ONLY THE STRONG

ONLY THE STRONG is an unusually energetic martial arts drama, and its introduction of capoeira gives the action a rhythmic, athletic style. Mark Dacascos brings grace and skill to the lead role, while the story finds real encouragement in troubled students gaining self-worth and turning away from delinquency.

But the film’s content is excessive. It includes considerable violence, knives, a death, roughly 25 obscenities, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual suggestiveness, and occult elements connected to capoeira. The story’s “only the strong survive” idea also turns Darwin’s evolutionary thinking into a guiding notion.

You may admire the filmmaking and still decide the content costs too much. For a family or a Christian viewer seeking a clean conscience, the practical answer is: skip it.

A discharged army officer returns to his Miami high school and finds it overwhelmed by drugs and gangs. He recruits twelve tough students and teaches them capoeira, a Brazilian martial arts form combining music, rhythm, and combat.

As the students learn discipline and confidence, they face the forces damaging their school and community.

Four stars means this is highly accomplished entertainment despite its serious content problems. The film takes cinematic martial arts in a fresh direction through capoeira, combining driving Brazilian music with remarkable athletic ability.

Mark Dacascos is a major strength. He moves with the grace of a ballet performer as he pirouettes, kicks, and turns while dealing effectively with opponents. The action is considerable, and much of it is not bloody, but the film’s craft does not erase the material that makes it unsuitable for many viewers.

ONLY THE STRONG presents “survival of the fittest” through Darwin’s evolutionary ideas in the setting of a martial arts saga. Its humanistic emphasis appears in the students’ growing sense of self-worth and in the hope that disciplined instruction can turn hard-core delinquents around.

The film also exalts strength, combat ability, and the capacity to overcome dangerous opponents. Its positive moral movement is that troubled young people improve and that the wider community changes for the better. Yet its central slogan distorts a biblical understanding of strength by making survival and power the measure of life. The film also includes occultism connected to chanting that accompanies capoeira.

Scripture locates true strength elsewhere: “The LORD is my strength and song, and is become my salvation” (Psalm 118:14).

ONLY THE STRONG offers exceptional martial arts craft and a hopeful story about troubled students changing. But its excessive violence, obscenities, substance abuse, sexual suggestiveness, and occult content make it a poor choice for families and many Christian viewers. Our answer is clear: SKIP IT. For better alternatives, see.