most of the movie, Tommy's problem was that he was holding back his hits because of his memories of his brother's death. By the end, he had finally gotten to the point where he wasn't holding back anymore. He setting up to kick Dae Han the same way Dae Han had kicked his brother. After giving his all the whole match like the coach taught him, he didn't have the where-with-all at that point to lightly tap his opponent. He knew that if he kicked, he couldn't hold back and he would kill Dae Han. So the coach and the team knew that he had to just stop.

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[–] kmay144 10 years ago

I think the ending was a little melodramatic. I understand the premise of Tommy not wanting to take Dae Han's life, but c'mon, he didn't have to just use a killing blow, even if it was against the guy who murdered his brother. A sweeping kick to the legs and a chop across the stomach would most likely suffice to get Han on the ground, and most likely stay there. If not, the score would be tied, and Tommy would win in the tiebreaker test.

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

[–] residentevil6901 8 years ago

I always thought all he has to do is push him over, I don't think he would've kept getting up.