Rating: 
Summary: One of my Top 5 Favorite Movies of all time!!!
Review: Mark Dacascos plays a US Green Beret who returns from the Caribbean Islands to Miami, where he finds his alma mater in dismay with wild students. After a brawl with one of the hoodlums in town, Dacascos takes 12 students to teach capoeira (Brazilian fighting style). What started with a scuffles ends in a brutal war between Dacascos and the drug lord and his minions. No fighter flick fan should go without seeing this movie. (Dacascos has been recognized by Black Belt Magazine for this movie). This is an excellent movie with a great fighting sequences, and an even better story. Mark Dacascos' Capoiera is the best!!! END
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME!
Review: This has to be the best martial arts movie I've ever seen hands down. It has a cool plot (bad guy rules city, good guy comes and kicks bad guys [rear]) and the capoeira is extremely fascinating and authentic. At some points the men were moving so fast and executing attacks so quickly that I had to stop, rewind, and watch it frame by frame. Truly a good movie if you enjoyed the Karate Kid series, Jackie Chan or Bruce Lee movies, or The One (Jet Li).
Rating:
Summary: Ready to Jinga?
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Not good, but what other choice do you have.
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: Zoom zoom zoom Capoeira mata um!
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Formulatic Movie Delivers a Strong Kick
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: get ready for the song
Review: anyone who's seen this movie knows what im talking about. martial arts instructor teaches inner city kids how to fight to music. then evil drug dealer shows up and suspiciously knows how to fight in the exact same way. roll credits. the song wont ever go away. its a part of me now...
Rating:
Summary: Godd stuff
Review: I think this is a great flick, No need to analyse this movie too deep to see that it is not an Acadamey Award Winning flick but i feel that the story is great. I wish i could of been influenced in such a way during high school. Great moves ....well almost 1/2 as good as mine and well wicked nice movie in general...love to live and live to love The liberated mind
Pat
Rating:
Summary: Unassuming B-movie, great fun
Review: ONLY THE STRONG (USA 1993): Upon returning home to Miami, a former Green Beret (Mark Dacascos) is employed by his local high school to rehabilitate some of its worst students by teaching them the art of capoeira (a form of martial arts from Brazil, using dance-like moves). But his work brings him into conflict with a local drug lord (Paco Christian Prieto), whose operations are threatened by Dacascos' interference... A predictable B-movie plot is elevated above the routine by virtue of its slick presentation and interesting cast, all of whom turn in creditable performances under the assured direction of Sheldon Lettich (former scriptwriter of RAMBO III who went on to helm some of Jean-Claude Van Damme's most popular entries, including LIONHEART and DOUBLE IMPACT). The script - co-written by Lettich and Luis Esteban - provides a showcase for the visual artistry of capoeira, practised with genuine flair by DTV favorite Dacascos (BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF), whose mastery of the form helps to win over some of the most problematic students at his former high school, now a crime-ridden wasteland whose faculty (led by Geoffrey Lewis, acting everyone else off the screen) is clearly at the end of its collective tether. A faint air of camp hangs over the entire enterprise, as ultra-buff Dacascos flaunts his pumped-up torso through a variety of tight-fitting vests (drool! slobber!) while facing off against ultra-butch Prieto (a real life martial arts instructor, making one of his first screen appearances), though ultra-cute Stacey Travis hovers around just long enough to blunt the film's relentless macho swagger and provide a fleeting romantic interest for Dacascos, thereby reassuring the movie's target audience that his character is entirely heterosexual. The film is naive, obvious and predictable, but it moves at a rapid clip and is well-staged thoughout, and the bone-crunching fight scenes manage to live up to every expectation. Good, catchy music score, too. Fox's DVD is a no-frills affair, including both widescreen and fullscreen versions of the film, along with a trailer (curiously framed at 2.35:1, though the main feature is correctly framed at 1.85:1). Sound and picture quality are uniformly fine. 95m 52s
1.85:1 / Anamorphically enhanced
[Fullscreen 1.33:1 version also included]
DVD soundtrack: Dolby Surround 2.0
Theatrical soundtrack: Dolby Stereo SR
Optional English subtitles and closed captions
Region 1
Rating:
Summary: Excellent movie, a must see
Review: This movie is one of the most cheese filled movies of the 90's and yet I had been waiting for it's release on home video for 10yrs. The capoeira moves shown are awesome but probably a pale comparison to real life maestres. If you like your films loaded with cheese and cool martial art moves then this movie if for you.
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