Underdog Kids

Not a bad movie. Cute kid movie. Reminded me of a Karate version of The Bad News Bears.

I took my 11 year old to see a private screening and he really enjoyed it. Kids either like something or they don't. Although they are not "critical" of editing, acting, color, sound .... they are brutally honest.

Was it the best editing, no. Best acting, no. But it was a cute little movie that we need more of. No cursing, no inappropriate scenes like some kids movies.

Although it was not the best movie I have it seen, I have definitely seen worst. Great little indie movie ... support it!

Phillip Rhee is a man of many talents. I've watched all his Movies since I was a Kid. Every Movie has a positive story & message, Underdog Kids is no exception. This Movie delivers the true meaning of Martial Arts, self-discipline, courage, friendship, love, respect and honor. Important parts to Martial Arts & Life that I see disappearing, over run with brutality & violence to make money or have a Gold Belt. This Movie shows that there is more value to life.

It's a heart warming story, with many challenges young kids face on a daily basis & show's how these particular characters overcome the obstacles. It's an inspiring independent Movie to watch, that I think all ages would like, although its aimed toward a Family orientated genre.

It doesn't have all the glitz and glamor you'd get from a blockbuster Movie with massive funding. It somewhat lacks post production and fancy editing, however the story surpasses that. For me thats what a good movie is all about. So go in with an open mind, sit back with some popcorn & enjoy Underdog Kids.

Imagine my delight when I found out that taekwondo maestro Phillip Rhee was returning to movies after a 17-year hiatus. The fact that it was for a family film only lightly dampened my enthusiasm, but that thudding noise you heard earlier today was the sound of my crest falling when I saw just how stinky of a picture this turned out to be. UNDERDOG KIDS is clearly Rhee's passion project, and while I like the idea of a positive coming-of-age karate flick, it does far too many things wrong to endear anyone but very tolerant viewers.

The story: An ex-MMA champ (Rhee) coaches troubled inner-city youths en-route to a tournament which will pit them against the nefarious Beverly Hills Junior National Team.

Other reviewers have called it before me, and I concur that this a pretty obvious melding of THE KARATE KID and Rhee's own BEST OF THE BEST. I don't mind the mix, but the filmmakers have disappointingly decided to go the sappiest and most juvenile route with it that they could have. Whatever the movie has to offer in the way of inspirational life lessons has been dipped in schmaltz and covered in cheese, because one of the few things that can halt the pitiful sob stories of the kids and the hammy character-building of Captain Rhee is the asinine comedy, the highlight of which involves the designated fat kid of the group winning a match by farting in an opponent's face.

To their credit, almost all of the featured children have some serious moves, and if placed in the hands of more ambitious directors, they could probably make one heck of an action movie. Most of the fights here aren't bad, but aside from the overuse of slow motion and occasionally choppy editing, the tone of the movie ensures that the importance of these scenes never rises above that of a bunch of kids fighting each other – not even with the gravity of THE HUNGER GAMES. Richard Norton, Don Wilson, Dan Inosanto, Benny Urquidez, and Jun Chong pop up briefly, but not only do they not fight, they don't even have any dialogue. Phillip Rhee himself only has one match, and I am 90% sure that he's been considerably stunt-doubled.

I'm all for martial arts in the family medium, even when it goes against my expectations, but even if there are some kids over the age of eight who are up to sitting through this, I don't think their parents will be. As both a filmmaker and veteran of the golden era of low-budget karate movies, Phillip Rhee represents one of our best chances of seeing the style of yesteryear revived in the new millennium, but if UNDERDOG KIDS is a taste of what Rhee is interested in doing with his experience, I will be less interested in any future features he directs. Skip it.

I just finished watching this movie. I saw it On-Demand, as people who rent movies whether from Netflix, RedBox, or On-Demand probably notice how there are movies they haven't heard of that haven't made a theatrical release. There are also a lot of kids movies you can find when renting movies that you haven't heard of. Despite being an adult, I think it's good to watch kid movies, as I think it keeps the kid inside of you and allows you to keep up with younger kids when you're around them. Sometimes, you wish you could go back to being a kid again.

This movie seems to have a familiar theme we've seen in lots of sports movies for kids. A movie that deals with a group of kids who are seen as misfits/losers. So, a losing team where someone or something helps a losing team become a winning team. Those movies are frequently comedies and also cheesy. Well, this movie definitely has comedy in it, as you'll definitely laugh if you watch this movie. This movie also has cheesy scenes. So, despite the cheesiness that can make it more of a kids film, this movie was a great movie with a real message.

So, you can ask if this movie falls in the same category as other movies we might have seen when we were kids, what makes it different and why is the message in this movie more meaningful than the message they'd give in other movies like these? Well, in this movie there seems to be a different sport than most other movies in the same category. The sport in this movie, obviously is Karate. I think it's entertaining seeing martial arts in action, some of the scenes seemed reminiscent of scenes from the 2010 movie, Karate Kid with Jaden Smith.

Now, about the message and why the message was more meaningful. The message definitely left me as an adult feeling good, and was definitely a meaningful message. Rather than a movie dealing with coaching a team from the suburbs, this movie deals with coaching inner-city kids in a poorer section of the city. We don't hear those kids saying profanity which keeps it kid friendly, and PG appropriate. It seems like PG movies used to have more profanity, like in the '80s than they do now. In this movie, they say words like dang and heck. So, despite not hearing heavy profanity from these kids and not dealing with drugs, alcohol, or sex, obviously to keep it PG appropriate and kid friendly, we see other inner-city issues from the characters in this movie. We see how their coach responds to a lot of their troubles which can be great lessons and responses for not just them, but everybody. It leaves us with lessons that we did not decide the color of our skin we'd be born into, or the background we come from. But, what matters is how we see ourselves, and what we make of ourselves.

I only recognized one of the actors in this movie. That actor was Nicholas Bechtel that plays Sean in this movie, and who plays a character named Spencer Cassadine in ABC's Soap Opera, General Hospital. It's nice to see actors you recognize play roles in other movies. He was great in this movie!!

Another cool thing about the movie was the way certain scenes were done. Sometimes, movies seem to choreograph certain scenes to make them exciting for the viewers. Scenes that focus on the visuals, and music where the voices might even be muted. Those scenes in this movie were really cool, especially for a kids movie.

Now, you might see bad reviews from this movie along with good reviews too, like mine. However, I'd definitely recommend this movie if you like kids movies, and if you like sports movies. If you want to show your kids a movie, then I'm sure they'd like this. But, I'd also recommend it for you as I think the messages this movie leaves us with, are powerful messages even for adults!! I'm sure the messages this movie leaves you with will make you feel happy at the end.

These bad reviews are the problem with critics. Everything is about what they personally like and not an unbiased review. Is this movie The Godfather? No. But it's not meant to be. This is a kids movie and as such, it is very enjoyable.

That's not to say there wasn't some things that could have been done much better, and the directing was not all it could be. But it was very sweet with a good message and the talents of the kids were incredible.

Corny? Yes? Simplistic at times? Also yes. A fun time with your little ones? Yes, unless you're a cynic who wants their kids to be a hard and ugly as the adult world can be.

Fun little kids movie. Nothing more and nothing less and that's OK.